Finding work as a Ruby on Rails developer isn't only about writing good code.
Whether you're looking for a full-time position, part-time work, freelance projects, or your next collaboration, the people you know and the people who know what you can do can make a significant difference.
One of the most useful places to build those professional relationships is LinkedIn.
LinkedIn describes its professional network as a way to stay connected with colleagues, discover career opportunities, and engage with professionals in your industry. It also allows developers to follow people, participate in discussions, and build relationships over time.
For Ruby on Rails developers, this can be particularly valuable because our community is relatively specialized. The person you connect with today might become a colleague, client, collaborator, mentor, or someone who recommends you for a project months from now.
LinkedIn isn't just a job board
It's easy to think of LinkedIn as a website where you search for:
"Ruby on Rails Developer"
...click Apply, and move on to the next vacancy.
But that is only one part of what LinkedIn can offer.
Your profile can function as a public professional portfolio.
You can show:
- Ruby and Rails projects
- GitHub contributions
- Open-source work
- Articles you've written
- Technical problems you've solved
- Freelance services
- Your experience with PostgreSQL, JavaScript, APIs, testing, DevOps, and other technologies
- Projects you're currently building
LinkedIn has also been increasingly emphasizing the visibility of work people actually build, rather than relying solely on written claims about their skills.
For a developer, this is important.
Instead of simply saying:
"I'm a Ruby on Rails developer."
You can demonstrate:
"Here's what I've built."
That distinction matters.
Your network can be more valuable than another application
Imagine two developers with similar technical skills.
Developer A spends several hours every week applying to jobs but rarely interacts with anyone in the industry.
Developer B applies to jobs too, but also:
- follows Rails developers;
- comments on interesting technical discussions;
- shares projects;
- contributes to open source;
- talks with other developers;
- attends community events;
- congratulates people on their achievements;
- occasionally reaches out to people with genuine questions.
Over time, Developer B is creating something that cannot be represented by a CV alone:
professional familiarity.
People begin recognizing their name.
They know what they work on.
They know what technologies interest them.
They may even know what kind of opportunity they're looking for.
That doesn't guarantee a job or freelance project. But it creates more opportunities for conversations that might otherwise never happen.
LinkedIn itself recommends building relationships with people you know professionally, following people whose work you want to learn from, and engaging with professional content.
Meaningful relationships are the goal
Networking shouldn't mean sending 500 random connection requests.
It shouldn't mean:
"Hi, I'm a Rails developer. Do you have a job for me?"
to everyone you encounter.
Good networking is much more natural.
If someone publishes an interesting article about Rails, read it and leave a thoughtful comment.
If another developer releases an open-source project, try it and give them useful feedback.
If someone asks a technical question you can answer, help them.
If you meet another developer at an event, connect with them afterwards.
If you have genuinely enjoyed someone's work for a while, tell them why.
These small interactions can eventually become real professional relationships.
LinkedIn makes a distinction between simply following someone and connecting with them: following allows you to learn from their content, while connecting creates a two-way professional relationship and enables direct messaging.
The important part is what happens after the connection.
Give before you ask
One of the most useful principles in networking is simple:
Don't make every interaction about what you want.
If every message you send is asking for a job, a referral, or a freelance project, people can quickly feel that you're only interested in what they can provide.
Instead, try contributing to the community.
For example:
- Share something you learned building a Rails application.
- Explain how you solved a difficult bug.
- Write about an open-source contribution.
- Share a useful Rails resource.
- Congratulate another developer on launching a project.
- Ask an interesting technical question.
- Help someone who is learning Ruby.
- Share a project you're proud of.
You don't need to become a LinkedIn influencer.
You simply need to become visible as a developer who participates in the community.
This is especially useful for freelancers
For freelancers, relationships can be even more important.
A freelance client doesn't necessarily need another developer who can write Ruby.
They need someone they can trust to solve a problem.
A strong LinkedIn presence can help communicate that trust.
Imagine a potential client visits your profile and sees:
Ruby on Rails Developer
followed by:
- GitHub projects
- open-source contributions
- technical posts
- recommendations
- discussions with other developers
- examples of your work
- a link to your portfolio
That gives them more information than a simple CV.
