10 Ways to Optimise Your Seek Profile This Week

Seek's candidate database is one of the most searched tools recruiters use in Australia. A well-optimised profile means inbound enquiries — roles come to you, not just the other way around.

These changes are ranked by impact.

1. Set your headline to your target title

Your headline is the first line recruiters see. It should be your exact target job title, not a creative phrase.

• Bad: "Experienced professional seeking new opportunities"
• Good: "Test Lead | QA Manager | 10 years enterprise testing"

Include two or three variations of your title separated by pipes. Seek's search engine uses keyword matching.

2. Turn on "Open to opportunities"

This signals to recruiters that you're active. It's visible only to recruiters, not your current employer. If you're employed and searching quietly, this is safe to enable.

3. Write a profile summary with your top three keywords

The summary appears in search results. Use the first sentence to front-load your keywords:

"Test Lead and QA Manager with 10 years of enterprise testing across banking, logistics, and SaaS. Specialising in Selenium, API testing, JIRA, and ISTQB-aligned test strategy."

4. List tools explicitly

Recruiters search for "Selenium", "Postman", "JIRA" — not "strong automation background". List every tool you're comfortable with, even ones you haven't used in a few years (add a proficiency note if needed).

5. Add your availability date

If you're a contractor, your availability date is the single most important field. Keep it current. An outdated date makes recruiters assume you're already placed.

6. Upload a current CV

Seek shows recruiters when your CV was last updated. A CV updated more than 6 months ago gets deprioritised in search. Re-upload (even without changes) to reset the timestamp.

7. Set your salary expectations correctly

Don't leave this blank. It removes you from filtered searches. Set a realistic range. For contract roles, set the daily rate.

8. Add all your locations

If you're open to remote work, add Sydney + Remote. If you'd consider Melbourne or Brisbane for the right role, add them. Each location is a separate search pool.

9. Complete the skills section

The skills section feeds Seek's internal scoring algorithm. Add 10-15 skills relevant to your target roles. Include both technical skills (Cypress, SQL, TestRail) and soft/leadership skills (Test Strategy, Stakeholder Management).

10. Request at least 3 recommendations

Seek profiles with recommendations rank higher in recruiter searches. Ask former colleagues, managers, or clients. A one-paragraph recommendation from a credible person is more valuable than 10 extra keywords.

Use Jobs Sniper alongside your Seek profile

Your Seek profile gets you found by recruiters. Jobs Sniper makes sure you don't miss the roles that match. Run a scan daily with your target title and location — the combination of inbound (profile) and outbound (Jobs Sniper) gives you the fullest coverage of the market.