Applies to: Free and Pro (the builder is identical on both tiers; the profile assistant’s full interview is Pro) · Last updated: October 21, 2026
Part of the Quick Start. The complete walkthrough, from your invite to your first week, is Getting started with Profiled in 10 minutes. This companion guide goes deeper on building your profile.
This guide covers the core of Profiled: importing your résumé or filling your profile with help, adding your photo, working through the nine profile tabs, understanding your quality score, and publishing. Expect 30–45 minutes for a first working profile; you can split it across sittings.
How saving works (read this once)
There is no Save button on ordinary profile fields. On the Basics and Narrative tabs and on Skills cards, typing schedules a save about a second and a half after you stop, leaving a field saves immediately, and switching tabs or minimizing the browser also saves pending edits. On the other tabs a text field saves only when you click or tab out of it, so click out of the field before you go. A small "Saving…" → "Saved" pill appears and fades.
The one residual habit worth keeping: if you type and then close the browser tab within a second or two, that last edit may not complete. Pause a moment — or watch for the "Saved" pill — before closing the tab.
Two exceptions to "no Save button", both on the Basics tab: the public-URL editor has an explicit Save URL button (more on your URL below), and the photo control has Save photo.
Step 1 — Upload a résumé, fill it with help, or build by hand
Your dashboard opens with Profile Setup, a panel headed "Set up your profile". On a new account it reads "Set up your profile now. Most people start by uploading a résumé." and offers two buttons: Upload a résumé or profile document and Build by hand, plus Not now, which folds the panel into a one-line bar; Set up your profile on that bar opens it again (Profile Setup: the dashboard panel that gets you to publish covers every state). On a Pro account, the Profile Setup panel on your dashboard also offers "Talk it out (experimental)", which opens the voice interview. There are three ways in, and they combine:
- Upload and review. Upload a résumé or profile document, or Import from résumé on the Basics tab, opens the importer.
- Fill it with help. On the Profile page, the Fill it with help panel above the tabs (called Continue with help once your profile can be published) asks you questions and drafts answers for you to review. Nothing reaches your profile until you press Save, and only ticked drafts are saved. Getting publish-ready works on every plan; the full interview is part of Pro. See Filling your profile with help: the profile assistant.
- Build by hand. Type each field yourself, tab by tab (Step 3).
- Accepted files: PDF, Word (.docx), Markdown (.md) or plain text (.txt). The file size, PDF length and number of uploads are on the limits page. Writing in Google Docs? Use File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx).
- Reading the file takes a few minutes. You can leave the page while it works; the review waits for you under Import from résumé on the Basics tab, or choose Review it in Profile Setup on your dashboard.
When the file has been read, a review headed "Review your import" lists each proposed change, section by section, with a tick box, a badge saying where it goes ("Public", "Fit assessment only" or "Steers Ask-AI chat") and its Before and After. A change that replaces something already on your profile, and every AI instruction, starts unticked; tick it if you want it. Nothing is written until you click "Apply to profile." Roles to add by hand, and your education and certifications (under "Not saved"), are listed separately, with nothing to tick.
Things worth knowing before you click Apply:
- A résumé fills your basics, roles and skills, not your private context. Publishing needs private notes on at least one role, and those are yours to add (Step 3), or the assistant can ask you for them. The profile document template, linked on the upload step, has room for everything, including a private section. If you upload a profile document, its private section is read once to file it into your private fields; you see every item, marked "Fit assessment only", and nothing is saved until you apply it.
- Check the skills and the roles. A skill the import reads as one you are still developing is listed as "Still developing" and lands in the Skills tab’s "Still developing" column; promote the skills you genuinely are strong in to Strong, since publishing requires at least three. A role missing a start date, a company or a title that matches none of the roles already on your profile is listed under "Add these roles by hand" and is not imported; add it on the Experience tab.
