LinkedIn in English or Portuguese for international roles?
You decide to pursue remote jobs abroad and wonder: should I keep LinkedIn in Portuguese or translate everything to English? Your profile is your landing page, and the people who will find and evaluate you are largely international recruiters. The language choice (and how you write) directly affects who finds you and the impression you make.
By Carlos Jacon · Founder of CareersForge · Senior Engineering Manager
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LinkedIn in English or Portuguese for international roles?
If your target is remote work for companies abroad, English helps: international recruiters search for terms in English and evaluate the profile in that language. A profile only in Portuguese reduces the chance of appearing in their searches.
This doesn’t mean abandoning Portuguese. It means ensuring the essentials (headline, "About", roles and skills) communicate well in English for the audience you want to reach.
What does the international recruiter look for on your profile?
They click your profile after a keyword search and decide in seconds whether to continue. They look for clear signals of fit: role, seniority, stack or area, and proof of impact.
- Headline that clearly states what you do and at what level.
- Short, first-person "About" focused on value and results.
- Experience entries showing impact, not just responsibilities.
- Skills in English that match recruiters’ searches.
Headline and "About" in English: what changes?
More than translating, adapt the tone. The international "About" tends to be direct, in first person, and unafraid to state value objectively.
Read next
- Headline and 'About' on LinkedIn: before-and-after examples
More examples of headline and 'About' rewritten, to compare the Portuguese version before adapting to English.
Example: headline in English
- Weak: "Profissional de marketing apaixonado por resultados".
- Strong: "Growth Marketing Manager | SEO & paid acquisition | helped scale B2B SaaS from $1M to $5M ARR".
Can you have a profile that serves both markets?
Yes, with good judgment. Many people keep the headline and "About" in English (international reach) and describe experiences in a way that works for both, since technical terms and job titles are often international. Also note LinkedIn allows creating a secondary profile version in another language (on desktop): each visitor sees the profile in the language that matches theirs, and each version has its own URL and appears in searches. So it’s not strictly a binary choice. Translation, however, is manual, and maintaining two full versions is work.
If you are actively seeking jobs abroad, prioritize English in the elements that show up most in searches. The important thing is the profile be coherent and complete, not half-finished in two languages.
International LinkedIn checklist
Before you start applying to jobs abroad, review your profile.
- Does the headline state, in English, what you do and at what level?
- Is the "About" short, first-person, and value-focused?
- Do the experience entries show impact with numbers?
- Do the skills use the English terms recruiters search for?
- Is the profile complete, without sections left half-done?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to put my entire LinkedIn in English?
Not necessarily, but if you’re targeting international roles, the essentials (headline, "About", skills) should communicate in English, because that’s how outside recruiters search and evaluate. Many profiles work well with the headline and summary in English and the rest coherent in both languages.
Will an international recruiter find my profile if it’s in Portuguese?
It’s harder. International recruiters’ searches use English terms; a profile only in Portuguese appears less often. Ensuring the right keywords in English in your headline and skills increases your visibility for that audience.
How do I write the "About" in English without sounding arrogant?
Use first person, be direct, and prove claims with facts and numbers. In the international standard, stating your value objectively is expected, not arrogant. What comes across poorly is the opposite: a vague, generic summary that doesn’t say what you deliver.