In today's professional landscape, having a strong online presence is essential, and LinkedIn is a powerful platform to showcase your skills, experience, and professional brand. This core competency will guide you through the process of creating and optimizing your LinkedIn profile, ensuring it stands out to recruiters and industry professionals. You'll learn how to set up your profile, populate it with relevant content, enhance it with recommended elements, and build a robust network of connections. By the end of this module, you'll have a polished LinkedIn that effectively represents your professional profile and opens doors to new opportunities.
LinkedIn is a great way to build your professional network and showcase your experience. Throughout this section we will be focusing on the basics of getting your profile set up. These steps are important and impact your profile showing up in recruiter searchers! First up, you want to start by making sure your personal information is correct and clear.
To edit your profile, click on the "pencil" icon on the right hand side. From there, you want to fill in several things:
The key area to update in this space is your headline. Here, you want to customize your headline to list job titles you are targeting. If you are in Full stack web, you want to list 'Web Developer' first, followed by your focus area of either 'Frontend Software Engineer' or 'Backend Software Engineer.'
Then, you want to add a few key tools that you have been working with recently. For example, 'JavaScript' 'React' 'Python' 'Java'
Customizing this headline section will help your profile be discovered by recruiters using the search algorithm, which can generate more connections and possible job opportunities.
In addition, be sure to scroll down and select an Industry from the drop down. 'Software Development' is a common choice.
Note: Do not add the 'position' or 'education' fields at this point. We will get to that later on.
Lastly, be sure to fill in your location with your country/region.
And of course, select 'Save' to save all your changes.
LinkedIn states that each section that is customized helps boost the strength of the overall profile. For the banner, it's recommended to select something that is industry related and professional as this is a professional platform.
You can create a custom banner image using free tools:
While LinkedIn does provide some banner options, it's recommended that you use your own customer banner. Once you find a banner image that you like, you are going to select upload, choose that banner, then apply to save the banner in place.
The open to work feature indicates to recruiters your job preferences and helps your profile to show up in designated recruiter searches.
The final feature in this box is to add the 'Open to Work' visual tag to appear over your photo.This indicates that you are actively searching for a job. However, there is an option to show this to recruiters only. Play around with this feature - see how engagement goes when the tag is visible versus not visible.
Make sure to save all your changes!
Pull up your LinkedIn Profile and begin to update each of the sections:
Once updated be sure to save!
Now that you've set up the basics of your profile it's time to get into the major content that can really help your profile stand out! Start off by clicking the 'Add profile section' button found under your profile photo. From there, you'll see a pop up of three options. Go ahead and select 'Core'.
We're going to fill in this entire section, so start at the top with the 'About me' and add something short and sweet. You want to avoid really long paragraphs because no one is going to read two or three paragraphs in this area.
Adding something that is eye-catching here and not too long, with enough valuable information is the key to grabbing and keeping the attention of the viewer.
Things to include:
Under your 'About me' you will see a new section with a button that says 'Add Skills' Here, you will want to indicate your top five skills that you want associated with your profile.
Be sure to hit 'Save' once you are done and review the information added to your profile.
Click on 'Add profile section' again and get started under the next area: Add Education
Fill out the following information:
Be sure to do this step for any and all degrees that you hold.
Note: Once you hit 'save' on this section, LinkedIn will ask if you want to share this news with your network. For now, click no or skip because you don't want to alert people of every little update.
Once again, click into the 'add profile section' under your profile photo, then select 'add position'
This is where you will add all previous professional positions, starting with the most recent.
If you have taken a career break, it's best practice to make your recent position 'Freelance Web Developer' as this will help with recruiters viewing your profile.
Fill out:
Click 'save' and then go back to repeat these steps for each previous role.
Yes, you've already added the top five skills in multiple places in this section but now we can add more.
Once again, click into the 'add profile section' under your profile photo, then select 'add skills'
This is where we maximize the amount of skills associated with your profile. The reason we do this is because recruiters use LinkedIn to search for candidates by skills and previous positions or titles. By maximizing the amount of skills in your profile, we are maximizing the amount of chances the recruiter can find you in a search.
Note: The max in this section is fifty skills. Be sure to include all fifty.
Pull up your LinkedIn Profile and begin to update each of the sections:
Once updated be sure to save!
