How I made my LinkedIn profile visible

At the beginning of 2017, I sought work opportunities in South Africa and overseas. I decided that it was time I made myself more visible on LinkedIn. I had successfully found a job on LinkedIn in the past. Still, I knew by looking at other developers' profiles that mine couldn't compete. I decided to fix it.

I started looking at other people's profiles. I tried to extract things that made them look more professional and proficient in their skills. I based it on my perception of professionalism. My idea was to look at the LinkedIn profile of people who have worked at multiple big companies in various countries.

I saw it those profiles gave me the impression that these people were very intentional in how they wanted to be perceived.

The research

You need to go on LinkedIn and find these two groups of people:

• People with the same job but a much better profile than you.
• Those with your future career: a senior engineer, should look for CTOs in big tech companies.

Observe these profiles and focus on extracting some essential information:

• How they name their position.
• How they describe their work and the keywords they use.
• What certificate do they have (this can help you identify the skills you need in the future and prioritize your learning).
• How active they are on LinkedIn (also look at Twitter as some people prefer to tweet).

The findings

The people that the job I wanted these a couple of things well but kept their profile easy to read.

1. They optimize the job title for quick readability

They used their position to convey three pieces of information:

• The seniority.
• The position name: if your company doesn't have an industry-standard position like "consultant." You can write "Consultant - Web Engineer" to still match appear in search results.
• The team/squad/department they worked in: There is an exception: teams with internal nicknames like "Team Phoenix" can talk about what you are working on. e.g., "Senior Software Engineer - Delivery Cost Optimization."

Here is a good example:

2. They show their career growth in their profile

When you grow in a company, it signals potential recruiters that they can trust you to do the same if they hire you. It is a signal for a great employee with potential.

There is a considerable debate here about the rat race and mental health repercussions of always trying to grow, but not today. We are shamelessly playing the capitalism game and intend to win it.

Here is an example of showing your growth and just how good it looks:

3. They use the description to explain their responsibilities and achievements

When a recruiter is your profile and is still looking for more evidence of your abilities, they will go into the description of the roles to better understand what you did in the past.

So mention:

1. What project you are working on (don't reveal trade secret here).
2. Mention your responsibilities.
3. Mention the technologies you use.

Here is an example from my profile:

I purposely didn't talk about technologies because I didn't want them to distract the reader. I wanted to make sure they knew I could manage any team working with any technology, even those I don't personally know.

I have an example on my CV where I mention some tech skills. You can find the rest of my CV here. So the example:

It is pretty simple.

4. They use education, qualifications, and skills to show their expertise

You need to show your education, some extra-curricular activities, and skills.

and,

5. They talk about industry-relevant subjects

There are two people that I read a lot on LinkedIn. I think they do a great job at starting exciting debates and conversations on LinkedIn, and at the same time, this shows everyone how knowledgeable they are:

and,

Conclusion

Some people find this process overkill. Since I started working closely with recruiters and hiring myself, I have realized how much value a well-designed profile brings to the chance of success.

So invest in your profile; it is worth it.

Important notes:

• Suppose you feel stuck in your career and are unsure where to go. You can schedule a career coaching call with me; we will work together to ensure your career is a source of happiness, not stress.
• For those who live in Dubai or are planning to move to Dubai, you might be interested in the rental cost calculator I created: https://www.rentalcost.ae.
• And finally, if you want, you can buy me a coffee.