How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else: The Complete 2025 Guide

How to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else is one of those little tricks that can completely change the way you manage your personal brand. You’ve probably spent hours (or days) polishing your headline, tweaking your summary, and adding endorsements, but have you ever stopped to ask: “What does all of this actually look like to a recruiter, a potential client, or even a competitor?” If the answer is no, you’re not alone—and you’re missing out on a goldmine of self-awareness.

In this monster guide, I’m walking you step-by-step through exactly how to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else in 2025, why it matters more than ever, and the sneaky mistakes that could be costing you opportunities right now. Buckle up.

Why You Absolutely Need to Know How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else

Imagine walking into a job interview wearing a suit that looks perfect in your mirror… but has a massive stain on the back you never noticed. Your LinkedIn profile works the same way. What you see when you’re logged in is the “backstage” version—full of editing tools, analytics, and extra sections. What everyone else sees? That’s the real show.

When you learn how to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else, you instantly spot:

• Typos that only appear in public view
• Sections that are hidden from non-connections
• A boring or “salesy” tone you never noticed
• Missing keywords that kill your search visibility
• Creepy third-party trackers or weird formatting glitches

Recruiters decide in under 10 seconds whether your profile is worth a deeper look. Ten seconds! If you’re not using the “view as” feature regularly, you’re basically flying blind.

How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else: Desktop Method (Still the Best in 2025)

Let’s get to the good stuff. Here’s the simplest, most reliable way to see exactly what others see.

Step-by-Step on Desktop

1. Log into LinkedIn (obviously).
2. Click on your tiny profile photo in the top-right corner, then hit “View Profile.”
3. Right under your headline, you’ll see a button that says “View profile as.” Click it.
4. A popup appears. By default it shows “Anyone on LinkedIn (Recommended).” Leave it there for the truest public view.
5. Want to get extra sneaky? Switch to “Specific people” and type in the name of a recruiter or connection to see exactly what THEY see (first-degree connections see way more than strangers).

Pro tip: Open this in an incognito/private browsing window side-by-side with your normal view. The difference will shock you.

How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else on Mobile (Yes, It’s Different)

LinkedIn loves making the mobile experience “simpler,” which usually translates to “hiding the good stuff.” Here’s how to do it anyway.

iPhone or Android App (2025 version)

1. Open the LinkedIn app and tap your profile picture.
2. Scroll down a tiny bit—you’ll see three dots (…) next to “Add section.” Tap those.
3. Choose “View profile as.”
4. Same popup as desktop. Toggle between “Anyone” and “Specific person.”

Warning: A lot of people miss this because the button is buried. I’ve watched friends scroll forever looking for it. Now you know.

How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else When You’re NOT Logged In (The Nuclear Option)

Want the absolute purest public view? Log out completely or use a friend’s account who isn’t connected to you. Here’s why this matters:

• Some sections (like volunteer experience or accomplishments) can be set to “Only you” or “Your connections” without you realizing.
• Featured posts sometimes vanish for non-connections.
• Your custom profile URL might redirect weirdly.

Quick hack: Paste your LinkedIn public URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname) into a completely different browser where you’ve never logged in. Boom—100% stranger vision.

Common Shocks People Discover When They Finally Learn How to View Their LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else

I’ve helped hundreds of clients do this exercise, and these are the top “oh no” moments:

1. Their headline still says “Open to Work | Actively Applying | Seeking New Opportunities” even though they got a job six months ago.
2. The banner image is cropped horribly on mobile.
3. Half their experience section is collapsed and says “Show more” that nobody ever clicks.
4. Recommendations they wrote for others show up but ones written for them are hidden.
5. Their summary is 2,000 words of pure corporate jargon that would make anyone’s eyes bleed.

Sound familiar? Don’t worry, we’ll fix it.

Privacy Settings That Silently Sabotage Your Profile

LinkedIn’s default settings are paranoid. Here’s what to check after you master how to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else:

Public Profile & URL Settings

Go to Settings & Privacy → Visibility → Edit your public profile. Turn on everything you want the world to see. Most people accidentally leave huge chunks turned off.

Who Can See Your Connections

If this is set to “Only you,” strangers see zero mutual connections—massive trust killer.

Profile Viewing Options

Yes, this affects what others see too. If you browse in private mode all the time, LinkedIn sometimes throttles your own visibility. Weird but true.

How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else to Crush Keyword Optimization

Recruiters don’t browse—they search. When you know how to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else, flip to incognito and search for skills you claim to have. Does your profile show up? If not, you’re invisible.

Real example: A client of mine had “Python | Machine Learning | AWS” in his skills list, but because he never repeated those words naturally in his experience bullets, he never appeared in searches. Two hours of edits later, he was getting 5 InMails a week.

Bonus: How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else in 3rd-Person “Recruiter View”

LinkedIn Premium and Recruiter accounts have a secret mode that shows how you rank against other candidates. Can’t afford Premium? Ask a recruiter friend for a screenshot (many will do it for free if you buy them coffee).

Mistakes You’re Probably Making Right Now

• Using the green “Open to Work” banner but wondering why you still get sales spam instead of job offers (recruiters hide those profiles in searches—Google it).
• Having a profile picture from 2012 with terrible lighting.
• Writing your summary in first person when your public view cuts it off after two lines.
• Forgetting to turn off “People Also Viewed” (distracts visitors away from you).

Final Checklist After You Learn How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else

Run through this every 3-6 months: ☑ Headline under 220 characters and benefit-driven ☑ Custom banner with your personal brand colors ☑ First 2 lines of About section hook hard ☑ Keywords naturally woven into experience (not stuffed) ☑ At least 5 skills with endorsements ☑ Recent activity (posts, comments, articles) visible ☑ Recommendations both given and received showing ☑ Clean custom URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname)

Conclusion: Stop Guessing—Start Knowing

Learning how to view your LinkedIn profile as someone else isn’t just a neat trick; it’s professional hygiene in 2025. The gap between what you think your profile says and what it actually screams to strangers can be the difference between “another applicant” and “the perfect candidate.” Take 10 minutes today, follow the steps above, and look at your profile with fresh eyes. Fix the ugly stuff immediately. Your future self (and your inbox) will thank you.

Now go do it—I’m serious. Close this tab, open LinkedIn, and click “View profile as.” You’ll be horrified, then obsessed, then dramatically more hireable. That’s the magic.

FAQs About How to View Your LinkedIn Profile as Someone Else

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