In this section, we are going to add and customize the recommended sections in your LinkedIn content. This includes:
To get started, click on the 'add profile section' found under your profile photo. Once you do that, you will see the pop-up box and the drop down for 'Recommended'
Under the Recommended section, you will start at the top with 'Add featured'
This section allows you to add various media that includes:
To do this, click on the + sign on the right corner.
Note: It's recommended to add and highlight your project platform (medium account, Github projects, etc.)
Be sure to click 'save' and review the featured content on your profile.
Once again, you will be starting by clicking:
From there, click on 'Add license and certifications'
Examples of certifications to add:
For each certification, you can associate specific skills.
Hit 'save' and repeat the process for any license and certifications. Be sure to click 'save' and review the license and certifications section on your profile.
Once again, you will be starting by clicking:
From there, click on 'add courses':
In your course, you will see the specific topics highlighted. This is what you will add to the course highlight area.
Once you add the course names, you will want to select BloomTech from the 'Associated with' dropdown.
Click 'save' and repeat as needed.
Once again, you will be starting by clicking:
From there, click on 'add recommendations'
This section allows you to search through your contacts and connections and request for a professional or personalized recommendation.
Feel free to make this request and send this outreach message to anyone you are connected with on LinkedIn.
You can also provide recommendations to your current or previous work colleagues and classmates. This is a strategic way to have other professionals supporting your skills. It also adds strength and custom content to your profile.
Pull up your LinkedIn Profile and begin to update each of the sections:
Once updated be sure to save!
Linkedin offers a number of other sections that are optional but very impactful if included on your profile. The most important and one that we require here at BloomTech is a Projects section. Projects are your experience at this point in your career so highlighting them and making it easy for employers to access is extremely important.
Rounding out your LinkedIn profile, it's important to highlight your technical skills by showing off the projects you've created.
Start off by clicking:
From there, click on 'add projects'
The pop-up box will appear with the information for you to fill out, including:
Note: Projects can come from the sprint challenges, or any tasks in which you have worked on key elements within a web application or a specific project. Side projects done throughout the program should also be included.
Once you've completed filling in the information, click on 'save' and scan your profile to confirm the section is there.
Repeat as needed for all your projects.
Spend a moment scanning the options under the additional section to see if there's anything else you'd like to add to your profile. For example, if you speak additional languages, received honors & awards, or volunteer with an organization.
Congrats! You've completed your LinkedIn profile.
Take a minute to look over your profile and make sure you have customized the following:
Pull up your LinkedIn Profile and begin to update each of the sections:
Once updated be sure to save!
In the Career Readiness modules of Units 1, 2, and 3, we established the format of your resume and began building out each section. Now, in this core competency, we will finalize your resume, by reviewing each section of your resume to ensure you've included all required components. By the end, you will have a polished resume ready for submission in the next sprint.
If you need here is the BloomTech Template to get you started: Backend Resume Template
Your heading is unique to you and contains incredibly important information for a future employer. If they don't know how to contact you - they can't move you into an interview process. It is very important to confirm your phone number and email are listed correctly within your heading and that all links work. Any of this information is incorrect or having broken links can lead to your application being thrown out. Here is the information that is typically displayed in your heading:
Pull up the resume you've been building since unit 1 (or use the template at the beginning of the module).
Ensure you've updated all of the information in the heading to reflect your own.
In today's professional landscape, having a strong online presence is essential, and LinkedIn is a powerful platform to showcase your skills, experience, and professional brand. This core competency will guide you through the process of creating and optimizing your LinkedIn profile, ensuring it stands out to recruiters and industry professionals. You'll learn how to set up your profile, populate it with relevant content, enhance it with recommended elements, and build a robust network of connections. By the end of this module, you'll have a polished LinkedIn that effectively represents your professional profile and opens doors to new opportunities.
A technical skills section on your resume allows for a reader to quickly scan your tech stack and gain a high-level understanding of what you have experience with. It's also an easy way for ATS systems to catch key technical skills they may be filtering for. We've been building out this section of your resume over the last 3 units and today we will add the final skills you've learned!
Pull up the resume you've been building since unit 1 (or use the template at the beginning of the module).
Add the skills you've learned up to this point at BloomTech:
Front End: React.js, Redux, Hooks, Context API, Jest, Cypress, Yup, Axios, JavaScript, HTML, CSS
Back End: Node.js, Express, SQL, PostgreSQL, Docker, Python, Git CLI, GitHub, VS Code, Vercel, Heroku
Additional: Agile Project Management, Algorithms, Architecture, Debugging, Deployment
If you have learned technical skills outside of BloomTech feel free to begin adding them in this section as well.
