1 Developing a personal brand as a programmer?
We may be uncomfortable with shouting out who we are on the Internet when most of our work is behind a screen. We invest time in training, specializing in a language, and learning new technologies. And we believe that this alone will bring us job offers. But in the online era, keeping all this inside without sharing it with the world is not the best strategy to find a job or make a name for ourselves. Building a personal brand as a programmer in these times is essential to gain visibility and to be sought after by job offers. And not the other way around!
Why create a personal brand as a programmer or developer?
Recruiters are increasingly valuing personal branding: Their search is no longer limited to passively waiting for applications to flood their e-mails. They are taking the initiative by reviewing various platforms such as LinkedIn, Stack Over Flow and any space where they can find the best programming talent.Talent is no longer enough: Competition in the tech industry is always going to be tough. But if we are invisible, it is even more so.Being a good programmer is no longer enough to be recruited among a sea of profiles similar to yours. Not having a personal brand nowadays means losing an opportunity to a better paying flexible job in a prestigious company.
What is a programmer’s personal brand?
Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple are all commercial brands that have taken place in our lives. It is easy to recognize them, because they have created around them an identifying image that stands out within their sector. Personal branding consists of something similar, but instead of an iPhone, the star product here is you. The personal brand or personal branding is the image you want your circle of potential customers to perceive of you. It is the way in which you communicate your skills, stand out from the rest and position your work in a sector as competitive as the technology industry. We could also say that personal branding is that necessary impulse that makes you not keep your skills and experiences to yourself. It’s the one that turns the game on its head and makes you take control of your work and professional life because it’s built so that you’re ready for when opportunities present themselves.
Cultivating
Cultivating a personal brand as a programming professional means bringing out what makes you unique or, in other words, your value proposition. It is often used in order to gain visibility, make a name for yourself, become a reference or receive better job offers.
But it goes much deeper.
It is a job growth strategy that will make you feel fulfilled and fulfilled in your profession. Working on your personal brand helps you to stop underestimating yourself because you need to identify your strengths and transmit them to the world. Six keys to build your personal brand as a programmer
Update your neglected LinkedIn profile with valuable content. Having a presence in the largest network of professionals globally is an indispensable step to creating your personal brand as a programmer. But it’s not enough to have a profile; you have to work on it. Constantly update your LinkedIn profile by sharing valuable content about your industry. It can be from giving visibility to web projects that have inspired you, trends or even promoting your own work. If you are currently working in a company or developing software, communicate your process on your profile so recruiters can see that you are an active professional and learn about your work.
Create a publication schedule for your LinkedIn profile and gradually build your personal brand as a programmer. Remember also to give feedback to other colleagues’ posts and praise their work, so you will achieve quality networking and get them to stop by to see your profile.
Show the world what you do with an online portfolio.
Developing your personal brand as a programmer is all about highlighting your skills and the results you’ve achieved with them. Therefore, creating a portfolio with your most relevant work is one of the most important points to keep in mind. It’s not about bragging about all the projects you’ve participated in, but curating those that are truly relevant and of which you feel enormously proud. Here you only want to put your best in front of the eyes of a potential recruiter, client or your community. Your online portfolio will become the spokesperson for your personal brand.
Build a reputation by uploading code on Github
Did you know that Github is very useful for building your personal brand as a programmer? Staying active on Github, the world’s largest online software hosting, will help you demonstrate that you really know how to code like a pro while gaining visibility and credibility. Contributing to open source code on this platform, either with some reusable components you have used or with your own projects, is an excellent way to position yourself in the tech industry. This is because if your repository becomes popular, you could appear on the trending list and put your profile in the focus of colleagues, recruiters and great job opportunities.
Create a professional website that projects who you are
It’s impossible to conceive of a personal brand without having your own website if you want to start shaping your personal branding as a programmer, you will need to get to work on your website as soon as possible. Keep in mind that your website will be your calling card in the online world. Therefore you must adjust it so that it communicates who you are in a memorable way.
How to make a website for your personal brand as a programmer?
There are several factors that will help you to enhance your personal brand website. One of them is the texts. These should clearly convey your value proposition and solve the problems of your target audience. They must also bear your personal imprint with a writing style that differentiates you from others and generates closeness. The design must be coherent and contain all your graphic lines. The pages of ”Who I am” and your services must be complete.
If you have a few completed projects, upload them to your website as a portfolio. Were your previous clients satisfied with your work? Include their testimonials or opinions on your web page to increase the confidence of users who review your website. Another way to enhance your personal brand with your web page is to let it spread the word about your skills. So that when someone lands on the home page, they get a taste of what you do. For example, Samuel Reed, the CTO of Bitmex, designed his personal website as a live coding demo. When you log in, a white screen appears, but as you write code, its appearance changes until it looks more produced.
Another idea you can take inspiration from is Robby Leonardi’s personal website. This personal branding website gives us a walk through his work experience through an interactive CV as a video game. Your website, more than a place where potential clients or recruiters can find you, should be a manifestation of who you are and what you can do.
