How To Make A Killer Developer LinkedIn Profile

Continuing on from Part 1 and Part 2 of the series “How To Find A Developer Internship”, I thought it would be necessary to explore what makes a great LinkedIn Profile.

Most of my readers found me through my LinkedIn profile. I’ve managed to build my way from 0 to over 59k+ followers, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

In this issue, I plan to break down what I believe to be the best way to ensure that you’ve got a high quality profile, that’s sure to grab the attention of any companies or individuals.

Let’s dive in.

Show Your Face

Almost everyone has at least one photo of themselves that they can use for profiles. The issue is that these photos are not necessarily good photos.

The photo is blurry. It’s too busy with other things in the photo. There are too many colours. You’re not the focus of the photo. You’re not centered or you’re cut off.

All of these are minor things that make a big difference. Your LinkedIn profile should be your professional landing page, and many companies have missed so many opportunities because they didn’t have a good landing page. Don’t make the same mistake.

If you take a look at my profile here, you’ll notice that I’ve got a simple photo of my face. Not full body. Not with other things in the photo. Just me, staring at you.

I’ve found this to be far more effective than any other profile picture or style. Leave the photos of you drinking cocktails or at the beach on Instagram. LinkedIn is where the serious opportunities are, so show that you’re here to make a difference and that you’re focused.

Elevator Pitch

You have one sentence to tell me what you do. Go. What will you say?

Treat your headline the same way. Get to the point. What do you do that provides value? How can you make a difference for a team or company? That’s what your headline is for.

Mine is simply, “I teach developers how to accelerate their careers”. That’s it. Simple and to the point. If that doesn’t get the attention of the right people that could become my audience, then I don’t know what will. Once my headline grabs the attention, they’ll then be inclined to explore my profile further to explore my offerings and history.

Build your story

Treat the “About” section as your story. An engaging one.

Think like an author. What is your journey? What will other people resonate with?

Don’t just write generic BS like “I’m a hard worker” or “I love code”. Nobody would ever have read The Lord Of The Rings if the story wasn’t so intriguing and captivating.

Think of your life and experience as an epic tale that deserves to be told.

Package your experience

All your previous experience helps to explain who you are, how you think, and what your skills are.

Go back and look at each piece of experience that you’ve added. If you were in a job interview for your next role, what would the interviewer want to hear about your job that you worked at 5 years ago?

They wouldn’t want to hear about your day-to-day. They’d want to know what you achieved. How did you help others? What did you build or introduce that made a difference? Highlight all of your achievements at each company or role, so that it stands out. Don’t simply list your responsibilities. Responsibilities and achievements are two very different things.

That’s it for this week’s issue. Hopefully you learned a thing or two about how to make your profile stand out.

Always feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I’m always happy to help.

See you again next week.

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Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Join me on LinkedIn and engage with me directly (59 000+ followers)
2. Get a FREE copy of my book 101 Tips For Becoming A Better Developer (3 600+ downloads)
3. Reach out to Origen Software for us to solve your problems (for founders and start-ups)