Why Are Developer Recruiters On My LinkedIn DM?

I have been on LinkedIn for four consecutive years. As a developer, I can say I have secured many opportunities to work abroad; unfortunately, most of them demand a degree, and yet I am still in school. For most of the interviews I attended, I didn’t apply or DM those recruiters; the opposite happened. This year alone, I have gotten five messages from recruiters asking me to send my CVs.

The first one was from South Africa, another from my country Kenya, the rest from the US, maybe Silicon Valley🤣🤣. But for sure, I declined most of them because they wanted an individual who could work full time. So, what is the secret? I am not sure of the reason, but at least I can share what I have been doing.

Optimize Your Profile.

Last year, I visited a sample of blogs to get much information about optimizing your LinkedIn profile. I followed simple steps, and boom!!, my profile’s organic traffic increased. The SEO works wonders. When you write a good caption with the perfect role, it’s easy for recruiters to find you. Sometimes they will just such for “python/Django developers.” If your profile is well optimized, you are ranked among the first people. The recruiter can send you a connection or note about the job.

Keywords are the way to go. Be specific with your role. I don’t believe if I write a “full-stack developer,” the recruiter might be easy to know what they need. Add something like. “Full-stack developer || React || Python/Django || Nodejs."

At least if the recruiter is looking for a Django developer, he might be able to note you easily.

The profile picture and cover photo must be presentable. Ensure your people can see your face easily on your profile pic. You might put an image with your role or sample code on the cover photo. Make it fun; life is an art.

Let me not forget about the URL. By default, the LinkedIn URL has some numbers with your name. However, you can go to settings and edit the URL to contain your name alone. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-mania).

Engage With Other Developers

Yes, it would be best if you were active. In the same way, you were obsessed with Facebook, don’t lag; engage with LinkedIn. Congratulate people on their new roles. Talk to other developers and see what they have built. Connect with more people in your niche.

Post regularly for people to know you better. For example, let’s say you are a UI/UX designer. When you develop something, kindly take a screenshot and post it. Ask for feedback. This can earn you a job may be from one of your connections. Don’t underestimate the power of posting.

Add “OPEN TO WORK” To Your Profile.

This setting is always on LinkedIn when you want to edit your profile. By doing that, recruiters or HR will be aware that you are not occupied, and they can send you multiple vacancies related to your job.

Update Your Profile Regularly

I don’t mean you change your role every month. No!. But there are certifications you might get along the way or learn a new skill. Remember to tell your people that you have achieved that, and you can tackle the problems related to what you have earned. Those extra certifications give you an edge over other developers.

Experience Is The key

To the newbies, please don’t wait to get the first job so that you can put it on LinkedIn. There are freelancing sites like Upwork, Fiverr, people per hour when you can secure small gigs with your HTML, CSS, and JS skills. Immediately you get a gig, update it on your LinkedIn profile about your work on Upwork. This has served me when a job demands 3 – 5 years of experience. There was a time when a recruiter asked me why I wanted a junior role, and I had three years of experience. It’s a technic, remember a lot of things you will learn on the job.

Related Skills

Nature your skills. Shape your skills. When we talk about skills, we don’t mean you learn everything. But doing one thing at a time might help you. For example, you can learn python the go deep into some frameworks, e.g., Django. Then look for Django jobs. If you are keen on qualification, some demand a Django developer to possess some docker/Nginx and AWS. Learn those related skills and put them on LinkedIn.

Write Content/Blogs

I don’t write LinkedIn content, but I have connected it with my blog. When I post an article, even my LinkedIn community might be able to read it. That is why I added “Technical Writer” to my title. I have secured more opportunities on daily dev because of compelling content. You don’t need to be an expert to do this, but write anything related to technology. Even if it’s HTML tags or little experience, we need that.

Follow-up On Opportunity

If you are not getting any opportunity, go direct and DM some recruiters or HR. Make friendship with them. Ask them what they are looking for in a developer. Share your projects with them. Your time will come.