(If you’re a CTO or technical founder, read this first.)
Every founder wants to hire senior developers. But most can’t explain what that actually means.
Sure, they’ll mention experience, problem-solving skills, or being a good team player. But what they’re really looking for is this: can I trust this person’s judgment?
That’s what LinkedIn helps you prove — long before a founder ever interviews you.
I’ve worked with founders hiring their first and fifth engineers. I’ve hired developers myself. The best ones don’t just write great code. They write in public. They show how they think. And that’s a huge unlock.
Because in early-stage companies, trust isn’t earned in a single interview. It’s built through familiarity. If I’ve seen your name a few times, if I’ve read how you reason through technical tradeoffs, I already feel like I know you. That’s half the battle.
Skill gets you in the door. Judgment wins you the room.
A resume can show your years of experience. GitHub can show what you’ve built. But neither of those tells me how you make decisions.
Founders are looking for signal. They want to know how you think about tradeoffs, how you communicate ideas, and whether you’re able to disagree without derailing the whole team.
Most developers keep that thinking locked away in internal Slack threads or private GitHub repos. But the ones who write publicly — even if it’s just once a week — are doing something powerful. They’re reducing the uncertainty around working with them. They’re showing me, not just telling me.
If I see you clearly explain why you prefer one tool over another, or how you handled a scaling issue, I know you’ve done the thinking. That’s trust. And in a startup, trust is the most expensive currency there is.
Being visible makes you the easy choice
Here’s what it looks like when you compare a visible developer with an invisible one:
Developer A is active on LinkedIn. They share lessons from real projects. They write about what they’re learning and what they’d do differently next time.
Developer B might be just as smart, maybe even smarter. But their thinking lives in their head or buried inside Jira tickets.
When it comes time to hire, guess who gets the interview?
I’m not saying Developer A is more talented. I’m saying they’re easier to trust, because there’s less guesswork involved. And if I’m hiring in a hurry, trust wins.
Writing makes you better — even if nobody sees it
One thing I tell technical founders and devs we work with: your content doesn’t need to go viral. It just needs to sharpen your thinking.
Writing forces clarity. If you can explain a technical decision in plain English, you probably understand it better than most. The act of writing reveals gaps. It shows you what you know and what you don’t.
You also get better at communicating with non-devs. That’s a critical skill for every developer who wants to move up, manage others, or work directly with customers.
You don’t need to be a thought leader
One of the biggest objections developers give is this: “I’m not trying to be an influencer.”
Good. You don’t need to be.
Posting on LinkedIn isn’t about going viral or building a massive audience. It’s about making yourself easier to trust. Most developers still believe LinkedIn is for recruiters and salespeople. That belief keeps them invisible.
But here’s what actually happens:
A founder posts a job. They get 83 applications. But one of those names is familiar. That name belongs to someone they’ve seen writing clearly about system design or shipping under pressure. Maybe they even liked one of those posts. That candidate gets bumped to the top.
That’s the power of familiarity. It reduces doubt. And most founders will hire the known quantity over the unknown one every time.
Even if you only have 300 connections, that’s 300 people who might think of you when an opportunity pops up. That’s all you need.
The right people are watching
One of our clients was a backend engineer who never posted before. He started sharing once a week: short breakdowns of code challenges, lessons from pairing, and occasional rants about dev tools.
Within a month, his engagement was still modest. A few likes, a couple comments. But he got two messages from hiring managers. They weren’t reacting to the post publicly, but they were reading.
That’s how it works. The right people are watching quietly. Founders, VPs, recruiters. They don’t always comment. But they remember the names they see over and over.
This is why consistency matters more than reach. You’re not trying to go viral. You’re trying to be remembered.
Common objections — and why they don’t hold up
A lot of devs say the same things when I recommend writing:
“I’m not a content person.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“LinkedIn isn’t for people like me.”
All fair. But here’s the counterpoint: most of your competitors think the same thing. Which is exactly why posting even a few times a month sets you apart.
You don’t need to be loud. Just consistent. You don’t need to share frameworks or hot takes. Just write about the work. What broke this week? What did you learn from a project you shipped? What’s one tool you wish more people knew about?
Even your bug reports can become posts. Especially if you can explain the thinking behind your fix.
A simple posting plan that works
If you want to dip your toe in, start small. Two posts a week. One could be a short lesson from your current project. The other could be a breakdown of something you read, watched, or tried. We wrote a whole list of LinkedIn post ideas for developers. Pick one to post today.
You’re not writing for the algorithm. You’re writing for the person who might hire you next. Or promote you. Or recommend you to a founder friend.
You already do the hard part: building things, solving problems, and learning fast. Now just narrate a little more of it in public.
And watch what happens.
Final thoughts on LinkedIn strategy for developers
You don’t need to be a content machine. You don’t need 10,000 followers. You just need to be visible to the right people, often enough, that trust begins to form before you ever meet.
LinkedIn is a trust-building machine. And for developers who want better jobs, faster promotions, or stronger partnerships, trust is everything.
So if you’re thinking, “I’ll start once I’m more senior,” flip it: Start now. You’ll get senior faster.
Because in the end, the best code in the world won’t help you if no one sees it. Visibility isn’t optional anymore. It’s a multiplier.
And you already have everything you need to begin.
Mo is the founder and CEO of Column Content, a thought leadership content agency that helps leaders get seen. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
