Ten profile README patterns, each matched to a goal — and what each one structurally cannot show.
A waving hand and a wall of badges, copied from someone whose goal was different from yours. Busy is not the same as clear.
Who is reading this? What do you want them to do? What is your single strongest signal? Lead with the third, aimed at the first.
Title, stack and an open-to line in the header. Two or three pinned repos. One contact method. Recruiters scan; they do not scroll.
A wall of shields for every framework you once tried reads as tutorial noise. The stack you use daily reads as your actual job.
A contribution graph measures commit frequency, not scope. Leading a migration for eight engineers never shows up as green squares.
One is shaped by your audience. The other has a fixed order: description, install, usage, config, licence. Mixing them reads as noise.
Private repository work. Live revenue. ATS-parseable structure. Work history with context. Markdown has no live data layer.
Commit to the pattern that fits your goal right now. You can switch in five minutes when it changes.