Whether to connect your LinkedIn Learning account to your personal LinkedIn profile is an important decision that requires weighing the pros and cons. On the one hand, linking the two accounts can showcase your dedication to expanding your skills and knowledge to employers and connections. However, it also makes your learning history public, which may reveal gaps in your expertise you’d rather not highlight. Carefully considering the benefits and drawbacks can help you decide if integration is right for your needs.
Pros of Linking LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn
Here are some potential advantages of connecting your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn accounts:
- Demonstrates commitment to learning – Completing courses on LinkedIn Learning illustrates you are actively working to build your skills. This can make you more attractive to potential employers and business contacts.
- Shows range of knowledge – The courses you have finished span topics like business, creative, and technology skills. Showcasing this breadth conveys your versatility.
- Highlights hard skills – Courses that teach specific abilities like Excel, graphic design, and programming languages can highlight talents you have. This gives concrete evidence of abilities.
- Displays soft skills – Courses on leadership, communication, and other soft skills demonstrate you are developing these capabilities needed in business roles.
- Makes achievements public – Any certificates of completion are added to your LinkedIn profile, sharing your accomplishments.
- Encourages completion – Knowing your learning is public can motivate you to finish courses you start.
- Easily share courses – You can post links to courses you take, spreading useful content with your network.
Tying your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn accounts together makes the courses and certifications you earn visible. For many professionals, the benefits of publicizing their dedication to learning and showcasing new skills outweigh the downsides.
Cons of Linking LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn
Here are some potential drawbacks of connecting your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn accounts:
- Shows skills not mastered – Any courses started but not completed are visible, highlighting areas you have not learned thoroughly.
- Reveals skill gaps – Courses in subjects new to you demonstrate holes in your expertise a potential employer may see.
- Displays unimportant courses – Even irrelevant or unhelpful courses you experiment with become part of your public profile.
- Removes control over visibility – You lose the ability to choose which courses to highlight or downplay on your profile.
- Exposes early progress – At beginning skill levels, basic courses may not convey your qualifications as desired.
- Presents inaccurate focus – Dabbling in many subjects can disguise your true specialties and interests.
- Requires updating profile – Must manually remove completed certifications when renewing so old and new don’t overlap.
Linking your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn makes all your learning history visible. For some professionals, this lack of control and potential skill gaps revealed outweigh the benefits of publicizing their knowledge.
Alternatives to consider
If you are hesitant about tying your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn accounts together directly, here are a few alternative approaches to consider:
- Manually add completed courses – Choose only the certifications that bolster your brand and expertise to list on your profile.
- Feature only major certificates – Avoid clutter by just showcasing multi-course programs to highlight deep knowledge.
- Customize public visibility – Use LinkedIn options to exclude certain information like early progress from your profile.
- List course topics – Rather than specific courses, summarize relevant skills you have developed on your profile.
- Share accomplishments selectively – Choose only major milestones to post about, rather than all activities.
- Use privacy settings – Adjust your account to limit visibility of all or parts of your LinkedIn Learning info.
Using selective or summarized information lets you shape how LinkedIn Learning appears on your profile. This limits exposure but still allows you to showcase key skills and certificates.
Factors to consider in your decision
Weigh the following factors when deciding if you should link your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn accounts:
| Factor | Favors Linking | Favors Not Linking |
|---|---|---|
| Career level | Early-career – Shows initiative | Experienced – Less need to prove skills |
| Field and role | Fields valuing continuous learning like tech | Fields focused on credentials over skills |
| Types of courses | Relevant hard and soft skills | Niche or causally explored topics |
| Activity level | Active with many certificates | Occasional light use of Learning |
| Audience | Public profile appealing to recruiters | Private profile for personal network |
Considering how factors like these apply to your specific situation can help guide your decision on whether integration makes sense.
Benefits beyond your profile
In addition to how linking accounts affects your profile, connecting LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn provides other advantages:
- Unified login – Seamlessly access Learning using your LinkedIn credentials.
- Learning recommendations – Courses suggested are based on your interests and groups.
- Shareable content – Can post quotes, videos, and insights from courses to LinkedIn.
- Network opportunities – Can connect with instructors and peers taking the same courses.
- Course analytics – Provides data on time spent learning and other engagement metrics.
- Mobile access – Available on LinkedIn mobile app to learn on the go.
The convenience of a integrated learning experience with recommendations tailored for you may be worthwhile on its own regardless of profile considerations.
Conclusion
Deciding whether to link your LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn accounts has pros and cons. Integrating them makes your learning history, completed courses, and earned certifications public. This can demonstrate your commitment to developing skills but also reveal any gaps or early progress. Alternatives like selectively showcase certifications offer a compromise.
Factors like career level, field, types of courses, activity level, and audience can shape whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in your situation. Beyond affecting your profile, linking provides a more seamless learning experience. Thoughtfully weighing the trade-offs based on your needs can determine if integration makes sense for you.