2026-02-25 · NextMigrate Team
Your LinkedIn Says 'Open to Work' — But Are You Visible to International Recruiters?
You have turned on "Open to Work." You have a green banner on your photo. You check your LinkedIn every day, waiting for international recruiters to find you. They do not come.
Meanwhile, a colleague with similar skills — maybe even less experience — is getting messages from companies in Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia. They seem to have cracked some code you have not.
Here is the truth: the way most professionals in Nigeria, India, the Philippines, Egypt, and Pakistan set up their LinkedIn profiles makes them effectively invisible to international recruiters. Not because of bias (though that exists too), but because of how LinkedIn's search algorithm works, how recruiters use filters, and how your profile presents information that the algorithm cannot parse correctly.
This article explains exactly how international recruitment works on LinkedIn, what recruiters actually search for, and the specific changes that make your profile discoverable to companies hiring across borders.
How International Recruiters Actually Use LinkedIn
Before we fix your profile, you need to understand how recruiters search. Most international recruiters use LinkedIn Recruiter or LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, which costs $8,999/year or $1,680/year respectively. These tools have search capabilities that regular LinkedIn does not expose.
The Search Filters That Matter
When a recruiter at a Canadian tech company searches for a senior backend developer, they typically use these filters:
| Filter | What They Enter | How It Affects You |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | "backend developer" OR "software engineer" OR "Python" AND "Django" | Your profile must contain these exact terms |
| Location | "Canada" OR "Open to relocation" OR "Worldwide" | If your location says "Lagos, Nigeria" and you have not set relocation preferences, you are excluded |
| Current company | Sometimes filtered to exclude certain companies | Less relevant for international search |
| Years of experience | 5-10 years | Calculated from your work history dates |
| Industry | "Technology" or "Software Development" | Pulled from your profile's industry setting |
| Open to work | Yes | Recruiter Lite can filter for this |
| Willing to relocate | Specific countries | This is pulled from your Open to Work preferences |
| Education | Sometimes filtered by degree level | Rarely filtered by specific institution for international search |
| Language | English (fluent/native) | Critical — must be explicitly listed |
| Skills | Specific endorsed skills | Your top 3 endorsed skills are weighted heavily |
Here is the critical insight: LinkedIn search is an AND operation. If a recruiter searches for "Python developer, open to relocation to Canada, 5+ years experience," your profile must match ALL of these criteria to appear in results. Miss one, and you are invisible.
Search Volume Data
To understand the competition, here is approximately how many LinkedIn profiles exist for common tech roles by country:
| Role | Nigeria | India | Philippines | Egypt | Pakistan | Canada | UK | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 85,000 | 1,200,000 | 120,000 | 45,000 | 65,000 | 280,000 | 350,000 | 180,000 |
| Data Scientist | 15,000 | 350,000 | 25,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 95,000 | 120,000 | 65,000 |
| Product Manager | 12,000 | 180,000 | 18,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 75,000 | 90,000 | 50,000 |
| UX Designer | 8,000 | 95,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 7,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 | 30,000 |
| DevOps Engineer | 10,000 | 280,000 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 55,000 | 70,000 | 35,000 |
With 1.2 million software engineers on LinkedIn in India alone, standing out requires deliberate optimization. The good news: most of those profiles are poorly optimized, which means a well-structured profile can rank disproportionately well.
The 12 Changes That Make You Visible
Change 1: Fix Your Headline (Most Critical)
Your headline is the single most important piece of text on your profile. It is the first thing recruiters see in search results, and LinkedIn's algorithm gives it the highest keyword weight.
What most people write:
Software Developer at XYZ Technologies
Passionate about building solutions | Lifelong learner | Tech enthusiast
Full Stack Developer | React | Node.js | Problem Solver
What international recruiters actually search for:
Senior Backend Engineer | Python, Django, PostgreSQL | AWS | Open to Global Opportunities
Staff Software Engineer | Distributed Systems, Go, Kubernetes | 8 Years | Relocation Ready
Senior Data Engineer | Spark, Airflow, dbt, Snowflake | Building Data Pipelines at Scale
The differences are significant:
| Element | Bad Headline | Good Headline |
|---|---|---|
| Seniority level | Missing or vague | Explicit (Senior, Staff, Lead, Principal) |
| Technical keywords | Generic ("developer") | Specific technologies recruiters search for |
| Searchable terms | Soft skills, platitudes | Hard skills, tool names, frameworks |
| Intent signal | None | "Open to Global Opportunities" or "Relocation Ready" |
| Character usage | Wasted on filler | Every word is a searchable keyword |
LinkedIn headlines can be up to 220 characters. Use all of them. Every word should be something a recruiter might type into a search bar.
