Resumes are outdated.
Many contemporary companies have now discarded soliciting and recruiting through resumes and CVs. LinkedIn has changed the game entirely for how businesses nowadays find, approach, and recruit potential candidates. As everything goes digital, so does recruitment.
In the coming years, traditional resumes and CVs will be all but gone, entirely replaced by the virtual platform of Linked, so it’s important to learn how to add certificates to LinkedIn.
LinkedIn was founded in 2003 with the idea of business networking and assisting employers and employees alike in hunting for their desired jobs and candidates.
The platform quickly gained traction, and today, LinkedIn is a household name, with millions of users that use the platform.
LinkedIn displays all of the same information that is probably on your resume (or should be), such as your bio, education, work experiences, languages, certifications, and endorsements, among other things.
You can build connections on the platform, search for potential jobs for yourself, or look for job seekers if you are a business owner yourself.
You can keep up to date with revered industry professionals, get exposure to companies and recruiters, and gain insight into industry trends through the platform.
LinkedIn is one of the greatest additions to social media, and as more and more recruiters embrace it, it is imperative that any job seeker is on it.
LinkedIn gives more credibility to your name and lets your previous employers or colleagues endorse and recommend you, which can be valuable to you when looking for other jobs.
Not being on LinkedIn in this day and age is for your professional life while not being on Facebook is for your social life.
Keeping Up With LinkedIn
So, if you are a fresh graduate, stepping into the professional world, make sure that the first thing you do is make an impressive LinkedIn profile. But only joining it is not the key; you must also keep it updated with your recent experiences, jobs, and certifications.
Certifications are invaluable to your profile and are one of the best ways to enhance your profile. Not only do they increase the credibility of your profile, but they also show your dedication to continuously strive to progress in your field.
That speaks volumes of the kind of person you are, and what you can add to an organization, and is bound to impress recruiters.
People with certifications on LinkedIn get 6x more views than those who do not, naturally driving up the chances of them landing better jobs at top organizations as compared to those who do not have any certifications listed.
Types Of Certification That LinkedIn Allows
You can showcase any and all sorts of certifications regarding your field of study and work on your LinkedIn, as long as all the required information is provided.
Though you can post certifications from a number of organizations, one type of certificate sharing that is particularly easy is that of LinkedIn Learning.
LinkedIn Learning is a subsidiary of LinkedIn itself, acquired by LinkedIn in 2015. LinkedIn Learning (see also ‘What Does Specialization Mean On LinkedIn?‘) offers video-based courses across a wide range of subjects from software, creative, and business.
The courses are taught by industry professionals. It has over 5000 registered courses that you can complete and showcase on your LinkedIn profile easily.
How Is It Verified?
As you will learn in the next certification section, LinkedIn asks for a lot of details when you are trying to put up a certificate on the platform.
It has a number of verified issuing organizations that you have to choose from. It also asks for a Credential ID and Credential URL, through which each individual certification is verified.
How To Add Certificates To LinkedIn?
It’s extremely simple to add certificates to LinkedIn.
Whether you are a new user and are looking to build your profile, or are a seasoned professional, adding more certificates and credentials to your name as you progress within your field, the user interface of LinkedIn is pretty simple and lets you tweak things as you continue to grow and flourish in your professional journey.
Regardless of what device you are accessing your LinkedIn from, the interface remains largely similar, be it on a smartphone or your laptop.
If you can’t figure out how to add certificates to LinkedIn, here is a step-by-step guide to assist you in optimizing your profile by adding certificates and certifications.
- Sign in to your profile like you normally do. If you don’t have an account on LinkedIn yet, sign yourself up through the website. Follow the given steps, and you will be ready to customize your profile and add certificates to LinkedIn too.
- On the top right-hand corner of the screen, there will be an option for Me or Profile. Click on the option, and it will lead you to your profile where you can view all your education and professional details you have input.
- Next, click on the Add Profile Section button, visible right next to where your name is displayed. A drop-down window will appear with profile sections listed, such as Intro, About, Background, Education, Work Experiences, etc. In this window, there will be an option for Licenses Certifications, which you will have to select.
- A window will open, stating, Add Licenses and Certificates. The window will ask for a bunch of information regarding the certificate you want to input, namely
- Name of the Certification
- Issuing Organization
- Issue and Expiration Date
- Credential ID
- Credential URL
- Fill in all the required information correctly and choose the issuing organization from the drop-down list of verified LinkedIn certificate providers. Once all the data has been fed in, click Save.
- Your certificate will be listed on your profile page under the Licenses and Certificates tab, and you can view it too. For more details, anybody who is interested can click on See more information.
So, there you have it. The entire process would take you less than five minutes, but the impact of choosing to add certificates to LinkedIn will be far-reaching and significant.
Any potential recruiter who comes across your profile will be more likely to consider you given your wealth of certifications and knowledge.
What To Write Along With Your Certificate?
It’s always a good idea to add certificates to LinkedIn to enable your profile to reach more people.
You can add a few words alongside it, stating further details of the course title, your main takeaways, and how the certification has added to your knowledge bank and would help you in your professional career.
You could talk about your personal growth and experience during the certification, and mention people who have helped you achieve this milestone.
Adding a description along with your certification adds a more personal touch and personality to your profile, drawing more attention and emphasis toward it.
Other Things You Can Do To Enhance Your LinkedIn Profile
While adding certificates is one of the best things that you could have done for your LinkedIn profile, you must also pay attention to other small details that could make or break your profile.
By fixing a few of these seemingly insignificant points, you can ensure that your profile stands out to employers and headhunters.
Add Endorsements And Recommendations
Ask your employers, colleagues, friends, and professors to endorse you and your skills in a short paragraph that will be displayed on your LinkedIn profile.
The right endorsement and recommendation from the right person can be the highlight of your profile.
The Right Profile Picture
This is not your average social media platform. You can’t put your Instagram display picture as your LinkedIn profile picture.
This is a professional space, and you must make sure that your photo also reflects professionalism. Your photo must be clear, and formal, ideally in workwear, or formal attire.
Featured Skills
LinkedIn gives you the chance to show off your new skills and then uses these skills to match you to job postings that require the same skills.
If you are exceptionally good at Microsoft Excel (see also ‘How Long Does It Take To Learn Excel? Tips and Hacks’), you can list that down as a skill, and LinkedIn will optimize the job offers shown to you according to your expertise.
Profile Activity
No matter how well you build up your profile to be, if it is inactive, it will fail to make the desired impression.
You must post about yourself, your work achievements, promotions, seminars, and training sessions that you regularly attend to maintain visibility for your profile and give recruiters more insight into your work, accomplishments, and projects.
Certifications add the oomph to LinkedIn profiles that you were missing before.
Proven to enhance the visibility of your profile, don’t be surprised if you start receiving tons of connection requests from colleagues, industry experts, and recruiters after you add certificates to LinkedIn.
