How design team leads evaluate your LinkedIn profile

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While mentoring design students, I’ve noticed a common pattern: setting up a LinkedIn profile feels like a formal checkbox in the job search process. Yet it’s often the only way for me, as a team lead, to discover who you are and what you could bring to the team. I’ve reviewed hundreds of profiles, and I’ve seen how a well-crafted LinkedIn presence, combined with a thoughtful cover letter, can open doors that might otherwise remain closed. In this article, I’m sharing my evaluation process and practical tips I usually give to students - because your career story deserves to be told well, even if you’re just starting out.

How design leads review LinkedIn profiles

This is a write-up of my usual process for reviewing applicants’ LinkedIn profiles. I collect information about people’s backgrounds and capabilities as they pursue product design and development careers.

Applications typically land on my table in two ways:

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.
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”

Skills presentation

Early in their careers, people tend to list everything they know in the skills section. While I understand the motivation, it’s important to have evidence and connections with previous experiences, and preferably shareable case studies and examples.

Instead of: “Figma, user research, wireframing” write “Created high-fidelity prototypes in Figma for 5 major features”.

Key profile sections and how to optimize 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 professional journey

The experiences section is highly valuable. Just like setting career direction, it’s not just about listing positions - it’s about showing your growth journey and impact.

Basic description

“Worked on the mobile banking app redesign project”

Improved version

“Led the mobile banking app redesign, introducing a new information architecture that reduced task completion time by 40%. Collaborated with 3 product teams to establish consistent design patterns, resulting in 30% faster feature development.”

Basic description

“Conducted user research and created wireframes”

Improved version

“Designed and conducted 5 user research studies with 50+ participants, identifying key pain points in the onboarding flow. Translated findings into wireframes and prototypes that increased new user activation by 25%.”

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:

Instead of

Skills: Figma, user research, wireframing, user testing, design systems

Write

Design Tools
Figma: Created and maintained design system for 3 product lines
Sketch: Developed 200+ responsive web components
Adobe XD: Built interactive prototypes for user testing
Research & Testing
User Research: Conducted 30+ interviews and 5 usability studies
A/B Testing: Improved conversion rates by 15% through iterative testing
Heuristic Analysis: Evaluated 10+ competitor products
Design Process
Design Systems: Established component library used by 20+ developers
Agile Methods: Led design sprints in 6 cross-functional teams
Wireframing: Created 100+ wireframes for mobile and web applications

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.

Leverage recommendations

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 optimized LinkedIn profile. Use the cover letter to your advantage, making a strong connection between your experiences and the desired position.

Building and maintaining your career presence on LinkedIn is an ongoing process. Regularly update your profile to reflect your growing skills and experiences in the design world. By crafting a compelling career narrative on LinkedIn, you’ll increase your visibility to team leads and open doors to exciting opportunities in the competitive design field.