Engineer's Guide to LinkedIn
A simple guide for Engineers and Leaders on how to leverage LinkedIn for Career Growth
I understand well the challenges some of us face when it comes to self-promotion and curating our public image. I’ve been there multiple times, and it feels intimidating to let others know who you are.
But, having conducted numerous interviews and continuing to do so today, I've also experienced the disappointment of finding little to no information about a potential candidate on their LinkedIn profile. Some don’t even have a profile at all.
It's not that you can't be an excellent engineer or leader without LinkedIn, but it certainly makes it more challenging to discover you and have an idea of your capabilities.
Moreover, during the past 8 months, I've actively used this platform to share my writings, expand my network, and, of course, grow this newsletter. Through this journey, I've learned an incredible amount of things that I've decided to share with you today, aiming to demonstrate why something that may have once seemed pointless or optional is now, in my opinion, essential.
Specifically, I will cover:
❓The importance of LinkedIn and why you should care about it
💼 Strategies for leveraging LinkedIn as an engineer
🛠️ Steps to optimize your presence on LinkedIn
💡 Tips and tricks based on my firsthand experience
Let's get started!
❓Why you Should Care about LinkedIn
As of today, LinkedIn is the only relevant social network dedicated to professionals, estimated to have around 1 billion active users.
Here are the main reasons why I believe it’s worth paying attention to it:
👥 Networking: you can connect with other engineers or tech leaders and exchange opinions in a professional environment.
🛠 Jobs: LinkedIn remains one of the best platforms for finding job opportunities and hiring new talents.
📚 Learning: while this depends on who you follow, LinkedIn is rich of interesting content and opportunities for exchanging opinions.
🚀 Projects: whether you're looking to attract new users or seeking feedback on your latest project, LinkedIn provides a platform for easy networking.
📈 Growth: many interesting individuals share valuable content daily on LinkedIn, offering opportunities for professional growth and development.
My Last 8 Months on Linkedin
I joined LinkedIn in 2008 after bootstrapping my first Italian company, but at that time, Facebook was still a decent place for business, so I was more focused on it. Then I completely put aside social networks for more than a decade, and just recently, I returned, mainly to LinkedIn.
When I logged in last July, my follower count was at 3k. Today, after 8 months, it’s at 24k+, and I can also say that my posts receive good and genuine engagement.
While follower count and number of likes are mainly vanity metrics, I can confidently say that LinkedIn in the last months has helped me improve many aspects of my Engineering Leadership journey:
I met 100+ interesting people, and with some of them, I even built friendships.
I exchanged many opinions and had pleasant discussions that enriched myself and helped me looking at situations from different perspectives.
I improved the way I communicate with others, not only on LinkedIn, but also in my job and other situations.
My English vocabulary dramatically improved.
I started to gain authority on the topics I write about.
💼 Active vs Passive Experience
So, as engineers or leaders, should you all become content creators on LinkedIn?
Absolutely not.
LinkedIn, like other social networks, can be experienced in various ways, from passive to active engagement.
PASSIVE EXPERIENCE
👀 Observe: maintain a presence on the platform while being merely an observer.
📚 Learn: consume LinkedIn content without engaging.
ACTIVE EXPERIENCE
💬 Interact: engage with content produced by others.
✍️ Create: produce and share your own content.
However, regardless of how you intend to use this platform, there's one essential step you should always take: carefully curate your LinkedIn profile.
The way you curate it should be influenced by your career stage and objectives.
So, the first and most important step is to define your goal and the desired outcome you seek from this platform.
Let me give you a few examples: