If you’ve browsed enough LinkedIn profiles, you’ve probably seen certifications added in various expertise areas. These badges of honor prove you know your stuff. They show you have sought out additional training to further develop your skills and increase your knowledge. Certifications highlight a person’s proficiency and also indicate they are a self-driven worker.
With LinkedIn’s options, you can add certifications you have already earned — like advanced degrees, for example — or you can browse thousands of courses that help you add a certification to your LinkedIn profile.
How to Add Certifications to Your LinkedIn Profile
If you have gone through special training or have an academic title you’d like to display on your LinkedIn profile, you can do this by either editing your name or adding a certification. Since LinkedIn does not offer a suffix section, academics, doctors and other professionals with special designations can add their suffix directly in the ‘additional name’ field. It is important, though, to only add these credentials if they have been earned.
If you want to add specific credentials, click on the ‘Add profile section’ button on your profile and a menu will pop up. From there, you will have a few options.
The option you want to click on is ‘All licenses & certifications.’
From there, you can look up your certification from a list provided by LinkedIn.
After you hit ‘save,’ your certification will be visible on your profile.
If you have multiple certifications, simply repeat the process. If you do not have any certifications, LinkedIn gives you an opportunity to earn some.
What Are LinkedIn Certifications?
In addition to certifications that are required for specific industries (certified vet technician, for example), LinkedIn offers its own continuing education and certification options for professionals looking to give their careers a boost.
LinkedIn Learning has thousands of expert-led, online courses and certification programs for free, or through its Pro option ($39.99 a month or $323.88 upfront annually). Currently, there are more than 18,000 courses available to take and the platform offers options to add various certificates to your LinkedIn profile.
The courses fall into business, creative, technology and certification categories and there is no limit on how many courses you can take through LinkedIn Learning.
LinkedIn Learning is relatively new for the platform, debuting in 2017. However, its original iteration has been around for almost 30 years.
In 1995, Lynda Weinman established Lynda.com, which evolved and began offering online courses in 2002. As the company added courses, its business model became more attractive to investors. In 2015, LinkedIn officially bought Lynda.com and in 2017, the platform was renamed LinkedIn Learning.
Since LinkedIn has incorporated its learning vertical into its offerings, it attracted more than 14 million learners within four years. The platform is accessible as well, with many of its courses available at no cost.
Certification Options That Make You Stand Out
LinkedIn certifications offer multiple benefits to users. You obtain new skills and knowledge at a reasonable price (or even free!) and receive a certification that offers career clout. For recruiters looking for the next best hire, LinkedIn certifications support a person’s skills in a measurable way.
Users can browse through dozens of options available in multiple career disciplines, choosing options that offer the best upskilling opportunities, engage their curiosity the most or both.
If you are browsing and a course piques your interest, review the requirements to make sure you are capable of taking on the material. Courses and certifications are varied based on experience levels, so don’t take on an expert-level course if you are entry level.
Adobe Suite, which includes Photoshop, is an example of a valuable certification. The tool requires deep knowledge and skill, and is a popular program that not everyone knows how to navigate. As work becomes more digital, programs like Adobe, Microsoft Office, G-Suite and more are becoming a requirement for many jobs. Stay ahead of the curve by investing in these program certifications through LinkedIn.
Boosting Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful career tools out there. Launched in 2003, the platform now boasts 810 million users from more than 200 countries and regions. In those two decades, LinkedIn has focused its efforts on providing its users with features that help highlight accomplishments, increase skills and knowledge and get found.
There are six people hired every minute on LinkedIn, which is why the platform is such a powerful tool for job seekers—and why 50 million people use LinkedIn weekly to search for jobs. The same is true for recruiters and hiring managers utilizing LinkedIn to find the next best hire, which is why potential candidates should use LinkedIn to its fullest capabilities.
If you’ve been working on your LinkedIn profile and don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere, Teal's LinkedIn Profile Review tool can get you out of a rut. Free to use, LinkedIn Review is a browser extension that analyzes your LinkedIn profile to ensure it is optimized. Based on your profile, Teal offers personalized suggestions so you can get the most out of your LinkedIn experience.
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