As a job seeker, you may wonder how much value companies place on LinkedIn Learning courses and certifications when evaluating candidates. With more professionals utilizing the platform to build skills, LinkedIn Learning has become an important part of career development and recruiting.
In this article, we’ll explore whether employers look at LinkedIn Learning, how they utilize it in the hiring process, and tips to maximize the impact of your LinkedIn Learning profile.
The Rising Popularity of LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning (previously known as Lynda) is an e-learning platform that offers video courses taught by industry experts across a wide range of topics. Since being acquired by LinkedIn in 2015, the platform has seen tremendous growth:
- Over 15,000 courses across business, technology, and creative skills
- Used by over 10 million professionals globally
- Average of 5 courses completed per month per user
With LinkedIn’s large professional network, LinkedIn Learning taps into career-focused learning. Professionals use it to gain new skills, advance in their roles, and stay competitive in the job market.
For employers, LinkedIn Learning is an easy way to provide training opportunities at scale. Over 7,000 companies currently offer access to their employees.
As both individual learners and companies embrace LinkedIn Learning, its visibility and value in the talent landscape continue to grow.
Do Employers Look at LinkedIn Learning Profiles?
The short answer is yes: many employers look at LinkedIn Learning during the recruiting and hiring process. Let’s explore the key ways it’s used:
Screening and Sourcing Candidates
76% of talent acquisition leaders say they use LinkedIn to source and vet candidates. LinkedIn Learning profiles allow recruiters to quickly assess a candidate’s skills and interests:
- Courses completed demonstrate skills built
- Content areas show focus and expertise
- Learning progress illustrates self-motivation and commitment
This provides valuable insight beyond just job titles and academics. Hiring managers can identify candidates with relevant capabilities that match their open roles.
Assessing Hard and Soft Skills
In today’s evolving job landscape, both hard and soft skills are imperative. LinkedIn Learning profiles give insight into both types of abilities:
Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
---|---|
Technical abilities like programming languages and tools | Communication, leadership, creativity |
Demonstrated through specific course content | Demonstrated through learning motivation and breadth |
This allows hiring managers to evaluate the full range of competencies needed for a role.
Validating Candidate Claims
In resumes and interviews, candidates can claim mastery of any skills or tools. But a LinkedIn Learning profile verifies these capabilities through completed coursework. Recruiters can quickly separate genuine skills from empty claims.
Even if you don’t have a profile, hiring managers may search for your name to uncover any learning activity. This helps validate or refute the abilities listed on your resume.
Assessing Culture Fit
Modern recruiting focuses on evaluating culture fit as much as skills fit. Do you share the company’s values, mindsets, and ways of working?
Your learning choices provide clues about your interests, priorities, and personality. This helps assess alignment with the company’s culture and team environment.
Of course, career-focused learning also demonstrates initiative and continuous improvement, always desirable traits.
How Do Employers Use LinkedIn Learning Profiles?
There are several ways employers actively utilize LinkedIn Learning profiles during the recruiting process:
Directly Reviewing Profiles
Many recruiters and hiring managers will directly review your LinkedIn Learning profile as part of your application. Treat it as you would your LinkedIn profile – customized, professional, and reflective of your capabilities.
Having an updated, robust profile provides credibility and facilitates the evaluation process.
Require Screenshots with Applications
To formalize the process, some companies request screenshots of your LinkedIn Learning dashboard and certificates as part of your job application:
- Summary page showing courses in progress and completed
- Certificates earned for key courses
- Progress page demonstrating recent learning activity
This provides tangible proof of skills and accomplishments to augment your resume.
Ask Candidates to Complete Specific Courses
More involved recruiters may request or recommend candidates complete certain LinkedIn Learning courses relevant to the open position. This allows you to:
- Demonstrate skills in action
- Show commitment by investing time in learning
- Directly apply course concepts to required work samples like case studies
Completing suggested courses can help you stand out from other applicants.
Verify Skills Through Assessments
Finally, some courses offer skills assessments upon completion. These quiz learners to validate the skills covered in the content. Employers may ask to see the results of these assessments as part of your application.
High scores provide proof you’ve successfully acquired the knowledge taught.
Tips to Strengthen Your LinkedIn Learning Profile
Here are some key tips to maximize the impact and effectiveness of your LinkedIn Learning profile as part of your job search:
Showcase Breadth and Depth
Pursue both breadth and depth in your learning:
- Breadth: Demonstrate wide-ranging interests by completing courses across categories like business, creative, and technology skills.
- Depth: Build deeper expertise with completion badges and multi-course learning paths in your chosen focus areas.
This shows you have versatile foundational skills combined with specialized strengths relevant to target roles.
