The LinkedIn skills section is crucial for showcasing your abilities
The skills section on your LinkedIn profile allows you to highlight your top skills, abilities, and areas of expertise. This section is prominently displayed on your profile and helps convey to viewers the key competencies and knowledge you possess. Including an informative and well-crafted skills section can make your profile stand out during job searches and networking. When filling out the skills section, it’s important to be strategic with the abilities you include to maximize your profile’s impact.
Focus on skills relevant to your target roles
One of the most important considerations when adding skills is to focus on abilities directly relevant to the types of jobs or career paths you are pursuing or want to be visible for. For example, if you are seeking opportunities as a digital marketer, the skills you include should reflect key marketing and digital competencies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social media advertising, Adobe Creative Suite, Google Analytics, etc. Avoid listing random skills unrelated to your goals. Prioritizing the most applicable hard and soft skills makes your profile more compelling and focused for potential employers or contacts.
Include a healthy mix of hard and soft skills
When brainstorming which skills to add, aim for a solid mix of both hard and soft skills. Hard skills are abilities specific to a role or task, like coding languages, tools, certifications, or methodologies. Soft skills are traits like communication, teamwork, problem-solving and other capabilities that enable relationship-building and workplace success. Having a diverse range of applicable hard and soft skills illustrates your multifaceted expertise and versatility as a candidate. But be sure not to go overboard and list too many skills – try to keep it to your top 10-15 abilities.
Leverage keywords and industry terminology
LinkedIn profiles are often searchable for recruiters and hiring managers seeking candidates based on keywords and skills terminology. That’s why it pays to incorporate industry-specific keywords, acronyms, buzzwords, and phrases related to your target field or niche. For example, finance professionals may include skills like “Financial Modeling,” “SEC regulations,” “Series 7,” “Financial Analysis,” etc. Using the right terminology ensures your skills are search-friendly and aligned with roles you want.
Back up skills with real-world examples
Simply listing a skill isn’t enough – you should provide concrete examples and proof to demonstrate proficiency. Ways to do this include:
- Citing measurable accomplishments in your work experience section (e.g. “Developed a social media strategy that increased web traffic by 15%”).
- Adding certifications, courses or licenses that validate specialized abilities.
- Including projects, samples or videos that showcase your skills in action.
Validating your skills with hard evidence strengthens your credibility and employer confidence.
Prioritize skills you want to be contacted about
LinkedIn now allows you to designate certain skills as “Open To” – this signals that you are interested in opportunities related to those specific skills. For instance, you can denote that you are “Open To: Content Strategy Roles” or “Open to: Data Analysis Projects.” Identifying 3-5 skills you are most excited about can attract the right contacts and opportunities.
Cater to applicant tracking systems (ATS)
Many companies leverage applicant tracking software to scan candidate profiles and skills for job suitability. Optimizing your skills section for these systems can enhance your profile visibility. Some tips include:
- Using recognizable keywords commonly searched for in your industry
- Avoiding overuse of industry jargon or acronyms
- Listing skills in straightforward, non-overlapping ways
- Using consistent keywords and terminology across profile sections
By keeping applicant systems in mind, you can craft an ATS-friendly skills section.
Show growth over time
Displaying the progression of your skills over the span of your career tells a compelling story. Try organizing skills chronologically, with past abilities listed first and newer skills you’ve developed listed toward the end. This illustrates an upward trajectory of accumulated knowledge.
Best practices for an informative skills section
Beyond choosing which skills to feature, you’ll also need to construct an organized and engaging skills section. Here are some top practices to follow:
Break up long lists with subheadings
Listing 20 skills in a row looks cluttered and overwhelming. Try breaking your skills into distinct subcategories with headers like “Marketing Skills” and “Design Skills.” This segments your abilities into easily digestible chunks.
Order skills from highest to lowest proficiency
Rank your skills from those you are most proficient and excited to perform in a role, to those you have beginner-level familiarity with. Top skills should appear first.
Use bullet points for easy scanning
Bullet points neatly separate each individual skill, improving readability for recruiters quickly scanning profiles.
Include numbering for concise lists
Numbering skills creates organized, streamlined lists that allow you to include more abilities. Just be sure lists don’t become excessively long.
Watch character limits
LinkedIn restricts how many characters you can use to describe each skill. Be concise and impactful with your descriptions to abide by limits.
Use all available skill endorsements
Leverage endorsements from colleagues to verify your proficiency in abilities. This social validation builds credibility.
Common skills to include by profession
The most impactful skills to include depend largely on your profession or industry. Here are some of the top skills to feature for various fields and roles:
Business and Finance Skills
- Budgeting & Forecasting
- Financial Modeling
- General Ledger
- SEC Reporting
- Financial Analysis
- XBRL
- Financial Statements
- Strategic Planning
- Leadership
- Data Analysis
- Business Process Improvement
- Risk Management
Marketing Skills
- Digital Marketing
- Email Marketing
- SEO/SEM
- Social Media Marketing
- Google Ads
- Market Research
- Content Marketing
- Marketing Strategy
- Social Media Strategy
- Product Marketing
- Brand Strategy
- Web Analytics
IT and Technology Skills
- Programming languages (JavaScript, Python, Java, etc.)
- Database management (SQL, MongoDB)
- Web development (HTML, CSS, React, Angular)
- Computer networking
- Data science
- Cloud computing (AWS, Azure)
- Software engineering
- Cybersecurity
- Operating systems
- Software testing
- Project management
Healthcare Skills
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
- Healthcare Analytics
- Patient Education
- Chronic Disease Management
- HIPAA Compliance
- Medical Coding
- Healthcare IT Systems
- Clinical Workflows
- Public Health
- Telehealth
- Patient Experience
Key takeaways for an impactful LinkedIn skills section
Creating a robust, informative skills section takes time and strategic thought. By keeping these tips in mind, you can optimize your profile’s skills to attract the right opportunities:
- Choose skills carefully – focus on showcasing abilities that align with your professional goals and target roles or companies.
- Include a healthy mix of both hard and soft skills to convey technical and interpersonal capabilities.
- Validate skills with real examples and measurable results for added credibility.
- Organize skills from highest proficiency to lowest, and break up lists with subheadings.
- Optimize with ATS keywords to boost search visibility and use clear, consistent terminology.
- Showcase progression over time by listing skills acquired recently or through past experience.
An optimized skills section allows you to create a robust, well-rounded professional profile and opens up more job and networking possibilities that leverage your greatest strengths. With a thoughtful skills strategy, you can convey your value and stand out from the crowd.
FAQ
Why is the LinkedIn skills section important?
The skills section is one of the first things hiring managers and recruiters look at on a LinkedIn profile. It provides a snapshot of your key abilities, expertise and competencies relevant to a role. A compelling skills section can enhance your candidacy and visibility.
How many skills should you list on LinkedIn?
As a general rule, aim to include 10-15 of your strongest and most applicable skills on LinkedIn. This gives you enough room to showcase a diverse range of technical and soft abilities without overwhelming readers.
Should skills on LinkedIn be categorized or listed alphabetically?
Categorizing skills by areas of expertise (for example: Marketing Skills, Accounting Skills) makes your skills easier to digest than simply alphabetical order. Prioritize and order categories by relevance.
Can skills on LinkedIn be validated by others?
Yes, LinkedIn allows other users to endorse your skills, which serves as 3rd party validation of your proficiency in an ability. Accumulating endorsements from colleagues can enhance your credibility.
Should I include skills I’m still developing on LinkedIn?
In general, it’s best to only include skills you possess some proficiency in based on training or experience. However, you may denote skills you’re actively building if they align with your future goals.