The projects section of your resume is a crucial component that allows you to showcase your practical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities to potential employers. As a current learner and soon to be recent graduate, highlighting relevant projects can significantly enhance your resume and make you stand out from the competition. We will provide you with guidance on how to effectively craft a project section that captures the attention of recruiters/hiring managers and demonstrates your value as a candidate.
You may be asking yourself what projects you can include at this point on your resume and the great news is throughout your time at BloomTech you've already been working on so much that can be included in this section.
Academic Projects: Throughout the entire BloomTech program you will be completing Guided Projects, Sprint Challenges, etc. These are all projects that can go on your resume! While these aren't projects you created from scratch, they are projects that YOU worked on and will be a great way to showcase your skills.
Personal Projects: You may not be working on any side projects at this point in the program but it's never too early to start one. Side projects are invaluable complements to what you are already doing here at BloomTech. They provide hands-on experience, reinforce learning, and allow you to explore your interests beyond the curriculum's scope. Side projects serve as tangible demonstrations of skills and passion, making you more marketable throughout your job search. Side projects not only enhance the learning experience during a coding bootcamp but also lay the groundwork for continued growth and success as a developer. And great news, you can add to your resume the day you start it! Just list it as "In Progress."
Include essential details such as project title, description, your role, technologies used, and outcomes achieved. Below is an example of the appropriate format for a project. You will need to include:
Project bullet points need to indicate your direct actions and highlight examples of your hands-on dev work to validate and showcase your knowledge, skills, and abilities thus far. If this is your first time writing technical bullet points, start by first writing down what you did for each project in as much detail as possible. Then move on to editing those into stronger bullet points.
Be sure to keep these tips in mind as you get started:
Check out this formula/example for a well-written bullet point:
Formula: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]. In other words, start with an active verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal.
Example: Developed a user-friendly application using React, achieving a 30% increase in user engagement compared to the previous version, by implementing intuitive UI/UX design principles and incorporating user feedback
Pull up the resume you created in Unit 1.
Follow the 3 steps below to add 2-3 projects to your resume:
The experience section of your resume serves as a comprehensive overview of your professional background and achievements, providing employers with insight into your skills, capabilities, and suitability for the job. As a career transitioner it's extremely important to highlight the transferable skills you gained in previous roles prior to BloomTech. Your experience does not have to be related to the tech industry in any way. There are transferable skills you can highlight from any work experience from Server to Product Manager!
Whether you have limited experience pre-BloomTech, extensive experience, or are maybe coming off a career break we promise you have experience that is relevant to showcase! Start by writing down the different roles you've held and making notes under each about what you did. You specifically want to think about accomplishments or things you can quantify. Don't just list your job responsibilities instead think about what YOU did that was different from everyone else in your same role. For example, let's say you spent a few years as a server or retail store associate. Did you ever increase sales via upselling? My guess is yes you did! So write that down. These descriptions don't have to sound fancy or be in the perfect format, this is about getting everything down on paper so you have it all in front of you.
Tip: If you have extensive experience from your career pre-BloomTech, create a master resume with all of your experience on it (this can be as long as you need it to be). You can then pick and pull from this resume the experience that is most relevant to the role you are applying for. For the purposes of your career artifacts submission you should include your most recent experience. Ideally you are targeting a 1 page resume because no matter how much previous experience you have you are still new to the tech industry.
Below is an example of the appropriate format for your previous experience. You will need to include:
In the Experience section, we want to quantify (even if estimated) the value you brought your teammates and the companies you were at. This section should clearly highlight your actions, the results of your actions, and the overall value Impact you generated for the company. You may notice the format of your experience bullet points looks very similar to your project bullet points and that's okay, they should! Well-written bullet points with action verbs and quantifiable achievements capture the reader's attention and make the resume more engaging and memorable.
Just as you did with your Project's section be sure to keep these tips in mind as you start to write your bullet points:
Check out this formula/examples for a well-written bullet point:
Formula: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]. In other words, start with an active verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal.
Example for a Starbucks Barista: Crafted high-quality, customized drinks in a fast-paced environment, exceeding customer satisfaction targets by 15% through personalized service and attention to detail.
Example for a Banker: Provided personalized financial guidance and tailored solutions to clients, resulting in a 20% increase in client satisfaction scores and a 10% growth in portfolio assets under management.
