For Software Engineers to break in to the industry, it is often highly recommended that we use tools like blogs, portfolio sites and getting familiar with networking through socials. But, if you’re like me and you haven’t exactly kept up your LinkedIn since creating it, sprucing it up is just what you should think about doing. </br>
Presentation is an integral part of having an attractive online presence. The way I imagine myself as an online presence is by picturing myself as a brand in a wide space of other unique personas who each have different goals, ideas, and experiences. Someone with a background in law will not have an online presence identical to that of someone with a background in tech. Different aspects such as images, references, education, experience, and more all contribute to one’s persona online. Being in the tech industry, there are specific ways we can build our socials and professional pages to reflect out interest in our respective industries. </br>
Below are some things to consider when creating your brand as a software engineer/developer.
- Getting A Portfolio Site - There is a plethera of resources now to create a website in minutes, but often times, software engineers prefer to build their own sites from scratch. Both are entirely okay, as long as you make sure to build both in a way that is efficient and to the point. Including links to external sources of resumes, projects, blogs is an excellent way to keep your site looking clean and free of visual clutter.
- Building Your Social Image - LinkedIn is everyone’s go to when it comes to professional social networking. To start, or to spruce up your profile, you would be wise to consider getting a professional-looking profile photo. Try looking for esteemed software engineers’ pages and find that a vast majority have professional grade profile photos. A business casual look and a self-timed cell phone shot with adequate lighting would definitely be the way to go.
Secondly, adding your experience and education should be a priority. Any certificates, awards and references would also be a huge plus. Filling in just enough information is the trick. You do not want to overflow your portfolio with non-pertinent information. This works against you when future employers are sifting through many candidates and making them read all about how you wrote an schol-award winning article on the importance of music appreciation will not make them want to hire you any more than if you excluded this information. - Networking - This is my absolute weakness in that I have not ever had a knack for networking online. I excell at face-to-face interactions and am pretty confident in my abilities to showcase my talents in person. If you’re like me and have missed the opportunity to do this in person due to COVID, I have a few tips for you in this section.
- The Contact Request - If you studied with others in college, bootcamps, or even high school that you know are going into the field that you are interested in, it would be in your best interest to send them each contact requests. Better yet, one of them could work in a tech company needs to fill a SE position! This is the reason so many of us connect, but as we connect with others, we also have other chances to connect through their connections, and so forth. Eventually, like dominoes, there can be countless opportunities, given that you take advantage the right way.
- The Big Ask - I have only reently been able to do this, but there comes a time when you find a contact within a company that has a job opening, but not they may not necesarily be someone you’ve known personally. You want to see if they would refer you for that open position, but you haven’t given them a reason to. They need to get to know you in a way that would make them comfortable and confident that if you’re granted an interview, they can be assured that you won’t would be a good fit for the company. Asking for a video call from a stranger online was definitely new to me, but I believe it went well because we had already established a common area of interest and I had requested advice as a job seeker. Establishing a good raport with your connection will make them feel more comfortable with video conferencing, and better yet, a referral.
There are countless details you could really sit down and consider when building your online presence, but that presence should be truthful to the level of work that you can accomplish as a SE. Make your connections feel proud to say that they referred you, and you will do great. Good luck everyone!