Change 2: Set Your Location Strategically
This is where many international job seekers make a costly mistake. Your LinkedIn location affects which searches you appear in.
Option A: Keep your actual location (e.g., "Lagos, Nigeria")
- Pros: Honest, no confusion
- Cons: Excluded from searches filtered to destination countries
Option B: Set location to your target country (e.g., "Toronto, Canada Area")
- Pros: Appears in location-filtered searches
- Cons: Misleading if you are not there yet, can backfire in conversations
Option C (Recommended): Keep your actual location but maximize your Open to Work settings
In your Open to Work preferences, you can specify:
- Job titles you are interested in (add 5+ variations)
- Location types: "On-site," "Remote," "Hybrid"
- Target locations: Add every country you would consider
- Start date: Specify when you could start
When a recruiter searches for candidates "open to relocation to Canada," LinkedIn surfaces profiles that have Canada listed in their Open to Work preferences — even if the person is currently in Lagos.
The specific settings to configure:
| Setting | Recommended Configuration |
|---|---|
| Open to Work visibility | "All LinkedIn members" (not just recruiters) |
| Job titles | Add 5-8 variations of your role (Senior Software Engineer, Backend Developer, Python Developer, Software Architect, etc.) |
| Location types | Select all three: On-site, Remote, Hybrid |
| Target locations | List 5-10 specific cities in target countries (Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, London, Berlin, Munich, Dubai, Auckland) |
| Start date | "Immediately" or specific date if you need visa processing time |
Change 3: Rewrite Your About Section for International Search
Your About section (formerly Summary) is the second most keyword-rich section after your headline. Most people waste it on generic statements.
What does not work:
I am a passionate software developer with 7 years of experience. I love solving complex problems and am always eager to learn new technologies. I believe in teamwork and delivering quality solutions.
This contains zero searchable technical keywords. A recruiter searching for "Python Django AWS microservices" will never find this profile.
What works:
Senior Backend Engineer with 7 years building production systems in Python (Django, FastAPI, Flask), Go, and TypeScript. Currently architecting microservices handling 2M+ daily requests at [Company], deployed on AWS (ECS, Lambda, RDS, SQS) with Kubernetes orchestration.
Core expertise: distributed systems design, API architecture (REST, GraphQL, gRPC), database optimization (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins), and infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation).
Previously delivered: payment processing platform handling $12M monthly transactions, real-time analytics pipeline processing 500K events/second, migration of monolithic architecture to 40+ microservices.
Open to senior/staff engineering roles globally. Authorized to work in [countries] or willing to relocate with visa sponsorship.
Every sentence contains keywords that recruiters search for. The numbers ($12M, 2M+ requests, 500K events) signal seniority and scale. The final sentence explicitly signals international availability.
Change 4: Translate Your Experience Into International Terms
This is where professionals from developing countries often lose international recruiters. Your job titles, company names, and accomplishments need to be legible to someone who has never heard of your employer.
| Instead of This | Write This |
|---|---|
| "Software Developer at Andela" | "Senior Software Engineer at Andela (Africa's largest tech talent company, 1,500+ engineers placed at Microsoft, GitHub, Cloudflare)" |
| "Team Lead at Infosys" | "Engineering Team Lead at Infosys (Global IT services, 300,000+ employees, NYSE: INFY), managing 12-person team" |
| "Developer at Accenture Philippines" | "Full Stack Developer at Accenture Philippines (Fortune 500, $60B revenue), building enterprise solutions for US and EU clients" |
| "Worked on the CBN payment system" | "Built payment settlement system for Nigeria's Central Bank, processing $2B+ in monthly interbank transactions" |
| "Managed 5 team members" | "Led cross-functional team of 5 engineers across 3 time zones, delivering $1.2M project under budget" |
The key principle: every company should have a parenthetical that gives international context. Every achievement should have a number.
