How to up your Linked game — in 6 steps

Tip 1: Apply our CV advice

Bring your LinkedIn profile to an up-to-date, professional level. This includes a good one-liner and a short description of your stack. Take a look at this profile: Omar, an Imagine Fellow.

Tip 2: Precisely describe your current job.

Make sure to paint a clear picture, so a headhunter can easily understand your role, the technical challenge you solved, and the nature of the product being built.

Take a look at Youssef’s profile — it’s very well crafted. He said he “focused on the hard technical stuff.” What did he do? First, he describes the product and his role very clearly. Second, he clearly explains that he was part of a European/ Egyptian team. He lists the outsourcing company’s client as an employer while making clear he was working remotely. Third, he drops relevant keywords: “code reviews”, “estimating feature requests” and again his stack as the last bullet point.

Tip 3: List your skills.

List the 10–20 most important languages, frameworks, and environments in your stack in the separate skills section offered by LinkedIn. Collect endorsements from former colleagues. These skills are searchable and make you more easily discovered by headhunters.

Tip 4: Select a competent and likeable photo.

A book should not be judged by its cover, yet most of us still do. The same holds for the picture on your LinkedIn profile. Choose a picture that makes you look credible, competent, and likeable. Judging your own pictures can be hard, so select a few and ask your friends for their favorite, or use photofeeler (free).

Tip 5: Be active in the right groups.

Find big, global groups where the best developers hang out (if they even do that on LinkedIn). Initially, just read. Then start to selectively comment. Do not self-promote. Contribute to the discussion. Headhunters often look out for talent in such online groups.

Tip 6: Add German/French/Spanish language skills (if you have some).

For Germany in particular, knowing a little German goes a looooong way. Start by learning a few basic words like hello, goodbye, thanks, etc. Services such as Duolingo make it easy for you. If you feel confident enough, you can add "elementary German" to your profile. If you enjoy German, check out our guide to learning German.

Of course, we hope you will be as lucky as Omar, but luck is not a strategy. Do not wait to be found. Instead, also go the traditional route and apply directly for your dream jobs in Germany. Here is how.

That’s it. We hope you enjoyed the read. Now, it’s time for action. As always, we are rooting for you. Keep us posted.

— Your friends at Imagine

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