Importing again later? The new file is compared with your profile as it is now. Items already on your profile are not proposed again, a changed value shows its Before and After and starts unticked, and a role that looks like one you already have asks whether it is the same role or a new one. Nothing is cleared. Importing a résumé or profile document: upload, review, apply covers every screen.
Step 2 — Add a profile photo
In the Basics tab you can upload a profile photo. It appears in the hero section at the top of your public profile, above your name and title.
- Uploads are limited to 10 per rolling 24 hours — enough to get the crop right.
- Your photo is removed permanently if you delete your account.
- A photo is optional. Nothing gates on it.
Step 3 — The nine tabs
The builder is organized into nine tabs, in this order:
Basics → Narrative → Experience → Skills → Gaps → Values → FAQ → AI Instructions → Portfolio
Each tab except Portfolio ends with a "Continue to" button naming the next tab, such as "Continue to Narrative →". The active tab is carried in the page address, so you can bookmark where you left off. The score table, the publishing checks and the saving rules for every tab are in What are the nine profile tabs, and do I have to fill them all?.
Before the tab-by-tab summaries, the single most important fact about the builder:
Where your private context actually goes. Fields marked Private are never shown to visitors or recruiters — and they are never given to the visitor chat at all. Your private context is used by the Honest Fit Assessment, the tool a hiring manager uses when they paste a job description against your profile. The profile assistant also reads it while it helps you write it, and shows it only to you. The visitor chat answers only from your public content. So: private depth sharpens your fit assessments; public content (narrative, accomplishments, FAQ) is what shapes the chat.
Basics — who you are
Full name, current title, target titles, remote preference, availability, available-from date, salary range and currency, location, and three links (LinkedIn / GitHub / website) that appear on your public profile. Set your availability and remote preference: together they form the status badge on your public profile, and if both are left at "Not specified" no badge is shown. Your full name is required to publish. For every field, see Tab 1 — Basics.
Narrative — your story
Seven free-text fields, all public: elevator pitch, career narrative, known for, looking for, not looking for, management style, work style. The elevator pitch must be at least 100 characters to publish, and it’s the narrative field your quality score counts — treat it as the two or three sentences someone should read first. For every field, see Tab 2 — Narrative.
Experience — public role, private depth
Each role has a public half (company, title, title progression, dates, key accomplishment bullets) and a private half — eleven optional reflection fields, which is where your fit assessments gain their specificity. Publish check: at least one role needs a company name, a job title and two or more private-context fields filled, and any two count. For every field, see Tab 3 — Experience.
Skills — three honest columns
A matrix of Strong / Moderate / Still developing. Publish check: at least 3 Strong skills and 1 skill marked "Still developing" — a skill you are still building, distinct from the Gaps tab (next), which is for broader experience gaps. For every field, see Tab 4 — Skills.
Gaps — where you’re not a fit
Each entry: a description, a gap type, "why it’s a gap," and an interested-in-learning checkbox. Publish check: at least one gap or weakness entry; two or more earns full quality-score points. For every field, see Tab 5 — Gaps.
Values — entirely private
Must-haves, dealbreakers, and five "how you work" reflections. This tab is entirely private: it’s never rendered publicly and feeds your fit assessments. For every field, see Tab 6 — Values.
FAQ — pre-written answers
Question-and-answer pairs you write; public. The visitor chat references them, so pre-writing your hardest interview answers lets it field them consistently. For the details, see Tab 7 — FAQ.
AI Instructions — steering the chat
Directives typed Honesty / Tone / Boundaries / Custom that shape the visitor chat on your public profile. They are deliberately not given to the fit assessment, so an instruction cannot change a fit verdict. For the details, see Tab 8 — AI Instructions.
Portfolio — links to your work
Title, type, URL, description. Portfolio items are not currently scored, are not shown on your public profile, and are not read by the AI, so today they won’t move your score or be seen by visitors. For the details, see Tab 9 — Portfolio.
