Why Should I Add LinkedIn Skill Assessments to My Resume?
LinkedIn skill assessments allow you to showcase your abilities in various areas like programming languages, design tools, business applications and more. Passing these assessments and earning a badge that you can display on your LinkedIn profile shows prospective employers that you have the skills needed to succeed in a particular role.
Adding your LinkedIn skill assessment badges to your resume is an excellent way to provide third-party validation of your skills. Rather than just listing skills on your resume, the LinkedIn badge proves that you have been officially assessed and certified in that skill by LinkedIn. This lends more credibility and trust to your skillset.
According to a 2021 survey by TalentWorks, 73% of talent professionals said they view certification badges like the LinkedIn skill assessment as equivalent to formal education or work experience. So displaying your badges can give your resume a competitive edge.
In today’s job market, technical skills and specific software/tool knowledge are highly sought after by employers. The LinkedIn skill badges concretely showcase capabilities in these areas, making your resume more likely to catch a hiring manager’s eye.
Key Benefits of Adding LinkedIn Skill Assessment Badges to Your Resume
– Provides proof of your skills that goes beyond self-reporting
– Shows you have current and in-demand job skills
– Displays tech savviness through modern badge credentials
– Gives your resume an edge compared to other candidates
– Reinforces and complements your listed work experience
– Adds credentials that are valued by hiring managers
– Helps your resume make it past applicant tracking systems
– Highlights both soft and hard professional skills
How to Add LinkedIn Skill Assessments to Your Resume
Adding your LinkedIn skill assessment badges to your resume is easy. Here are step-by-step instructions:
1. Take and pass LinkedIn skill assessments.
If you don’t already have skill badges, take assessments in relevant areas to obtain badges to add to your resume. LinkedIn offers over 140 assessments across business, technology, and creative skills. Some examples include:
– Project Management
– JavaScript
– Social Media Marketing
– Adobe Photoshop
– Customer Service
Take assessments in your strongest skill areas or ones that are required for the positions you are applying to.
2. Showcase your badges on your LinkedIn profile.
Once you have passed assessments, your new badges will appear under the Skills & Endorsements section of your LinkedIn profile. Make sure they are prominently displayed. You can reorder skills to put your top badges at the top of the list.
3. Download your badge images from LinkedIn.
– On desktop: Click on a badge, then click the download icon in the pop-up to save the badge image to your computer.
– On mobile: Tap on a badge, tap the three dots, then tap Download.
Save badge images in an easily accessible location like your desktop.
4. Insert badge images in your resume.
Most resume file formats like Microsoft Word or Google Docs allow you to insert and embed images. Place badge images alongside your skills section, summary statement, or anywhere else that makes sense.
Make sure the file size is reasonable so that your resume doesn’t become too large or difficult to work with. Compress images if needed.
5. List the badges under a Skills section.
In addition to displaying the LinkedIn badge images, also list out the badges under a section like “LinkedIn Skill Assessments” or “Certifications.”
For example:
LinkedIn Skill Assessments:
– Project Management (badge image)
– JavaScript (badge image)
– Social Media Marketing (badge image)
This helps provide context for the images and allows the badges to be indexed by applicant tracking systems.
Tips for Formatting LinkedIn Skill Badges on Your Resume
– Place badges in a single line near their related skill or qualification. Don’t wrap text around them.
– Keep badges relatively small in size. About one inch square is ideal.
– Only include your top 5-15 badges. Too many can overwhelm a resume.
– Make sure badges are clearly visible. Don’t place them behind text or graphics.
– Reorder badges so the most relevant ones for each application are on top.
– Use badges judiciously alongside your other qualifications. They complement but don’t replace your work history.
– Format badge images consistently in terms of size, layout, and use of color.
– Consider grouping relevant badges together into a single image. For example, group multiple project management badges into one graphic under the Project Management heading.
– Update your resume badge section whenever you earn new assessment badges.
Where to Place LinkedIn Skill Assessment Badges on Your Resume
Where you add your LinkedIn skill badges on your resume will depend on the overall format and layout you are using. Here are some common options:
Near the Header
Placing your badges in a row near the top of your resume helps them stand out right away and grabs the reader’s attention. This works best if you have a simple, clean header without your branding taking up too much space.
In the Qualifications or Skills Section
Add LinkedIn badges alongside the specific skills they are associated with in your skills section. Match each badge image to its related skill. This provides nice context.
In a Separate Section
You can create a dedicated section just for your LinkedIn skill assessment badges, titled something like “LinkedIn Certifications” or “Skill Assessments.” This lets you showcase the badges clearly.
Along the Side or in the Margins
If space permits, LinkedIn badges can be arranged in a column along the left or right side of the page. This makes them easy to spot but doesn’t take up prime resume real estate.
With Your Education
For some job seekers, listing certifications and badges alongside degrees, training programs and schools attended makes sense. Use your judgement for what fits best.
Should You Include Just the Badges or the Assessment Details?
You have a choice whether to only display the LinkedIn skill badge images themselves or provide additional details on the assessments you passed. Here are some pros and cons of each approach:
Badges Only
**Pros:**
– Provides quick visual confirmation of skills
– Preserves resume space
– Avoids redundancy if skills are already listed
**Cons:**
– Lacks context around when assessment was taken, level achieved, etc.
