Your LinkedIn profile is the online business card that you need to get hired faster. Below we describe how students in GoIT courses create a successful LinkedIn profile before completing the course and explain what it’s all that entails.
LinkedIn in a nutshell
In a nutshell, LinkedIn is a social network where professionals in different fields search for and offer jobs, share insights and make business connections.
- Statistics from the analytics platform Similarweb show that LinkedIn.com is the 24th most popular website worldwide, with 1.414 billion unique visits in March 2021.
- Recruiters make up one in 20 profiles on LinkedIn, and 90 percent of those looking for job seekers use this social network primarily.
- The LinkedIn survey indicates that 75% of job seekers use the network to research potential employers. For an initial impression of a prospective company, they read reviews from current employees and the company’s publications.
- The 2020 CodersRank Developer Job Search Preference Survey found that 16.8% of developers found jobs through LinkedIn.
Why would a novice IT specialist need LinkedIn?
If you get your LinkedIn profile right and update your information regularly, you will:
- Increase your chances of getting a job by 75%;
- Get a job three times faster than those without a profile;
- And if you also get LinkedIn recommendations, you will get a job in your chosen field even 30% faster than others.
A list like this could go on for a long time because all statistics only talk about the advantages of a profile on LinkedIn for beginning IT professionals.
How to properly fill out a LinkedIn profile for a newbie developer?
Check if your LinkedIn profile matches the tips below if you already have one. Using the checklist, you can create a profile if you don’t already have one.
Profile picture
The LinkedIn profile picture must have:
- Picture. Your LinkedIn profile picture must be yours. No cats, landscapes, or logos of your favorite soccer club. So that friends and recruiters, when they add you, see that they will communicate with a person and not a bot.
- Right size. Size the LinkedIn profile picture correctly. You may not exceed 1200×627 pixels and an aspect ratio of 1.91:1. It must be in a jpg or png format. It may be displayed incorrectly or rejected if it is not.
- Good quality. A picture of your face must be visible. A photo taken on the beach or from a nightclub won’t do.
It would be possible to continue this list for a long time because all statistics only talk about the advantages of a profile on LinkedIn for beginning IT professionals.
Powerful header
The LinkedIn header is right below your name. When you fill it out:
- Specify the job for which you’re applying. For example, if you’re a trainee Software Developer, specify only “Software Developer” without “trainee.” You should indicate your level only after getting the Middle position, so that recruiters don’t drop you right at the beginning.
- The maximum length of the header is 220 characters, including spaces. That’s four lines in A4 format. If you want to make a good impression on recruiters and hiring managers, you should be brief and to the point.
What should you write in the “Work Experience” section if you are a switcher without IT experience?
- List your training courses and where you completed them.
- List your internships and the companies where you completed them.
- List freelance projects if you have worked with clients without paperwork.
Recruiters and HRs may contact you if they are interested in your training or work experience.
Skills
The “Skills” field is an excellent way for recruiters to learn about your professionalism. We’ll explain how to fill it out correctly, even if you’re mostly or only training in IT.
For example, you’re training to be a Front End Developer, but you only know the basics. The “Skills” field would look like this for you:
- List “FrontEnd Developer,” “JavaScript,” “React.js framework,” and “Angular” among the skills.
- Ask peers or course mentors to confirm these skills. Recruiters are more likely to write to those whose skills match those of other users who possess the same abilities or by company executives. You can also include the names of the team and personal projects in your profile and provide a link to your portfolio.
To better understand how to create a LinkedIn profile for a beginner and to get even more relevant information, we recommend watching the video “Linkedin for the Beginner: The Complete LinkedIn Guide in 9 Minutes” on the GoIT YouTube channel and from it, you will learn:
- Practical guidelines for creating a LinkedIn profile for any professional;
- What a profile on LinkedIn should look like for an entry-level IT professional to be attractive to recruiters;
- What you should write if you’ve just started training and haven’t had much success yet.
