It’s one of the great mysteries of the modern working world. Does my CV disappear into a black hole? Is it ever seen by a real human? Do I need to optimise it for AI?
These are questions we hear all the time, so I thought I’d pull back the curtain on LinkedIn and share a bit of insight from the recruiter side.
LinkedIn has recently updated how applicants are shown to recruiters. Its latest AI features are designed to help by ranking candidates based on how closely their skills match the job description. Anyone who meets the criteria is then reviewed by a recruiter, who can manually mark them as Top Fit, Maybe, or Not a Fit, or move them to a shortlist.
There’s also a “Resume” button that allows us to download a full CV. While the platform naturally encourages an initial, high-level scan, that’s rarely enough for specialist marketing roles. Career paths in marketing are often nuanced, shaped by sector, growth stage, budget size, channels, and commercial context. Those details tend to live in the full CV rather than the profile snapshot. As a marketing recruiter, that deeper view is where I can properly assess impact and understand how someone’s experience might translate into a new role.
From there, it’s up to the recruiter how to proceed. For marketing roles, that decision is rarely based on a single data point. I’m looking for context: the markets someone’s worked in, the audiences they’ve spoken to, the problems they’ve solved, and the results they’ve driven. Those insights usually come from reviewing the full CV and starting a conversation.
LinkedIn now also offers the option of using an AI interview. I tested this today out of curiosity, and while I can see how it might be useful for certain high-volume or more general roles, it’s not something I’d personally choose to use when recruiting for marketing positions. Marketing careers are rarely linear, and understanding someone’s thinking, influence, and team fit matters far more than surface-level signals.
Overall, LinkedIn is clearly built for speed and scale, which can be incredibly useful when handled thoughtfully. But specialist recruitment, particularly in marketing, still relies on taking the time to properly understand someone’s background. Campaigns delivered, commercial outcomes, leadership style, and how experience translates into a new environment don’t always show up in a snapshot or a skills match score.
The technology helps open the door, but the real value is added when a recruiter digs deeper, asks better questions, and connects the dots. That’s how the true Top Fit candidates are identified.