Diagnostic · 4 minutes · no email

In four minutes, know which of five things is costing you interviews.

You have a specific job-search problem, in one of five places. Fifteen honest ticks tell you which one. Most people rewrite their resume for the fourth time when their resume was never the leak.

Start · Question 1 arrow_downward

Tick only what's true right now · your score is saved locally

history You last scored – · – days ago. Run it again to see the delta.
0 / 15
Layer 1 · Findable

Can a recruiter searching for someone like you actually surface you?

  • 1. My headline names the job title I want next, not the one I hold now.
  • 2. My headline contains a number, a tool, or a credential — not an adjective like "passionate" or "results-driven."
  • 3. The first two lines of my About section say something specific before the "…see more" fold cuts them off.
Findable score 0 / 3
Layer 2 · Followable

If a recruiter clicks your profile, is there any sign you're alive?

  • 4. I've posted something on LinkedIn in the last 14 days.
  • 5. I've left a real comment — more than "Great post!" — on someone else's post in the last 7 days.
  • 6. A stranger scrolling my recent activity could name my field in 10 seconds.
Followable score 0 / 3
Layer 3 · Verifiable

Does the document survive the parse and the 30-second human read?

  • 7. My resume is one column, with no tables, text boxes, or icons.
  • 8. At least half of my bullets contain a number.
  • 9. The first bullet of my most recent role names an outcome, not a responsibility.
Verifiable score 0 / 3
Layer 4 · Credentialed

Is every credential earning its space, or padding it?

  • 10. I could explain, in one sentence, why each certification on my resume matters to the job I want.
  • 11. My certifications sit above or below Experience on purpose, not wherever the template dropped them.
  • 12. Any gap longer than six months in my history has a one-line explanation ready.
Credentialed score 0 / 3
Layer 5 · Introducible

Can anyone walk you through the door?

  • 13. I have a written list of target companies. Written down. Not "in my head."
  • 14. I've asked at least one person for an intro or referral in the last 30 days.
  • 15. I personally know someone at three or more of my target companies.
Introducible score 0 / 3
Your visibility score

Tally your ticks across the five layers.

The number tells you how visible you are today. The weakest layer tells you what to fix first.

0 / 15
Score · 0 – 4

Functionally invisible

The most fixable position on the list, because nothing you'd have to undo is in place yet. Open Chapter 8 and run the 14-day sprint from Day 1.

Score · 5 – 8

Half the stack is off

Don't start with the resume. Start at Chapter 1 — the LinkedIn edits take thirty minutes and give you the momentum to survive the resume chapters.

Score · 9 – 12

One layer is leaking

And it's dragging the rest. Fix the weakest layer this week. Ignore the other four until it's done.

Score · 13 – 15

The stack is live

Your bottleneck is probably targeting or volume, not visibility. Go to Chapter 7 and Chapter 8's maintenance card.

§ Read your score

Your weakest layer is the lowest number. If two layers tie, take the one higher in the list — the layers below it depend on it. A strong referral network pointing at a profile that says "Passionate professional" wastes the referral. That's why the routing table below is ordered top-down, not by convenience.

§ Diagnostic routing

Which layer is broken · where to go

Highlighted row = your weakest layer, based on your current ticks.

Weakest layer What's actually broken Go straight to
Findable Recruiters searching your title never see you. The name field, the headline, and the top two lines of your About are doing the wrong job. Chapters 1 – 2
Followable You surface, then look dormant. Zero recent posts, zero recent comments — the profile reads as an unmaintained asset. Chapter 3
Verifiable You get opened, then skipped in 30 seconds. The parser mangles your layout, or the human eye can't find a single result to latch onto. Chapters 4 – 5
Credentialed Your credentials read as filler. Certifications the reader can't place, gaps without a one-line explanation, or education stacked where nobody looks. Chapter 6
Introducible You're applying cold into a 250-person pile. The playbook here is not "network harder" — it's the forwardable-referral protocol and a written 20-company list. Chapter 7
§ One honest note

This scorecard is a triage tool, not a prediction. Fifteen ticks won't guarantee an offer, and nobody has run the study that says it would.

What it does is stop you from rewriting a resume that was already fine while the actual leak sits two layers away, untouched, for another three months. Each item traces to a specific, sourced chapter in LinkedIn Hiring Book. The scorecard tells you where to start. The book tells you what to do when you get there.

§ About this tool

A compilation, not an opinion. Every claim on this page cites a primary source. Maintained by the editorial team — corrections or questions go to hi@thevisibilitystack.com. How this book is compiled →

This scorecard is part of LinkedIn Hiring Book. Read chapter 1 free →

v2026-08-19 · sources current as of Aug 2026