Your public profile

Why it matters

Recruiters and hiring managers often look you up before or after reading your application. For developers, data people, cloud and security engineers and teachers, that usually means GitHub. For designers, it is often Behance, Dribbble or a personal site. Your profile is a first impression you control: in under a minute, a stranger should know what role you want and see your best work.

The core idea: a profile is a landing page

Treat your profile like the front page of a small website with one goal: get the right person to click your best project. It needs:

1. A clear identity: name, photo or avatar, and a one-line bio naming your target role.
2. A short introduction: who you are, what you are working on, how to contact you.
3. Your best work, up front: three pinned projects or case studies.
4. Nothing that undermines you: no secrets, no embarrassing or abandoned work at the top.

GitHub: the profile README

GitHub shows a special README at the top of your profile when you create a public repository with exactly your username (for example, github.com/ada-lee/ada-lee) containing a README.md. GitHub's guide: https://docs.github.com/en/account-and-profile/setting-up-and-managing-your-github-profile/customizing-your-profile/managing-your-profile-readme (Checked on 2026-10-23.)

A simple, effective example:

## Hi, I'm Ada

Aspiring **data analyst**. I turn public data into clear answers with SQL, Python and dashboards.

**Currently:** analysing late buses in my city with open transit data.

### Selected work
- [Late buses](https://github.com/ada-lee/late-buses): which routes run late, and when (SQL, pandas)
- [Garden frost alert](https://github.com/ada-lee/frost-alert): emails volunteers before a frost
- [Library dashboard](https://github.com/ada-lee/library-dashboard): weekly loans by branch

**Contact:** ada.lee@example.com · LinkedIn: /in/ada-lee

It is short, names the role, shows current work and links to evidence. Animated banners, long badge walls and visitor counters add little; a reviewer cares about the projects.

Pinned repositories

On GitHub you can pin up to six repositories. Pin your best three to six projects for your target role. For each pinned project:

• give it a clear name (late-buses, not project2-final-v3)
• write a one-line description
• add the live link in the "About" box
• make sure its README starts with the problem, the result and a screenshot

The green contribution graph shows activity, but do not game it with empty commits. Steady real work is more convincing than a perfect grid.

Behance and design portfolios

For UI/UX and game designers, the case study is the unit of work. On Behance (or a personal site), feature three projects. Each cover image should show the final design; each case study should walk through the problem, research, iterations, testing and outcome. Keep the About section to a few lines naming your target role and contact details. If your work was for an employer or client, ask before publishing and remove confidential details.

Worked example: before and after

Before: username xX_coder99_Xx, no photo, no bio, 23 repositories (mostly forks and tutorial folders), nothing pinned, the most recent repo called test.

After: display name "Sam Ortiz", neutral avatar, bio "Cloud engineer in training | Linux, AWS free tier, Terraform", a profile README with current work, three pinned projects (a Terraform deployment with a cleanup script, a Linux hardening write-up, a monitoring dashboard), tutorial forks archived or made private.

Same skills, far clearer story.

Privacy and safety

• Never commit secrets. If a key was ever pushed, assume it is compromised: revoke and replace it, then remove it from the repository.
• Use a public contact email you are happy to share; GitHub can hide your personal email in commits.
• Do not post your home address or personal phone number.

Common mistakes

• No bio or a vague one ("I love tech").
• Pinning tutorial forks instead of your own work.
• Badge walls and widgets that bury the projects.
• Abandoned repositories at the top. Archive or make private what you no longer stand behind.
• Mismatched story. Your profile, CV and LinkedIn should name the same target role.

Quick recap

• Your profile is a landing page: identity, short intro, best work, nothing harmful.
• A GitHub profile README lives in a repository named exactly like your username.
• Pin three to six projects with clear names, descriptions and live links.
• Designers lead with three strong case studies on Behance or a personal site.
• Keep secrets and personal details out.

Try it

Open the Do tab to polish your profile step by step.