– Not searchable by applicant tracking systems
– Meaning unclear to anyone unfamiliar with LinkedIn badges
Badges + Assessment Details
**Pros:**
– Offers more info and transparency around your credentials
– Shows if assessment level like “Expert” was achieved
– Lists exact assessment names
– Provides dates when assessments were passed
**Cons:**
– Takes up more resume space
– May repeat info covered in skills section
– Extra details may not impact hiring decision
Use your best judgement based on the specifics of your situation. In many cases, just the LinkedIn badge images are sufficient. But you can provide assessment details if you really want to emphasize and elaborate on your credentials.
Showcasing a Variety of In-Demand Skills
Rather than just focusing on a single skill area, it’s ideal to obtain badges that showcase a diverse mix of modern professional abilities.
Here are some of the most in-demand skills across industries that LinkedIn skill assessments can validate:
– **Project Management:** PMP, Agile, Scrum certifications
– **Design:** Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, AutoCAD, Figma
– **Software and Programming:** SQL, Javascript, HTML/CSS, Salesforce, SAP
– **Data and Analytics:** Excel, Power BI, Data Analysis, SEO
– **Business Tools:** Quickbooks, HubSpot, Tableau, Asana
– **Communication:** Writing, Customer Service, Presentation Skills, Leadership
A combination of both hard technical skills and soft skills is ideal. This shows you are a well-rounded candidate.
Including Both LinkedIn Badges and Other Professional Certifications
In addition to displaying your LinkedIn skill assessment badges, you can also include other relevant professional certifications on your resume.
For example, you may have certifications from respected industry sources like:
– Google Analytics
– Facebook Blueprint
– HubSpot Academy
– Microsoft Certified Professional
– CompTIA
– Amazon Web Services
Mixing unofficial LinkedIn badges with more formal programs from credentialing bodies provides professional diversity.
When possible, organize your certifications from most to least formal:
– Degrees
– Professional Certificates
– LinkedIn Skill Assessments
– Badges from online courses/programs
But use your judgement – the most relevant and recognizable credentials should get top billing over general degrees.
Should You Include Expired or Outdated Badges?
LinkedIn skill assessment badges expire after one year. The badges will disappear from your profile, indicating the certification is no longer active.
For resume purposes, it’s best not to include expired LinkedIn skill badges. Listing outdated credentials may actually hurt rather than help your cause.
However, for very recent badges, you can make note when they are set to expire:
Social Media Marketing (expires March 2023)
This shows you currently have the skills but will need to retake the assessment to maintain the certification.
Only displaying current badges keeps your qualifications honest and up-to-date. You don’t want to mislead employers that you possess skills you no longer have.
Writing Descriptions of Your Skills
Rather than just listing your skills, you can write short descriptive paragraphs to provide more context and details about your capabilities.
For example:
**JavaScript**
– Developed expertise in JavaScript fundamentals including variables, arrays, conditionals, loops, functions, and objects through extensive hands-on programming projects and coursework.
– Created front-end user experiences and interfaces for web applications using HTML, CSS, jQuery, and responsive design principles.
– Built interactive web pages and cross-browser compatible web solutions.
– Implemented JavaScript for back-end development using Node.js and frameworks like Express.js.
– Passed LinkedIn Skill Assessments in JavaScript (Expert level) and jQuery (Specialist level).
Keep descriptions clear, concise, and honest. Try quantifying your skills with details like years of experience, projects completed, and technologies used.
Sprinkle in a few keywords that get past resume scanning ATS systems. Mentioning your LinkedIn skill levels here provides added reinforcement.
Showcasing Soft Skills and Transferable Skills
While your technical hard skills may be easiest to validate through LinkedIn skill assessments, don’t underestimate the value of also showcasing soft skills.
These range from communications, leadership, teamwork, and other interpersonal abilities that allow you to effectively apply your hard skills.
Soft skills assessments to consider:
– Communication
– Collaboration
– Criticial Thinking
– Creativity
– Motivation
– Adaptability
– Problem Solving
– Emotional Intelligence
– Time Management
In addition, demonstrating transferable skills like data analysis, project management, public speaking, and research that apply across roles and industries can help your resume stand out.
A good mix of technical skills and soft skills gives a well-rounded picture of what you bring to the table.
Writing Accomplishment Statements Highlighting Your Skills
Rather than just listing your skills, you can back them up with accomplishment statements that provide proof through results and impact.
A few examples:
– Improved email campaign click-through rates by 15% by creating segmented audience lists targeted by demographics and user behavior.
– Reduced software debugging time by 30% by implementing unit testing with mocking and test driven development.
– Designed and delivered presentations on leadership strategies to over 500 employees across 10 departments, earning Best Speaker award at company conference.
– Launched an affiliate marketing program from scratch, recruiting 25 partners in first two months that generated over $100k in added annual revenue.
Choose quantifiable facts and figures that demonstrate applications of your skills, not just knowledge. Mention any relevant awards or outside validation.
These mini stories help your skills and experience jump off the page. They show rather than tell your capabilities.
Conclusion
Adding LinkedIn skill assessment badges provides concrete third-party proof of your professional capabilities that will grab a hiring manager’s attention.
Properly formatting badges alongside your skills and certifications gives your resume credibility. Showcasing in-demand technical and soft skills indicates you have knowledge that applies directly to open roles.
With applicant tracking systems scanning resumes in seconds, LinkedIn badges help get your foot in the door. They telegraph key qualifications clearly and concisely through simple images.
Just don’t go overboard with an excessive number of badges. Choose your top credentials strategically and make them shine by packaging them smartly within your resume.
The right balance of LinkedIn skill badges and other supporting details will take your resume to the next level and help you land that coveted interview.