Align to Target Jobs
Identify the key skills, tools, and requirements for the types of jobs you want. Then complete LinkedIn Learning courses that align to these target roles:
- Search courses related to the industry, job titles, or skills required
- Prioritize learning that matches your goals
- Showcase this relevant coursework on your profile
This demonstrates your capability in areas that matter most for your career aspirations.
Get Recommendations
Endorsements on LinkedIn reinforce your capabilities. For LinkedIn Learning, tap coworkers, managers, mentors, or classmates to provide recommendations highlighting your skills and accomplishments.
Feature these on your profile to provide outside validation.
Complete Assessments
For courses that offer skills assessments, be sure to complete them and showcase high scores. This concrete evidence of retaining knowledge can be more powerful than just listing courses.
Promote Your Profile and Skills
Update your LinkedIn profile and resume to feature relevant courses, certifications, and recommendations. This promotes your investment in skills development to recruiters proactively.
You can even set your LinkedIn profile to public to open your learning activity to non-connections.
The Future of LinkedIn Learning & Recruiting
The integration of LinkedIn Learning into talent acquisition will only accelerate going forward. Some emerging developments to expect:
More Importance on Profiles
As learners and employers double down on the platform, LinkedIn Learning profiles will become an expected part of candidate packages like resumes and portfolios.
Expanded Skills Insights
LinkedIn will likely expand profile analytics to provide more skills insights like:
- Skills covered compared to others in your industry
- Recommendations of related courses to build key competencies
- Skills “fit scores” for potential jobs you may be qualified for
This will aid both learners and recruiters in positioning skills for job targeting.
Tighter Platform Integration
Expect deeper integration between LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn Recruiter to streamline sourcing skilled candidates. Shared analytics, automated notifications, and consolidated profiles will allow a seamless flow between learning and hiring.
Certifications and Nanodegrees
LinkedIn Learning is expanding credentialing through comprehensive certifications and nanodegrees. These paid programs offer a structured path to master key skills and capabilities. Certifications will likely become common requirements or preferences for many roles.
The Takeaway
Here are some key points to remember on how LinkedIn Learning is utilized in recruiting and hiring:
- Employers actively evaluate LinkedIn Learning profiles when sourcing and assessing candidates.
- It provides insight into both hard and soft skills based on courses completed.
- Profiles verify candidate claims and demonstrate culture fit.
- Robust profiles with recommended courses aligned to target jobs make the best impression.
- LinkedIn Learning’s recruiting presence will continue to expand going forward.
With thoughtful learning choices and profile promotion, you can maximize the impact of LinkedIn Learning on your next job search. So embrace the platform as part of charting your career path in today’s digital, skills-focused environment.
What are the benefits of LinkedIn Learning?
LinkedIn Learning offers several benefits for learners:
- Access to 15,000+ expert-led courses covering business, creative, and technology skills
- Flexible online learning on your schedule across devices
- Learning paths with sequenced courses to build expertise
- Certifications to validate skills on LinkedIn profiles
- Insights into knowledge gaps compared to peers
Does completing LinkedIn Learning courses help get a job?
Yes, displaying completed LinkedIn Learning courses on your profile can improve job prospects in several ways:
- Shows self-motivation to build relevant skills
- Provides validation of skills/knowledge required for roles
- Helps create a stronger LinkedIn profile to stand out
- Aligns your learning to key words/skills sought in job listings
This signals to recruiters that you are actively developing as a professional.
How long are LinkedIn Learning courses?
LinkedIn Learning courses range from 30 minutes to several hours long. On average:
- 30-60 minute courses: Gain quick introductions to topics
- 2-3 hour courses: Pick up foundational skills
- 5+ hour courses: Master comprehensive capabilities
Courses are segmented into small learning modules for easy consumption. Multi-course learning paths provide deep dives into key focus areas.
How do you put LinkedIn Learning on your resume?
To feature LinkedIn Learning, add a section such as “Continuing Education” and list completed courses, certificates, and recommendations. For example:
Continuing Education
- LinkedIn Learning: 10 courses completed in digital marketing tools and data analytics
- Received “Managing Remote Teams” certificate with exemplary score (2020)
- Recommendation from [connection] praising communication abilities demonstrated in soft skills courses
This provides credible evidence of development without lengthy course details.
Is LinkedIn Learning worth paying for?
The monthly or annual fees for unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning are relatively affordable compared to in-person classes or degrees. The platform provides robust skilling with flexibility.
Premium features like certifications, assessments, and learning paths add further value for serious learners. Investing in a subscription can pay dividends in career growth.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Learning has become a go-to platform for professional development and recruiting. Employers actively evaluate profiles to source candidates and validate skills claims. With strategic learning choices and profile promotion, you can maximize your investment for career success. Continuing education is now digital, skills-based, and social – embrace the opportunities of the LinkedIn Learning ecosystem.