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Capture the attention of recruiters and hiring managers by highlighting your skills and certifications.
Throughout your career no one will sell “YOU” like you, so make sure you’re doing everything you can to showcase your knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). Beyond the traditional resume, LinkedIn is an excellent place to be active. According to a New York Times article, when you list skills in your LinkedIn profile, you’re 27 times more likely to be discovered by recruiters.
This article shows you how boost your visibility on LinkedIn by listing your skills and certifications and leveraging the courses you’ve taken for professional development—especially when you’re searching for a new job.
How to add skills to your LinkedIn profile
It’s important to provide a high-level overview of your skills. Hiring managers are looking for specific needs; make it easy for them. You can select from an array of skills. Example skills include Azure SQL, ethical hacking, AWS Lambda, agile project management, VMware vSphere and a lot more!
Follow these steps to add skills to your LinkedIn profile
- Click the “Me” icon in the LinkedIn navigation bar
- Click “View profile”
- Click “Add profile section”
- Click “Skills”
- Add the skills you want listed in your profile
How to add certifications
Certifications are heavily valued in IT industry. Data from the IT Skills and Salary Report and from IDC found that in 2008, 46% of companies required candidates to have a certification to be considered for a job, and 38% of IT professionals held at least one certification. In 2020, 72% of companies required them for certain jobs, and 87% of IT professionals held at least one certification. Certifications get you to the door. Highlight your certifications!
Follow these steps to add certifications to your LinkedIn profile
- Click the “Me” icon in the LinkedIn navigation bar
- Click “View profile”
- Click “Add profile”
- Click “Background”
- Click “Licenses and certifications”
- Add the certification(s) you've earned
How to add professional development training courses
Whether you attend training as part of your job or have invested in training during an employment transition, a great way to show your commitment to continuous improvement and learning is to document the training you’ve taken.
Here’s how you add a course to your profile
- Click the “Me” icon in the LinkedIn navigation bar
- Click “View profile”
- Click “Add profile”
- Click “Accomplishments”
- Click “Courses”
- Add the training course(s) you've taken
Pro tip: Add the course code and the training provider. Training providers such as Global Knowledge are highly regarded and speak to the quality of instruction you received.
How to add an Acclaim badge to your LinkedIn profile
If you have a badge via Acclaim, you can add it to your profile, too. A badge will appear in your newsfeed and in the certification section of your profile. Here’s how to add an Acclaim badge.
Find new certifications and skills
Explore our IT training and professional development courses or certification prep courses.