Start a programming blog.
Creating a blog is one of the best ways to develop a personal brand as a programmer. It makes you look more human. It also becomes an open book of knowledge for other colleagues, as well as people just starting out. It allows you to transmit your knowledge to potential clients who want a good programmer for their project and to recruiters who are looking for a skilled profile. Of course, writing a blog is not just sitting down to write anything and see what happens.
It requires perseverance, effort and dedication. Try to make sure that each post brings value to your audience. Plan each content in advance and give your best in each article. It can be a general programming blog or have a niche theme. Ideally, you should publish periodically on what you are an expert on. On the other hand, not everything has to be purely about the profession. There are thousands of programmers’ blogs that also tell anecdotes about their lives, tips on employability in the tech world or tell the story of the overcoming that led them to where they are. All this makes them feel more relatable and trustworthy. Life stories are powerful for building a personal brand that connects emotionally. In short, a blog will become one of your best tools to develop a personal brand that will make you a reference in your industry and a trusted professional in the eyes of your potential clients.
Establish a graphic line for your personal brand
Every personal brand that wants to gain recognition needs a graphic line to communicate professionalism and coherence when advertising its services online. On the Internet, your graphic line (logo, colors, elements, etc) will become your flag, helping you to be easily identified and communicate professionalism. To achieve this, start from your value proposition, from what makes you unique and different from other programmers. Based on this, you will be able to design a logo and use the appropriate colors that will represent you in the online and offline world. Having a graphic line for your personal brand will help you look professional and generate trust in potential clients.
Focus on a specific niche
In the game of target shooting, the one who hits the bull’s eye gets more points than the one who hits the dart anywhere. With this metaphor, we want you to understand that success is not often in selling to everyone.
It is about catering to a specific niche.
It will be easier to position your personal brand as a programmer if you focus on a specific niche. You will have less competition, and you can easily become a reference. Are you an expert in programming e-commerce websites? Do you develop software for the health sector? Do you work creating websites for startups?
The more specific the niche you target, the more profitable your personal brand will be because you are a custom problem solver. In addition, it will be easier to position your personal brand as a programmer if you focus on a specific sector. You will have less competition, and you can easily become a reference.
So focus all your actions on developing a personal brand as a programmer to a narrow niche. Evaluate the type of projects you have been doing during your professional career and find the pattern that will help you define the market niche. Tips for creating your personal brand as a programmer and feeling comfortable with it
Become an altruist by creating value in everything you share. Personal brands as a programmer often fail because we believe that it is enough to share things related to the industry that do not help others. We focus on ”me” and forget that personal branding, while it is about putting us in focus, cannot revolve around us all the time.
So, convey value in every project in your portfolio or in every update on your blog or social networks. Don’t feel like it’s a waste of time or ”giving away your knowledge”. All this will add many points to your image and will be well rewarded.
Perform an introspection exercise It is called personal branding because it is something you create from your person, from within. Something very much your own and inimitable. It helps you to represent yourself like a flag represents a country. That is why it is important that you identify your strengths, skills and what distinguishes you from other programmers. Your personal brand should be an extension of your personality. This is the only way you will look authentic to your audience, and they will be able to trust you. No one likes a person without essence or who pretends to be something they are not.
It’s not just about you.
It may sound contradictory, but personal branding is not born to satisfy you but the public you are addressing. There is nothing more annoying than seeing how a personal brand spends its time talking about itself and how great it is. That’s why, when developing your personal branding as a programmer, you shouldn’t fall into self-centeredness. Rather, you should communicate how your skills can help solve your audience’s problem. So, in addition to building a personal brand from the inside you have to look at the big picture. Get to know your target audience deeply, understand what ails them and solve it with the content you develop for your personal branding. Brands are born to satisfy a need. Now that you are becoming one, you must solve what your audience needs.
Fake it until it happens: The mindset to start now.
One of the impediments that hold us back from building our personal brand as a programmer is that we feel we still have a long way to go. “When I have more experience” “when I have so many projects” “when such and such company will get back to me” etc. These are some of the excuses that limit us to start because we believe that we are still nobody. Apply the fake it til you make it or fake it until you make it to start your personal brand. This means that you should pretend that you are already in place or already have the authority you want.
Mind you; this is not about lying to your audience and saying you are an expert in such and such when you are not. It’s simply acting with self-confidence until you achieve your goals. Having this mindset will make you feel worthy of creating a personal brand as a programmer. Stop acting like you don’t deserve it!Develop your personal brand as a programmer with Talent and position yourself in the tech industry.At Talent, we teach you how to improve your online profile and position your Talent in the global tech market.
In our career track, you will learn personal branding topics such as:
Writing a breakthrough CV for programming positions.
Behavioural Interviews: How to respond in a competency-based interview.
Cover Letters: How to write a cover letter to apply for international tech positions.
LinkedIn optimization for tech profiles: How to improve your profile to be attractive to recruiters?
Github & portfolio optimization: Showcase your best coding projects
Search here and grow fast in the tech industry.