It also gives you something useful to share when contacting potential clients.
Instead of saying:
"I'm a Rails developer. Here's my CV."
you can say:
"I'm a Ruby on Rails developer and I've been working on several Rails projects. Here's one of the projects I've been building and here's my GitHub."
You're giving the other person something concrete to evaluate.
Don't only connect with recruiters
Recruiters are useful, but they shouldn't be the only people in your network.
Consider connecting with:
Other Ruby developers
They may become future colleagues, collaborators, mentors, or sources of technical knowledge.
Rails developers
Following experienced Rails developers can expose you to different approaches to architecture, testing, performance, deployment, and maintaining large applications.
Founders
A founder building a SaaS product may eventually need someone to maintain or extend their Rails application.
CTOs and engineering managers
These are often the people involved in technical hiring and team building.
Freelancers
Other freelancers can sometimes become collaborators or refer work when they are unavailable.
Open-source contributors
Open-source communities are particularly valuable because you're interacting around something concrete: code.
People from your local developer community
A developer you meet at a meetup today could introduce you to a company six months from now.
The objective isn't to collect connections.
It's to build relationships with people who share your professional interests.
Your network doesn't have to be huge
You don't need 10,000 followers.
A smaller network of people who actually know who you are can be considerably more useful than thousands of completely disconnected accounts.
Think about it this way:
1,000 random connections
versus
100 developers, founders, recruiters and professionals who recognize your name and understand what you do.
The second network can be much more meaningful.
LinkedIn itself recommends connecting with people you know and trust professionally, while using following as a way to learn from people you don't yet know.
That gives developers a natural progression:
Discover → Follow → Learn → Engage → Connect → Build a relationship
There is no need to rush the process.
Build relationships outside LinkedIn too
LinkedIn is only one part of networking.
For Ruby developers, consider participating in:
- GitHub
- Ruby and Rails communities
- Open-source projects
- Local meetups
- Conferences
- Discord communities
- Reddit
- Technical forums
- Hackathons
- Developer events
A relationship that starts with an open-source contribution can eventually move to LinkedIn.
A conversation at a meetup can turn into a GitHub collaboration.
A GitHub contribution can lead to a freelance opportunity.
A freelance collaboration can eventually turn into a full-time position.
Professional relationships can move across platforms.
A simple LinkedIn routine for Rails developers
You don't need to spend hours on LinkedIn every day.
Try something sustainable.
Once or twice a week
Share something you're working on.
For example:
"I've been working on a Rails application using PostgreSQL and recently implemented X. Here's what I learned..."
Several times a week
Spend 10–15 minutes reading posts from developers and companies in the Ruby ecosystem.
Leave a few meaningful comments when you actually have something to contribute.
Every few weeks
Reach out to someone you've interacted with.
It could be as simple as:
"I've enjoyed your posts about Rails. I'm currently working on X and found your approach to Y interesting."
No request.
No sales pitch.
Just a genuine conversation.
Continuously
Keep building.
Your GitHub, portfolio, open-source contributions and personal projects give you things to talk about.
Your career is bigger than your CV
A CV tells someone where you've worked and what you've done.
A GitHub profile can show them how you code.
A portfolio can show them what you build.
But relationships can show people who you are as a professional.
For Ruby on Rails developers, that's particularly important because our careers are built around collaboration. We work with other developers, designers, product managers, founders, clients and users.
Technical skills are essential.
But knowing people, helping people, communicating well and becoming a recognizable member of your professional community can open doors that a job application alone cannot.
So if you're currently looking for a Rails job, part-time position, freelance client or your next project, don't only search for vacancies.
Start building relationships.
Follow developers whose work interests you.
Share what you're building.
Contribute to open source.
Talk to people.
Help where you can.
And when an opportunity eventually appears, you'll have something more valuable than another application:
a professional network that already knows what you can do.
RubyGuild
At RubyGuild, we're building a community around Ruby and Ruby on Rails developers, projects and opportunities.
If you're a Rails developer, freelancer, founder, recruiter, or simply someone interested in the Ruby ecosystem, join the conversation and start building your network.