Change 5: List Your Skills Strategically
LinkedIn allows up to 50 skills. Most people add 10-15 randomly. Here is the strategy:
Your top 3 skills (the ones shown prominently on your profile) should be the exact keywords recruiters search for in your field. Get these endorsed by as many connections as possible.
For a backend engineer targeting international roles:
| Skill Priority | Skills to List |
|---|---|
| Top 3 (most endorsed) | Python, AWS, Microservices Architecture |
| Next 7 (highly relevant) | Django, PostgreSQL, Docker, Kubernetes, REST APIs, System Design, CI/CD |
| Next 10 (supporting) | Redis, MongoDB, GraphQL, Terraform, Go, TypeScript, Agile, Git, Linux, Data Engineering |
| Remaining 30 (breadth) | FastAPI, Flask, RabbitMQ, Kafka, Elasticsearch, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, CloudFormation, DynamoDB, SQL, etc. |
Each skill is a searchable keyword. More skills with more endorsements means more search visibility.
Change 6: Get Strategic Endorsements and Recommendations
Endorsements from people in your target countries carry more weight in LinkedIn's algorithm when those countries' recruiters search. This is not officially documented by LinkedIn, but recruiter feedback consistently confirms it.
Endorsement strategy:
- Ask former clients, colleagues, or collaborators in Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, or UAE to endorse your top skills
- Endorse their skills first (reciprocity drives endorsement rates up 3-5x)
- Focus on getting 20+ endorsements for your top 3 skills
Recommendation strategy:
- Request recommendations from managers or clients at internationally recognized companies
- Ask them to mention specific achievements with numbers
- A recommendation from a hiring manager at a Fortune 500 company is significantly more impactful than one from a colleague at a local company
Change 7: Add International Credentials and Certifications
International recruiters often do not know how to evaluate degrees from universities in developing countries. Bridge this gap with globally recognized credentials.
| Credential Type | Examples | Cost | Impact on Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud certifications | AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator, GCP Professional | $150-$300 each | Very high — recruiters filter for these |
| Professional certifications | PMP, CISSP, CKA (Kubernetes), Terraform Associate | $200-$600 each | High |
| University certifications | Coursera/edX certificates from MIT, Stanford, Georgia Tech | $50-$300 each | Moderate |
| Language certifications | IELTS (7.0+), TOEFL (100+), Cambridge C1/C2 | $200-$300 each | High for non-English-speaking countries |
| Professional body membership | IEEE, ACM, BCS (UK), Engineers Australia | $50-$200/year | Moderate |
AWS certifications are particularly impactful. A 2024 LinkedIn survey found that profiles with AWS Solutions Architect certification received 3.2x more recruiter messages than equivalent profiles without it.
Change 8: Publish Content That Signals Expertise
LinkedIn's algorithm favors profiles that create content. You do not need to become an influencer. You need to publish 2-4 posts per month that demonstrate technical expertise.
Content that attracts international recruiters:
| Content Type | Example | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Technical case study | "How we reduced API latency from 800ms to 50ms at [Company]" | Shows real engineering ability with numbers |
| Architecture decision | "Why we chose Kafka over RabbitMQ for our event-driven system" | Demonstrates senior-level thinking |
| Industry analysis | "The state of cloud adoption in African fintech: 2025 report" | Positions you as a thought leader |
| Open source contribution | "I contributed X feature to Y project — here's what I learned" | Proves you can work with global teams |
Content that does not help (or hurts):
- Generic motivational posts ("Excited to announce...")
