Your LinkedIn profile’s organization section is an important part of showcasing your professional experience, achievements, and skills to connections and potential employers. With over 722 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform and a go-to resource for recruiters and hiring managers screening candidates.
Having an optimized LinkedIn profile can give you a competitive edge in the job market by making your skills, accomplishments, and work history shine. Your organization section is where you can provide details about your current and past roles, responsibilities, contributions, and more. So what exactly should you include in the organization section of your LinkedIn profile to make it stand out?
Focus on Relevance
When filling out the organization section, focus on experiences and achievements that are most relevant to your target industry and future career goals. Even if you have an extensive work history, cherry pick the roles that highlight capabilities you want hiring managers to see. For example, if you’re a marketing professional, place extra emphasis on previous marketing positions by including key projects, campaigns, and impact.
Save organizational clutter by trimming down details about unrelated jobs, like the summer you waited tables or worked retail during school. While every experience adds to your personal development, you want to feature information that showcases your qualifications and fit for the types of roles you’re pursuing next.
Tailor to Each Position
Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, customize the details you provide for each organization and position. Recruiters will look for specifics about what you actually did in each job. Cater your descriptions directly to the employer and avoid just listing generic duties.
For example, instead of:
- Managed social media platforms
- Wrote content for blog and website
- Designed marketing materials
Try something like:
- Managed social media platforms, increasing Instagram following by 10% in 6 months
- Wrote over 100 blog posts on topics like local events, product features, and company news
- Designed print brochures, online ads, and other materials that improved brand awareness by 25%
The more specific and quantified your descriptions are, the better hiring managers will understand your contributions.
Quantify Achievements
Wherever possible, quantify your accomplishments and impact at each organization. Numbers help paint a vivid picture of how you added value. Include metrics like:
- Increased sales by 30% over 2 years
- Cut costs by 15% through process optimization
- Improved customer satisfaction scores from 65% to 90%
- Led project that generated $500K in revenue
Backing up your achievements with hard data makes them more concrete and memorable.
Highlight Skills and Strengths
Your organization descriptions also offer a chance to showcase vital skills and knowledge gained. Communicate how you built up competencies that make you an attractive candidate. For example:
- Developed social media strategy and gained experience managing large brand accounts
- Strengthened written communication abilities by producing 150+ page reports
- Expanded analytical skills using Excel, Tableau, and other data tools to track KPIs
- Built out project management and leadership talents by directing cross-functional teams
Tying your skills to actual examples of how you applied them helps reinforce that you genuinely possess them.
Formatting Best Practices
In addition to your content, pay attention to how you format the organization section for maximum scannability:
Use Bullet Points
Bullet points make text easy to skim and digest. Break up big blocks of text by highlighting important points with bullets:
- Managed a team of 10 social media specialists
- Oversaw all client accounts and communications
- Developed social media and community management strategies
- Implemented targeted paid ad campaigns
- Analyzed campaign metrics and presented results to senior leadership
Lists help key information stand out. Use them to draw attention to your most relevant contributions.
Be Selective With Paragraphs
Paragraphs are great for conveying detailed information, like summarizing a major project. But huge chunks of text can seem intimidating and discourage readers. Paragraphs are most effective when used sparingly and purposefully. For example, you may choose to include one paragraph providing an overview of your role and focus the rest of the section on bulleted achievements.
Add Visual Elements
Photos, icons, graphs, and other visuals can complement your text and make your profile more engaging. Consider adding images of presentations, infographics of results, or photos of team events. But make sure any visuals directly support the content rather than just taking up space.
Use Action Verbs
Strong action verbs help cement the impression that you actively contributed to organizations and made a difference. Some good examples include verbs like “launched,” “led,” “pioneered,” “built,” and “transformed.”
Here’s an example integrating strong verbs:
- Led development of mobile apps that increased engagement by 50%
- Pioneered use of VR technology for remote training programs
- Built strategic partnerships with 5 major retailers to expand distribution
Dynamic verbs instantly livens up your accomplishments.
Length
How much detail should you include for each position? As a guideline, 3-6 bullet points listing your most relevant contributions is ideal. You want enough detail to paint a picture, but not so much that it bogs down readers.
For very short roles, trim down to the 3 most outstanding accomplishments. For jobs you held for multiple years, you often can showcase more achievements. But be selective – present only your proudest and most meaningful contributions.
If you have a multi-decade career, it’s OK to consolidate early roles into a single line or paragraph, like “Held various marketing roles at ABC Company from 1997-2002” with a few bullets for big wins. Focus on dedicating space to recent and applicable positions.
Order and Grouping
Within each position, list your contributions in order of importance so the most impressive information stands out right away.
Group together similar bullets so readers can easily connect related accomplishments, like keeping your team management contributions in one section and product launch results in another. Use line breaks between groups to prevent information overload.
For order of positions, list in reverse chronological order with your current or most recent job first. The exception is if an earlier role is more relevant to the types of opportunities you want next – then you can optionally move it up.
Keywords
Incorporate relevant keywords into your organization descriptions to help the content be found in LinkedIn search. Think about terms hiring managers may search for.
Relevant hard skills (e.g. SQL, JavaScript), soft skills (e.g. communication, teamwork), job titles, credentials, company names, and industry terms are all options. But make sure they flow naturally within your descriptions.
Consistency
Keep verb tenses consistent across your profile. For past positions, use past tense verbs like “managed,” “created,” “built”. For your current role, switch to present tense with verbs like “manage,” “create,” and “build.”
Also ensure your language matches across other LinkedIn profile sections like your summary and skills. Reinforce the same capabilities and strengths throughout.
Proofread
Typos or grammatical errors in your organization section can undermine your professionalism. Before finalizing your profile, carefully proofread all text or ask a friend to review. Use spelling and grammar check built into LinkedIn to catch any mistakes.
Recommendations
LinkedIn recommendations from former colleagues or managers can greatly boost your credibility. Target getting 1-3 recommendations for each position to back up your described contributions.
Who to Ask
Aim to get recommendations from those who can speak in detail about your work, like a direct supervisor, clients, or team members you collaborated closely with.
What to Ask For
Provide recommenders with specifics on ideal talking points tailored to the target job, like key projects, technical skills, or accomplishments you want highlighted. Make requests personal rather than blast generic asks.
Returning the Favor
To incentivize quality recommendations, offer to provide recommendations in return. This mutual endorsement exchange helps build the credibility of both profiles.
Keep it Updated
As you gain experience and grow professionally, periodically update your LinkedIn organization section. Add new positions promptly as you take them on. Rotate out outdated early roles as you advance your career.
Update bullet points with fresh examples of achievements and impact as you accomplish more. Keeping it current ensures your profile accurately reflects your latest skills and experience.
Conclusion
Optimizing your LinkedIn organization section takes time and thought, but pays dividends in showcasing your capabilities. By tailoring your content to target roles, quantifying results, highlighting relevant skills, and formatting for scannability, you’ll convey your fit and talents to prospective employers. Pair thoughtful descriptions with recommendations for an extra edge. With a well crafted organization section that spotlights your value, you can stand out among candidates and win more career opportunities.
