Let’s be honest. LinkedIn doesn’t always feel like it was built for people like you.

If you work in R&D, coatings, quality assurance or engineering, your day is more likely spent on the floor, in the lab or with customers than writing posts.

But here’s the thing. Recruiters are on LinkedIn. Hiring managers are on LinkedIn. And if your profile isn’t working for you, it might be quietly working against you.

This isn’t about personal branding or content creation. It’s about making your experience easy to find for the people looking for it. Even if you're not actively job seeking.

Here’s how to get noticed without making a fuss.

1. Fix Your Headline

Instead of 🧪 Chemist at X Corp

Try 🧪 Formulation Chemist | Industrial Adhesives | Product Development and QC

Your headline is searchable. Include your function, specialism and industry so recruiters can find you more easily.

2. Rewrite Your About Section Like a Human

Most people in technical roles leave this empty or repeat their job title.

Use it to explain what you do, who you work with and what kind of projects excite you. Make it specific. Make it readable.

A simple format that works:

Finish with a note like

Open to hearing about opportunities in R&D, manufacturing or product development

3. Show What You’ve Done Without Giving Everything Away

Keywords: passive job search, technical job search

You don’t need to share confidential information to show your value. Just give context. Show scale. Give someone a reason to take a second look.

For example

This is what makes a recruiter pause. It gives them something to work with.

4. Quietly Switch On “Open to Work”

You can tell LinkedIn you’re open to opportunities without anyone else seeing it.

Choose the “recruiters only” option. Be specific about roles, locations and whether you’d relocate.

Even if you’re just curious about your market value, this puts you in front of people like us.

5. Stay Visible Without Posting All the Time

You don’t need to be a content creator. But occasional activity does help.

Like a post. Share an article with a short comment. React to a peer’s update.

Even small actions increase your visibility and signal to the algorithm that you are active and relevant. It also makes your name more familiar to people in your network.

6. Connect With People in Your Sector

Suppliers. Ex-colleagues. Recruiters. Engineers you met at events.

The more relevant your network, the more relevant the jobs you’ll see in your feed. And when someone is hiring, you’ll already be part of the conversation.

LinkedIn doesn’t need to become your second job. But if you work in a specialist field, it is one of the few places where you can stay visible without applying to anything, and if a better opportunity comes along, you’ll be ready.

Not Actively Looking But Open to a Conversation?

We work with people just like you. Quietly successful. Technically strong. Feel free to register your CV here: https://bit.ly/455PQpp.