- Reposting others' content without adding value
- Posts about "grind culture" or hustle
- Posts that only engage your local network
Change 9: Optimize Your Profile for Each Target Country
Different countries have different hiring cultures and keyword preferences. Adjust your profile to match:
| Country | Preferred Job Title Format | Key Cultural Signals | Resume/CV Preference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | "Senior Software Engineer" | Collaborative language, diversity awareness | Resume (2 pages max) |
| Australia | "Senior Software Developer" | "Permanent resident" or "visa holder" status | Resume (2-3 pages) |
| UK | "Senior Software Engineer" | Include visa status, right to work | CV (2 pages) |
| Germany | "Senior Software Entwickler" or English equivalent | German language skills mentioned | CV (detailed, 2-3 pages) |
| UAE | "Senior Software Engineer" | Mention Arabic (if applicable), nationality | CV (2 pages, photo sometimes included) |
| New Zealand | "Senior Software Developer" | Work-life balance language, visa status | CV (2-3 pages) |
Change 10: Join and Engage in International Groups
LinkedIn groups are underutilized but still factor into search visibility. Join groups related to:
- Your target industry in your target country (e.g., "Tech Professionals in Canada," "Australian IT Careers")
- Professional associations in your field (e.g., "Python Developers Network," "AWS Community Builders")
- Immigration and relocation groups (e.g., "Skilled Workers Migrating to Canada," "Professionals Relocating to Australia")
Active participation in these groups (commenting, sharing insights) increases your visibility to other group members, many of whom are recruiters or hiring managers.
Change 11: Set Up Job Alerts Strategically
Setting up job alerts for roles in target countries does more than notify you of openings. It also signals to LinkedIn's algorithm that you are interested in opportunities in those locations, which can influence which searches you appear in.
Set alerts for:
- Your exact job title + target city (e.g., "Senior Backend Engineer Toronto")
- Your job title + "visa sponsorship" (e.g., "Software Engineer visa sponsorship UK")
- Your job title + "relocation" (e.g., "Data Scientist relocation Australia")
- Companies you are targeting (set company-specific alerts)
Change 12: Time Your Activity for Maximum Visibility
LinkedIn's algorithm rewards recent activity. If you want to be visible to recruiters in Canada, UK, and Australia, you need to be active during their business hours.
| Target Country | Best Time to Post/Engage (UTC) | Your Local Time (if in Nigeria/West Africa) | Your Local Time (if in India) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada (EST) | 13:00-17:00 UTC | 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM WAT | 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM IST |
| UK (GMT/BST) | 08:00-12:00 UTC | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM WAT | 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM IST |
| Australia (AEST) | 22:00-02:00 UTC | 11:00 PM - 3:00 AM WAT | 3:30 AM - 7:30 AM IST |
| UAE (GST) | 05:00-09:00 UTC | 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM WAT | 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM IST |
| Germany (CET) | 07:00-11:00 UTC | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM WAT | 12:30 PM - 4:30 PM IST |
For maximum coverage of North American and European recruiters, posting between 12:00-15:00 UTC (1-4 PM West African Time, 5:30-8:30 PM India Time) hits the morning hours in North America and the afternoon in Europe.
The Keywords That International Recruiters Actually Search For
Based on data from LinkedIn Talent Insights and recruiter surveys, here are the most-searched keywords for common roles that professionals from developing countries fill:
Software Engineering
| Most Searched Keywords (2025) | Monthly Search Volume (LinkedIn Recruiter) |
|---|---|
| Python developer | Very high |
| React developer | Very high |
| AWS + backend | Very high |
| Full stack engineer | High |
| Kubernetes + DevOps | High |
| Microservices architect | High |
| Golang developer | Medium-high |
| Machine learning engineer | Medium-high |
| Rust developer | Medium (growing fast) |
| Platform engineer | Medium (growing fast) |
Data and Analytics
| Most Searched Keywords (2025) | Monthly Search Volume |
|---|---|
| Data engineer + Spark | Very high |
| dbt + data warehouse | High |
| Snowflake + SQL | High |
| Data scientist + Python | Very high |
| ML ops + deployment | Medium-high |
| Power BI + analytics | Medium |
Design and Product
| Most Searched Keywords (2025) | Monthly Search Volume |
|---|---|
| Product designer + Figma | Very high |
| UX researcher | High |
| Product manager + B2B SaaS | High |
| Design system | Medium-high |
| User research + enterprise | Medium |
Make sure every keyword relevant to your role appears somewhere in your profile — headline, about section, experience descriptions, or skills list.
