Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Developers
A practical guide breaking down the LinkedIn profile page, part by part, for developers.
This article originally appeared on the OpenClassrooms Blog.
This is a practical guide breaking down the LinkedIn profile page, part by part, for developers. You’ll learn how to improve your profile, to enhance your presence online and increase your chances of getting recruited for a job. This will be especially helpful for those just getting started on LinkedIn and those looking to fine tune their profile page.
The Header
Let’s start with the first part of your LinkedIn profile: the header. The header has 5 parts, and the three most noticeable are the cover photo, profile picture and LinkedIn headline.
- Cover photo: It is very important to set a good cover photo. If you’re out of ideas on what to use here, you can create a LinkedIn-friendly picture of any top certification you may have and use that. This would indicate to anyone who lands on your profile that you’re certified without them having to go through your Certifications section, which we’ll go over later.
- Profile picture: Apart from having a good cover photo, it is just as important to have a professional-looking profile photo. Make sure not to use anything that looks like a selfie!
- LinkedIn headline: This is the part that’s visible right below your name throughout LinkedIn. When recruiters browse through profiles on LinkedIn, your headline gets the most attention right after your name. So it’s crucial that you keep this short and descriptive of who you are professionally.
Right below the headline, you have two more important sections of your LinkedIn profile: Summary and Media.
4. Summary: Get creative! This should ideally be a description of your experience, what you’re specifically interested in professionally, and a list of your top achievements in brief. It’s also a good idea to include the links to your GitHub or Codepen.io profile and your personal website if you have one.
5. Media: This section lets you upload PDFs, photos, videos and even websites. However, I recommend that you upload your resume and top certifications here. This section is visible right underneath your profile and is easily accessible to anyone viewing your profile for the first time. It is an opportunity to showcase material that may impress potential recruiters.
Experience, Education & Volunteer Experience Sections
This is where LinkedIn users get to learn about professional your background.
Experience: If you have any prior work experience, keep this section updated with where you worked, when you worked there and of course, what you did in your role.
Education: This section is for you to fill in your school details. I’d recommend including your education details from undergrad-level and up. Also, if you are a student at OpenClassrooms, be sure to include that here as well.
Volunteering Experience: If you’ve been volunteering in any organization, this is the section you might want to talk about it.
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