There are a few ways you can showcase promotions and job progression on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking site with over 800 million members, so it’s a great platform for displaying your career growth and achievements to your connections and broader professional community. Showcasing promotions helps build your professional brand and can lead to new opportunities. In this article, we’ll explore some tips on how to best communicate promotions on LinkedIn.
Update Your LinkedIn Headline
One of the first things you should do when you get promoted is update your LinkedIn headline. Your headline appears right below your name at the top of your profile. It’s essentially your professional title and gets prominent visibility on your profile. When you update your headline to reflect a promotion, it quickly communicates your new position and elevated status to your network.
For example, if you were promoted from Marketing Manager to Senior Marketing Manager, you would want to update your headline from:
John Smith
Marketing Manager at XYZ Company
To:
John Smith
Senior Marketing Manager at XYZ Company
This simple update speaks volumes about your progression at your company. It shows you have taken on more responsibility and seniority. Make sure to keep your headline succinct and descriptive. You have 120 characters, so choose the words carefully.
Update Your Current Position
In addition to the headline, you should update the description of your current position to indicate you were recently promoted. On your LinkedIn profile’s experience section, edit the description of your current position to include the month and year of when you were promoted to your new role.
For example:
Marketing Manager
XYZ Company
Jan 2015 – Present
Promoted to Senior Marketing Manager in September 2022. Currently leading a team of 5 marketing specialists…etc.
Calling out when you were promoted within your current company keeps your profile up-to-date and demonstrates you are moving up and progressing within your career.
Update Past Positions
When you get promoted from one role to another at a company, go back and update your past positions at that same company to show the time period you were in those previous roles.
For example, if you were promoted from Marketing Manager to Senior Marketing Manager in September 2022, you would go back to the Marketing Manager position and update the end date:
Marketing Manager
XYZ Company
Jan 2015 – Sept 2022
This shows you held the Marketing Manager position from Jan 2015 up until your recent promotion in Sept 2022. Adding end dates helps provide context around your trajectory at the company.
Share a LinkedIn Post
Posting about your promotion on LinkedIn is a great way to spread the news across your network. Share an update proudly announcing your new role and what you’ll be focused on. This allows your connections to congratulate you and for your promotion to appear directly in your network’s feeds.
For example:
“Excited to share the news that I’ve been promoted to Senior Marketing Manager at XYZ Company! In my new role, I’ll be leading strategic marketing initiatives to increase brand awareness. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career journey!”
Post updates like this when you get promoted so your network stays up-to-date on your progress. Promotion announcements often get a lot of engagement.
Update Your Industry and Description
As you move up into more senior positions, take time to tweak other sections of your profile like your industry, description, and summary to reflect your new responsibilities and leadership role. For example, you may want to expand your industry from just “Marketing” to “Digital Marketing” or “Marketing Management.”
In your description and summary, emphasize your new qualifications and capabilities gained through the promotion. This helps paint a full picture across your profile of your elevated standing and expanded skills.
Add New Skills
Gaining a promotion usually means you’ve developed and mastered new skills. Accordingly, you should update your LinkedIn skills section. Add any new skills you’ve acquired that make you qualified for and successful in your new position. This could be hard skills like marketing analytics or leadership skills like developing talent.
Adding relevant new skills shows how you’ve grown and makes you more discoverable for opportunities requiring those same skills. Keeping this section updated is key.
Showcase New Projects
Have you taken on exciting new projects and initiatives since your promotion? If so, add them to your experience section or projects section on your profile. For example, if you now lead your company’s social media after being promoted, you would add:
Senior Marketing Manager
XYZ Company
– Oversee social media presence and creative strategy, developing content calendars and managing a team of 2 specialists. Increased follower growth by 10% in first quarter.
Sharing new responsibilities and accomplishments helps back up the promotion listed on your profile.
Boost Visibility of Your Promotion
To maximize visibility of your promotion, engage with your network by liking and commenting on posts, especially those where connections share their own career updates. This raises your profile in the LinkedIn algorithm. You can also join and participate in relevant LinkedIn Groups where you can share your new position in your introduction.
Showcase With Badges
LinkedIn offers badges you can add to your profile to highlight new positions and other achievements. For example, add the “New Position” badge on your profile once you’ve updated your role. This puts a visual indicator next to your new title, drawing extra attention to it. LinkedIn also offers an “Anniversary” badge to celebrate milestones in a role.
Promote With LinkedIn Content
In addition to your profile, leverage LinkedIn’s publishing platform and create content highlighting your career progression. For example, you can write a LinkedIn article sharing your promotion story, tips for advancing in your industry, or your new responsibilities. Promote this content to your network. Content marketing attracts new connections and further demonstrates your expertise.
Encourage Recommendations
Recommendations related to your promotion or new responsibilities are very valuable social proof. Reach out privately to managers, colleagues, or clients asking for a recommendation showcasing your new position and work. This third-party endorsement reinforces why you earned the promotion.
Showcase Certifications
Gaining certifications relevant to your new role is another way to reinforce your promotion. You can add certifications to your LinkedIn profile, along with the date acquired. For example, if you received a digital marketing certification to prepare for a promotion to Senior Marketing Manager, displaying this showcases your expanded qualifications.
Promote Outside of LinkedIn
While LinkedIn is great for professional connections, also share your promotion on other social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to boost awareness of your achievement across your broader followers and community. Just make sure your posts and tone align with those platforms and audiences.
Do’s and Don’ts
Here are some additional do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when showcasing your promotion on LinkedIn:
Do:
– Frame your promotion in a positive light and exhibit gratitude.
– Keep your headline, description, and content professional.
– Mention any new teams, projects, or initiatives you are leading.
– Thank those who have helped you reach this achievement.
Don’t:
– Display arrogance or treat your promotion as self-evident.
– Criticize your past role or employer.
– Violate company policies or confidentiality.
– Post too frequently about your promotion. Once or twice is sufficient.
Conclusion
Promotions are exciting milestones in anyone’s career journey. Be sure to take full advantage of LinkedIn’s features to highlight your job progression and expanded responsibilities. A few simple profile updates along with sharing your achievement through posts and content will effectively broadcast your promotion to your professional network. This transparency helps build your personal brand while opening up new opportunities for career growth. With over 810 million users on LinkedIn, it’s the ideal platform to showcase your hard-earned promotion.
Platform | How to Show Promotion |
---|---|
LinkedIn Headline | Update headline to new title |
LinkedIn Current Position | Add promotion date and new responsibilities |
LinkedIn Past Positions | Update end dates for previous roles |
LinkedIn Post | Share update announcing promotion |
LinkedIn Skills | Add new skills gained |
LinkedIn Content | Publish article about promotion |
Other Social Media | Post announcement on Twitter, Facebook, etc. |
Key Takeaways
– Update your LinkedIn headline, current position, and past positions to reflect new title and responsibilities.
– Share a LinkedIn post announcing your promotion to your network.
– Add new skills, projects, certifications, and content related to your promotion.
– Encourage recommendations from managers and colleagues.
– Boost visibility of your promotion by engaging your network and joining groups.
– Be professional, grateful, and don’t overshare confidential details.
Promotions position you for future success. Leveraging LinkedIn to showcase your career growth helps build your professional brand and opportunities. Congratulations on your achievement!