This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dhyey Mavani, a 21-year-old software engineer at LinkedIn, based in Sunnyvale, CA. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I moved to the US from India in 2021 to attend Amherst College, where I triple-majored in computer science, mathematics, and statistics. During my freshman year, I developed a support system for statistical programming that became part of an introductory statistics course.
Opportunities to talk about my work on and off campus started coming up, which led to different perspectives, insights, and connections. I thought about how I could scale this up to a broader audience.
I started posting my work on my personal website and LinkedIn in 2022. Reach-outs, research, and informal job opportunities started coming in, which made me realize that posting online about your work is as important as doing the work itself.
After seeing my work online in 2023, a recruiter at LinkedIn contacted me directly on the platform to discuss an internship opportunity, which ultimately led to my current full-time position as a software engineer at the company. I started full time this year.
I started building my network through my online presence
I started posting because people on campus were reaching out and asking to chat through ideas and career advice, and I couldn’t devote much time to each individual. I still wanted to share my resources, so I decided to document my learnings and my progress and share them online.
Since I started posting, I’ve significantly expanded my network to over 500 connections and more than 6,000 followers. I posted about a research paper I wrote, and in the post walked through a short summary about my research, how I got there, what the key accomplishments were, and what things I’m still looking into for future work.
That gained some traction with over 45,000 post impressions on LinkedIn. Then I had people working in research labs at Princeton and other universities reach out, which led to further conversations about job opportunities that I never could’ve had otherwise.
I had to get over the fear of being judged
It’s terrifying to put your work out there. I also thought of this as an opportunity to be resourceful and repay the help that my upperclassmen and alumni have given me.
That motivation really helped me overcome all the other worries I had. If it’s for a good cause and to help others, I shouldn’t worry about people judging my work. If they do, I try to take it in a constructive manner and learn from their perspectives to identify areas for improvement.
It’s important to post the whole journey, not just your achievements
Adding personal anecdotes to the technical content that you post makes it more engaging for users. As I scroll on LinkedIn or read blog posts, I always engage a lot more with content that has a personal element. It gives me a thrilling ride through the adventure that the person went through to come to this conclusion or achieve this goal.
It’s helpful to phrase the posts you share in a value-first manner, where you provide some of your own perspective and explain why you stand by it. When I share my work online, I like to walk readers through why I pursued this project, what it entails, and who it impacts.
I also try to engage with content I see to increase visibility and expand my network. I recently commented on a post about Google, sharing my thoughts on the company’s strategy, and my comment had over 100,000 impressions.
Content works for you while you sleep
When I first heard someone say that content builds your career while you are sleeping, that really moved me.
I realized that there are opportunities that arise from organic posting and genuinely engaging with other people’s content. I’ve received numerous outreach requests from people who have been working in similar fields that I admire, as well as for my internship opportunity at LinkedIn and other places that haven’t yet had job postings listed.
Sharing content about an achievement helps me close that chapter of my work in my mind, and it can serve as a good checkpoint for people who are just starting on that journey when I’m ending it and seeking guidance.
I wouldn’t have the job options, the reach, network for mentorship, and other engagements if I hadn’t started sharing my journey online.
Do you have a similar story to share? Contact this reporter, Agnes Applegate, at aapplegate@businessinsider.com.
