LinkedIn is the best platform for professionals to showcase their expertise and gain credibility with connections. Frequently posting and engaging on LinkedIn is the difficult part of building your brand, but many professionals overlook optimizing their profiles. Learn how to showcase your personal brand and take your presence to the next level on LinkedIn below.
By default, LinkedIn has each user list basic information like work experience and academics. However, users can add additional sections to their profile to provide a more holistic view of themselves. To access these additional sections, navigate to your profile and click the “Add profile section”. This will give you several options to add additional information to your profile. From here, you can add a wide variety of sections to help diversify your experience beyond work and academic history.
Some of these sections and use cases include:
Licenses & Certifications – Found under background, this section allows users to showcase licenses or certifications. An accountant may use this section to illustrate that they’re a licensed CPA. A digital marketer could list their Google certifications here. Using this section to highlight the distinctions you’ve earned can add credibility to your profile and gives viewers a better understanding of your expertise.
Volunteer Experience – Found under background, use this section to display your community involvement. As businesses continue to value and promote community service and philanthropy, showcasing your personal involvement can help you align with potential clients or employers.
Publications – If you’re an author, this is the section for you. Found under accomplishments, the publication’s headline allows you to link blogs, articles, or journal entries. Simply click on “Publication“ and complete the prompts to provide the title, brief description and direct link to your work.
Projects – Under accomplishments, this section allows you to showcase a vast variety of activities and knowledge. Project Managers can demonstrate the scope of an assignment. College students could use this section to display a senior capstone. A director or manager may use it to demonstrate their implementation of a new software. Use this section to reveal components of your professional profile that may otherwise be difficult to illustrate.
Honors & Award – Under accomplishments, the honors and awards section is an excuse to brag on yourself. Have you recently found yourself on a 40 under 40 list? Did you receive an award for going above and beyond your responsibilities? Whatever the achievement, list these under honors and awards to show that other people value and recognize your work.
Organizations – Also found under accomplishments, this is the perfect section to include your involvement in The Association for Women in Communications or similar organizations. Including groups like your local Chamber of Commerce or business association testifies to your networking capabilities and provides a view of your personal connections.
Languages – Those who are multilingual can add this to your profile under the accomplishments header. You can list the language and proficiency level for one or multiple languages.
Using these sections helps people have a clear picture of your professional persona, no matter how complex. By going beyond your work and educational history, you have the flexibility to showcase your expertise and personality side by side. Try these and many other LinkedIn sections to help demonstrate your full presence and put your best foot forward to those who view your profile.
About the Author
Mikayla completed her degree in Marketing Administration while obtaining numerous awards for her public speaking and argumentation skills. After graduating as an All-American, Mikayla began working as a digital marketing advisor. She manages all paid social media advertising for the 13th largest accounting and consulting firm in the United States while supporting organic content creation for the firm’s 26 additional accounts. Mikayla volunteers her time to a local Pi Kappa Delta organization and serves as the social media chair for the Association for Women in Communications Springfield, Missouri Chapter Board of Directors. In her free time, she reads everything from poetry to current events. In a more creative vein, she enjoys quilling, embroidery and painting. Connect with Mikayla on LinkedIn to learn more.