Example for Construction Manager: Completed projects ahead of schedule by ensuring adherence to safety protocols, contributing to a 15% increase in overall project efficiency.
Example for a Product Manager: Led cross-functional teams in the development and launch of innovative products, driving a 25% increase in market share and exceeding revenue targets by 15% through strategic planning and effective stakeholder collaboration.
Example for a Teacher: Facilitated Academic growth resulting in a 20% improvement in standardized test scores by delivering engaging lessons and personalized support to students.
Use ChatGPT to get an idea of what types of things you could include within your bullet points. Try out prompts about your role:
"Write 5 resume bullet points for a Server at Texas Roadhouse"
Next, get more specific with some of your accomplishments (use those notes you took about your roles!):
Prompt: "Update the resume bullet points to include the following accomplishments: won award for most number of upsells in a shift, consistently received 5 star survey results, selected as employee of the month twice."
Note: Don't just copy and paste the result as these are general bullet points for the roles and may include items outside of the scope of what you did. This is to give you a place to start and ideas for what you could include.
Pull up the resume you created in Unit 1.
Follow the 3 steps below to add your previous experience to your resume:
Now that you are nearly finished with the BloomTech program it's important to ensure it's on your resume. The certification you are receiving should be included under the Education section on your resume along with any other certifications or degrees you may have. Since BloomTech is your most recent experience it should be listed first within this section with your anticipated Month and Year of graduation (it's okay if this changes). Within each section on your resume, everything should be listed in reverse chronological order, meaning your most recent experience/education/project should be listed first.
Pull up the resume you created in Unit 1.
Add BloomTech and any other technical certifications and degrees to your resume.
You've now completed all the required sections of your resume, congrats!! Throughout the last four units, you've learned to craft a compelling and professional resume that effectively showcases your skills, projects, and experiences.
Now it's time to review your resume for any grammatical errors to ensure it's ready for submission when you enter the next Sprint. At this point you'll receive detailed feedback from a Career Coach who will work with you to ensure your resume is job search ready!
It's that time again! You've completed another 4 sprints and have gained new skills and experience that make you qualified for roles within tech. We will continue to explore jobs in every career readiness module throughout your time at BloomTech. Remember, these might not be the flashy titles you originally had in mind, like Software Developer or Data Scientist but you'll get there!
We will be exploring tech-adjacent roles that align with the tech skills you've learned but will also be using some of the soft or transferable skills you've gained from pre-BloomTech experiences. The best part - you can apply for these roles TODAY. It's not just about snagging some income - it's about gaining valuable experience that'll make you more marketable as you get closer to graduation.
Every time you hit this core competency in the Career Readiness Module the list of job titles you can apply for will grow, as your skills grow! We wanted you to see that you're already learning skills relevant to the tech industry and have ways to start using those now. That being said, you do not have to apply for any roles at this point in the program. However, we still encourage you to go through the content and take a stab at finding roles on your own. This will help you feel a bit more confident when you do decide to jump into the job search.
The list below is not exhaustive but does give you an idea of the types of titles you will want to explore as you search for roles. Keep in mind these can be full-time or part-time positions. Part-time/contract roles can help you continue to build your technical skills while also providing some additional income as you finish the program. And you never know, they could lead to a full-time opportunity closer to graduation.
Reminder: Lean into the skills you've learned from a previous profession as well - they can be extremely helpful in separating yourself from others in the job market. For example, if you worked in any kind of customer service role before coming to BloomTech, highlighting those skills on your resume for a Customer Support role or Client Success Specialist will help shape you as a more well-rounded candidate. Your background and experience pre-BloomTech will impact the roles you are eligible to apply for.
This section is going to look the exact same every time you get to it because we want you to get comfortable and familiar with the content! Be sure to try out different job boards each time so you know the ones you like when you really dive into the job search. If you aren't applying, that is OK. We just want you to see what's out there and understand how to find the opportunities.
If you are looking, some part-time or contract work may be the best option so that you can do it amidst your already busy schedule. You can find these roles across many platforms but you'll find some job boards specific to part-time/contract roles listed first.
Before you get started using any job board continue to keep these tips in mind:
The General Code Assessment (GCA) is a timed, multiple-choice test that assesses your coding skills and knowledge. It is designed to help you determine if you are ready for the Applied Computer Science unit.
If you haven't already taken it recently, try and attempt it every 2 weeks.
You can find the link in the Portal.