Start with a clear photo of your face

Your photo is the first thing an employer sees, and it does more work than anything you write. They are about to hand tools to someone they have never met. A face they can see clearly makes that feel safe.

Take it outside, in daylight, with the sun behind the camera and not behind you. Hold the phone at eye level. Look at the camera. Work clothes are fine. You do not need to dress up for this.

• No sunglasses, and no hat pulled low over your eyes.
• No group photos. If the only one you have is a group photo, crop it down to just you.
• No photo of a truck, a logo, or a tool. Employers hire people.
• Take three and pick the one where you look the most like yourself on a normal workday.

Write About Me like you are talking to a foreman

Three to five sentences is enough. Say what kind of work you do, how long you have done it, and what an employer gets when you show up. Plain words beat big ones every time.

Here is the shape of a good one. "I have done concrete and demo work for six years, mostly on houses and small commercial jobs. I have my own boots, gloves, and hand tools. I have a truck, so I can pick up material on the way. I show up when I say I will."

Do not write that you are hardworking and dependable. Every profile says that, so it tells an employer nothing. Say the thing that proves it instead, like the six years, or the truck, or the tools.

List the work you have really done

Three real jobs beat ten vague ones. For each one, name the work, the kind of place it was, and how long you were there. An employer should be able to read it and picture you on their site.

• Concrete work, four months, driveways and patios on houses.
• Warehouse loading, two years, night shift.
• Landscaping, one season, on a crew of six.

Answer the Pick Me questions

The Pick Me badge is six yes or no questions on your profile. Employers use them to sort, so a profile without the badge often never gets read.

The questions ask whether you have reliable transportation, whether you are 18 or older, whether you are authorized to work in the US, whether you have a valid driver license, whether you are willing to take a background check, and whether you can pass a drug screening.

A no does not hurt you. Plenty of jobs do not need a license or a truck. Leaving them blank is what hurts you, because the employer cannot tell either way and moves on to someone who answered.

Set your ZIP code and your usual workdays

Your ZIP code is how jobs near you find you. We use it to work out how far each job is, and employers see the distance on your profile. You never have to give a street address, and we never ask for one.

Your usual workdays are the days you can normally work. Employers see them on your calendar before they message you. Setting them honestly saves you from offers you would have to turn down, and it saves an employer from picking you for a Sunday you were never free.

Add your skills and the languages you speak

Skills are how you show up in a search. Add every kind of work you can really do, and leave off the ones you cannot, because being sent home on the first morning follows you.

Languages matter more than most people think. A crew lead who needs someone to translate on site will pick the person who listed it.

Finish every field before you apply

A half finished profile reads like someone who may not show up. That is the whole reason blanks cost you work. Finishing takes about ten minutes and it is the cheapest thing you can do to get picked.

Your profile keeps getting stronger after that on its own. Every job you finish adds to your track record, and employers you worked for can leave a review. A worker with two good reviews gets messaged ahead of a stranger almost every time.

What to leave off

Do not put your phone number, your email, or your home address anywhere in your profile text. Employers never see your phone number here. That is on purpose, and putting it in your About Me undoes the protection.

Leave out anything an employer does not need to decide whether to hire you. Your date of birth, your Social Security number, and your bank details are never part of a profile, and nobody who asks for them before you are hired is offering you a real job.