How to match LinkedIn and GitHub to the same candidate
You’ve been here. LinkedIn looks like a staff engineer. GitHub is tutorials from 2019. Or the other way around.
Two tabs is not two people
Recruiters split this without meaning to. LinkedIn lives in the ATS note. GitHub is a bookmark you forget. When you finally compare them, it’s 11pm and you’re squinting at dates.
If it’s the same human, treat it that way from the start. One candidate. Two sources. Same job description on both.
What each side is actually good at
LinkedIn is the story they want you to hear: titles, companies, how they talk about impact. GitHub is closer to the work-repos, languages, whether anything moved this year.
Neither is the truth on its own. A quiet GitHub doesn’t mean they can’t code. A loud LinkedIn doesn’t mean they can. You want the disagreement on the table, not a surprise after you send the InMail.
How I wire them together
Same JD. Two matches. Then link, don’t duplicate.
Score LinkedIn against the role
Paste the job into a project, open the LinkedIn profile, run the match. If you’d even consider them, save the row.
Open their GitHub and match it too
Same project. Don’t create a second candidate. If Insayab already has this person, link the GitHub to that row.
Read both scores before you reach out
Side by side you can see it: LinkedIn 82, GitHub 41-or the reverse. That’s the conversation with yourself, not a spreadsheet later.
When the scores fight
They will. That’s useful. A high LinkedIn and a thin GitHub might be a manager, a closed-source shop, or someone who polished the bio. A strong GitHub and a messy LinkedIn might be the person you actually want for an IC role.
Don’t average them in your head into a shrug. Pick which signal matters for this job, then live with it.
Common questions
What if I only have LinkedIn?
Score that. Add GitHub later if you find it. Don’t stall the screen because the second URL isn’t in the header.
Will this create duplicate candidates?
Only if you save twice on purpose. Link the second platform to the person you already have. One row, two scores.
Does GitHub matter for every role?
No. For some jobs it’s a bonus. For backend, infra, and a lot of IC hiring, I’d still look. The point is you decide-with both numbers visible.
Keep reading Score a LinkedIn profile against a JD · How to read an AI match score · Hiring shortlist next to the profile