Hello, I'm Charlie.
I run MCG Talent across Dubai, Riyadh, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Every week I sit across the table from Hiring Managers, candidates and company leaders in some of the most competitive job markets in the world.
This newsletter is where I share what I'm seeing, what's actually working in the market right now and the roles we're hiring for.
It’s fantastic to have you onboard!
Drop me a connect on LinkedIn!
Most profiles make the same 4 mistakes. Are you making them?
Last year I reviewed hundreds of LinkedIn profiles.
Senior marketers. Creative directors. Product managers. Finance leads. People like yourself with genuinely impressive careers - real achievements, real experience, real talent.
Most of them had a LinkedIn profile that didn't come close to reflecting any of it.
Not because they were lazy. Because nobody had ever told them what a hiring manager actually looks for when they click on a profile.
So here's what I found.
Mistake 1: The headline is doing nothing.
The default LinkedIn headline is your job title and company name. That's not a headline. That's a label.
A hiring manager in Dubai is scanning dozens of profiles in one sitting. Your headline has about two seconds to earn the next ten. "Marketing Manager at XYZ Company" doesn't do that.
The best headlines I've seen do one thing: tell me immediately what problem you solve, or what you've achieved. "Performance marketer who scaled D2C brands from 0 to $10M" is a headline.
"Marketing Manager" is a placeholder.
Mistake 2: The About section reads like a CV intro.
"I am a passionate and results-driven professional with over 8 years of experience…"
I’ve read this thousands of times before.
Your About section is the only place on LinkedIn where you get to sound like a human being.
Use it. What do you actually do? What have you built? What are you known for?
Write it like you'd explain it to someone at dinner - not like you're submitting a form.
Mistake 3: No evidence of output.
Most markets we operate are drowning in applicants. Everyone has experience. Fewer people have proof.
Numbers. Results. Campaigns. Projects. Awards. Anything that shows what happened when you were in the room. The profiles that get hiring managers to keep scrolling are the ones that make them think - I want to know more about this person.
If your work history reads like a job description, rewrite it like an achievement log.
Mistake 4: The profile is invisible.
Great content. Private settings. Profile photo locked down. Connection count hidden. Posts turned off.
I see this constantly. You've built something solid and then made it nearly impossible to find or engage with. LinkedIn rewards visibility.
Hiring managers want to get a feel for you before they reach out. Your personality is a great differentiator in a crowded market.
If your profile is locked down like a private Instagram, you're making their job harder - and they'll move on to someone who isn't.
These four mistakes are fixable in an afternoon.
But knowing what to fix on your own profile - that's harder. It's difficult to read the label from inside the bottle.
Which is why I started doing something for paid subscribers.
I record a personalised Loom video reviewing your LinkedIn profile. Everyone who upgrades to our Premium Tier gets one.
Not a template. Not a checklist. Me, screen-sharing your profile, telling you exactly what a recruiter sees when they open it - and what to change.
I've placed candidates across the region for years. I know what hiring managers here respond to. And I can see things in your profile that you've stopped noticing because you're too close to it.
If you upgrade today, I'll record your review within the next two days.
All you need to do is fill out the details on the intro email and I’ll do the rest.
Interested? I’ve got 10 open slots here 👈🏻
If you've been sitting on the fence, this is the reason to get off it.
You'll also get The Outreach Script Pack on sign-up — 7 ready-to-use scripts for reaching hiring managers and decision-makers, with follow-up templates for every scenario. Plus a bi-weekly market briefing from my desk and full access to our guide archive.
— Charlie