Step 4 — Your quality score
As you fill sections, a 0–100 score builds. Experience carries the most weight, then Narrative, then Skills; Portfolio is not currently scored.
The rules worth knowing:
- Experience is scored per role, and a role with no private context scores nothing, however complete its public half looks. This is the single most common reason a profile stalls below 50.
- Narrative is scored on your elevator pitch. The other narrative fields add depth for readers rather than points.
- Skills counts your Strong skills, with a bonus once a still-developing skill exists. Moderate skills do not score.
- Gaps rewards more than one entry.
- Basics counts the core identifying fields. Your links are shown to visitors and your salary range is used for recruiter filtering (it is never shown publicly), but neither moves the score.
You need at least 50% to publish, as well as the five checks. Once those checks pass and while your profile is still a draft, a score between 50 and 75 shows an amber note ("profile may not sustain deep AI interrogation"); publishing is still allowed. Above 75 is the band worth aiming for. How does the quality score work? gives the points for every section.
Step 5 — Publish
A status row, a Publishing checklist toggle, and the Publish button sit at the top of the builder. The checklist shows all five checks plus the minimum score, each with a check mark or a cross and a specific "what’s missing" message:
| Check | Passes when |
|---|---|
| Experience depth | ≥1 role with a company name, a job title and 2+ private-context fields |
| Skills breadth | ≥3 Strong skills and ≥1 skill marked "Still developing" |
| Professional narrative | Elevator pitch ≥100 characters |
| Acknowledged gaps | ≥1 gap/weakness entry |
| Your name | Full name filled in on the Basics tab |
| Minimum score | Quality score ≥50% |
When everything is green, click Publish profile. On success you’ll see an inline banner — "Your profile is live" — with a View it link that opens your public page in a new tab. Publishing also makes your profile findable in the recruiter directory, and you’ll receive an email with your public link. Recruiter accounts are not open during the beta.
What the public sees at your profile address: your name, title, photo, availability badge, elevator pitch, company badges and social links; your public experience bullets; your Strong, Moderate and Gaps & Growth Areas skill columns; the fit assessment tool (where a hiring manager pastes a job description); your FAQ; and an "Ask AI About Me" chat. Never anything marked private. Every profile also carries a "Powered by Profiled" line — that’s standard on all tiers, not a tier difference.
Visiting your own live profile. When you open your public page while signed in, a line at the top reads "You’re viewing your live profile" with a "Back to dashboard" link. Only you see it.
Unpublishing: one button, next to the status dot. It returns your profile to Draft and removes it from the recruiter directory; nothing is deleted, and your public address simply stops resolving until you publish again.
Your public URL
Your profile lives at profiled.careers/your-name — a top-level address, no prefix.
- Your first URL is derived from your email with a short random suffix. The first time you enter your full name (typing it or via résumé import), it’s replaced automatically with a name-based one, e.g.
jane-nguyen. - You can edit it yourself — the Basics tab has a URL editor with live availability checking (3–50 characters; lowercase letters, numbers, dots, dashes).
- Change it thoughtfully: one change per 30 days. After a manual change, you’re locked for 30 days (the error tells you exactly how many days remain). The automatic name-based swap doesn’t count against this, so your first real edit is never rate-limited.
- After a change, your old link keeps redirecting for 90 days while your profile stays published.
- A URL someone else used and gave up isn’t available to you, and it does not free up when its 90-day redirect ends. If your preferred name is taken, vary it.
Where to share your address, and what a link does before you publish, is in How do I share my profile link?
After publishing: watch your AI work
Open AI Activity in the sidebar. It shows every question visitors have asked your profile’s AI and the most recent fit assessments run against your profile. If writing eleven private reflections per role felt exposed, this page is the reassurance: you can see exactly what’s being asked, and what your profile is being measured against. On Pro, Insights adds the patterns across that activity — see Candidate Insights.
Next: Your first week on Profiled: build, publish, watch, fix.
Last verified: 2026-10-21