Common Mistakes That Kill International Visibility
Mistake 1: Using Local Job Titles
"Software Developer" in Nigeria often means something different from "Software Engineer" in Canada. Similarly, "Team Lead" in India might be equivalent to "Engineering Manager" in the US. Use the international equivalent:
| Local Title | International Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Software Developer (Nigeria) | Software Engineer |
| Module Lead (India/Infosys) | Engineering Team Lead |
| Technical Analyst (Philippines) | Software Engineer / Full Stack Developer |
| Senior Programmer (Egypt) | Senior Software Engineer |
| IT Officer (Pakistan) | Software Engineer / Systems Engineer |
| Project Lead (India/TCS) | Engineering Manager |
Mistake 2: Listing Only Employer Names Without Context
If your employer is not a global household name, the recruiter skips past it. Always add context:
"Flutterwave (Africa's largest payment infrastructure company, backed by Tiger Global, $3B valuation)"
"Jumia (Africa's leading e-commerce platform, NYSE-listed, operating in 11 countries)"
"Razorpay (India's leading payment gateway, processing $80B+ annually, valued at $7.5B)"
Mistake 3: Writing in Passive Voice
International recruiters scan quickly. Active, specific language gets attention:
| Passive (Weak) | Active (Strong) |
|---|---|
| "Was responsible for maintaining databases" | "Optimized PostgreSQL queries reducing p99 latency from 2s to 200ms across 15M daily transactions" |
| "Involved in the development of mobile app" | "Architected React Native app serving 500K monthly active users, achieving 4.6 star rating on App Store" |
| "Participated in system migration project" | "Led migration of 3 monolithic services to microservices architecture, reducing deployment time from 4 hours to 15 minutes" |
Mistake 4: Not Mentioning Visa Status or Work Authorization
International recruiters are always thinking about immigration logistics. If you do not mention it, they assume it is complicated and move on.
Add one of these to your About section:
- "Open to relocation with visa sponsorship"
- "Eligible for [Country] Express Entry / Skilled Worker Visa"
- "Currently processing PR application for [Country]"
- "Will require visa sponsorship — experienced with the process and timeline"
Being upfront does not disqualify you. Being silent about it does, because recruiters fill the uncertainty with assumptions.
Mistake 5: Having a Profile Photo That Signals "Not Professional" in Target Culture
This is sensitive but important. Profile photo standards vary by culture. For international visibility:
- Use a high-quality headshot with good lighting (smartphone cameras are fine)
- Wear what you would wear to a professional meeting in your target country
- Use a neutral or slightly blurred background
- Make eye contact with the camera
- Smile naturally (not too formal, not too casual)
- Avoid sunglasses, heavy filters, group photos, or casual/holiday photos
Studies consistently show that LinkedIn profiles with professional photos receive 14x more views and 36x more messages than those without.
Measuring Your Progress
After implementing these changes, track these metrics weekly:
| Metric | Where to Find It | Target After Optimization |
|---|---|---|
| Profile views | LinkedIn dashboard | 2-3x increase within 4 weeks |
| Search appearances | LinkedIn dashboard ("Your profile was found in X searches") | 3-5x increase within 4 weeks |
| InMail/messages from recruiters | LinkedIn inbox | At least 2-3 per month (varies by field) |
| Connection requests from target countries | LinkedIn notifications | Steady increase |
| Content engagement (if posting) | Post analytics | Growing over time |
LinkedIn's dashboard shows you "Who's viewed your profile" by location and industry. If you are not seeing viewers from your target countries within 4-6 weeks of optimizing, something is still off.
The Uncomfortable Reality
Even a perfectly optimized LinkedIn profile will not eliminate all barriers. International hiring involves visa costs, time zone challenges, and sometimes unconscious bias. A recruiter who has two equally qualified candidates — one in Toronto who can start Monday, one in Lagos who needs a 6-month visa process — will often choose the easier path.
But here is what optimization does: it gets you into the search results in the first place. You cannot be chosen if you cannot be found. The majority of skilled professionals in developing countries have LinkedIn profiles that are functionally invisible to international recruiters. By fixing the 12 issues outlined in this article, you move from invisible to discoverable. And discoverable is where the conversation begins.
The professionals who successfully land international roles rarely describe it as a single moment. They describe a process: optimized their profile, started appearing in searches, received initial messages, had conversations that did not lead anywhere, had conversations that did, went through interview processes, received offers. The whole arc takes 3-12 months. But it starts with being visible.
If your LinkedIn says "Open to Work" but international recruiters cannot find you, you are broadcasting on a frequency nobody is receiving. Change the frequency. The opportunities are there. Make sure you are too.
