How to get noticed by design leads on LinkedIn

How design leads review LinkedIn profiles

Here’s how I approach it.

Applications typically land on my table in two ways:

1. My team has a new opening, and I’m actively seeking candidates. Qualified applicants have passed initial HR filtering and have been transferred to me.
2. A person has contacted HR, a colleague, or me directly to inquire about a position in the team.

When there’s a new opening, I already know the qualifications, requirements, and specific design domains needed. This becomes a strategic matching game between the candidate and the defined position’s requirements. I carefully review applicants’ LinkedIn profiles, CVs, and portfolios to find the right match for our team’s needs.

What makes a profile stand out

When reviewing a candidate’s LinkedIn profile, I’m particularly interested in their career progression and capabilities. Similar to understanding where you’re aiming in your career, I pay special attention to evidence and hints about their future potential in my team and organization.

Effective about section structure

• Opens with clear professional identity
• Highlights key achievements and capabilities
• Shows capability for specific design areas
• Closes with career aspirations

Experience descriptions that work

• “Led redesign of mobile banking app, improving user satisfaction by 40%”
• “Collaborated with 3 product teams to establish consistent design system”
• “Mentored 2 junior designers while managing design sprint process”

Key profile sections and how to strengthen them

Make your headline stand out

Headlines are introductions to your profile. Some people list their current positions and responsibilities, while others include generic adjectives, capabilities, or interests. Following the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) marketing principle¹, this is your attention-grabbing space. Use it wisely. Look at your Connections page and assess whose headlines make an impression on you.

Craft your story in the about section

Your about section is as valuable as your cover letter. This is where you present the surface of your career, capabilities, personality, and future ambitions. Treat this section as the steering wheel of your career. It should be evergreen and developed over time. I understand how challenging it can be to write about yourself, but creating a strong LinkedIn profile is crucial.

Document your career progression

The experiences section is highly valuable. Like setting career direction, each entry should show your progression and the impact you had.

Key patterns for strong experience descriptions:

• Start with active verbs (Led, Designed, Implemented, Created)
• Include specific numbers when possible (team size, improvement percentages, project duration)
• Show both process and impact
• Highlight collaboration and leadership moments
• Connect your work to business or user outcomes

Showcase relevant skills

LinkedIn has tweaked and redesigned the skills section numerous times. Early in their careers, people tend to list everything they know in the skills section. Here’s how to present your skills more effectively:

A skill listed alone is just a claim; a skill backed by concrete examples and endorsements becomes credible evidence of your capabilities.

Build meaningful connections

Your connections and network benefit you in multiple ways. For me, as a reviewer, it provides first-hand evidence that you exist in the professional world. This is why I emphasize maintaining your LinkedIn profile as an ongoing practice. This network offers secondary evidence and proof of your experiences and career progression.

What recommendations reveal

Lastly, I look for recommendations. These personal endorsements provide invaluable insight into a candidate’s capabilities and character. Often, I learn something new about the candidate that hasn’t been described elsewhere in the profile. Giving and receiving recommendations can be culture-dependent, but the best way to overcome this is to act generously – give credit where it’s due.

While a strong LinkedIn profile is crucial for making a positive first impression, it’s not the only tool at your disposal. Let’s explore how a thoughtful cover letter can complement your profile and further strengthen your application.

The power of a thoughtful cover letter

If somebody has reached out directly, I might not know which position could be filled or the specific requirements. This is a highly context-dependent situation. While I know current organizational needs, my evaluations are influenced by memory, mental capacity, and imagination. Most contacts are strangers, and to maintain confidentiality, I can’t ask others about these people.

To overcome this limitation, the best tool for the contacting person is to include a “cover letter.” Consider this a recommendation made by a mutual contact between you and me. It should come from someone who can describe you from personal experience, both as an individual and a professional. Ideally, this person would know my team’s position and future ambitions. The cover letter serves as a connection between us, illuminating your potential future tasks, projects, and responsibilities.

Key elements to include

Connection to the team’s work

• Reference specific projects or approaches you’ve noticed
• Show understanding of the team’s design philosophy
• Mention mutual connections or shared professional interests

Relevant experience highlights

“In my current role at [Company], I led a similar initiative to simplify complex data visualization for non-technical users” “My experience working in cross-functional agile teams would contribute to your collaborative design process”

Growth and learning mindset

• Mention relevant courses or certifications you’re pursuing
• Describe how you’ve tackled challenging design problems
• Show enthusiasm for the team’s specific design challenges

What catches my attention

Strong cover letters often include:

• Specific references to the team’s work or published design cases
• Clear connections between their experience and our needs
• Evidence of research about our design culture and challenges
• Concrete examples of relevant achievements
• A genuine tone that shows personality and enthusiasm

The cover letter serves as your personal introduction. Make it count by showing you understand the team’s context and can contribute meaningfully to their design challenges.

Moving forward with your improved profile

Whether you’re applying for a specific position or seeking new opportunities in the design field, take time to prepare your case thoroughly. Understand what you’d like to gain from a potential team and organization. Provide clear evidence of your skills and competencies using your LinkedIn profile. Use the cover letter to your advantage, making a strong connection between your experiences and the desired position.

The candidates I remember aren’t always the most experienced. They’re the ones who made it easy to picture them on the team.