Listing your language skills correctly on LinkedIn is important for showcasing your abilities to recruiters and potential employers. With over 380 million members, LinkedIn is one of the top platforms for finding new career opportunities. Highlighting your language proficiency can give your profile an edge over others in the competitive job market.
But how exactly should you list languages on your LinkedIn profile? Here are some tips on the key information to include and how to format your language skills section.
Should You List Language Skills on LinkedIn?
Yes, you should absolutely list your language skills on your LinkedIn profile. Here are some of the key reasons why:
- Recruiters often search LinkedIn profiles based on language abilities. Listing your skills makes your profile easily discoverable.
- It shows employers you have versatile communication abilities valuable for positions requiring multilingual skills.
- Displaying multiple languages can give your profile a competitive edge and help you stand out.
- It provides evidence of proficiencies that may not be clear from your work experience alone.
- Omitting language skills can make recruiters think you don’t have any worth showcasing.
In summary, including your language abilities on your LinkedIn profile is critical for getting your skills seen and opening up more career opportunities.
How to Add Languages to LinkedIn
Adding languages to your LinkedIn profile is easy. Just follow these simple steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page and click on the “Add profile section” dropdown menu.
- Select the “Languages” option.
- Start typing the name of the language you want to add. LinkedIn will autocomplete the name for you.
- Choose your proficiency level from the dropdown menu: native, bilingual, fluent, conversational, or elementary.
- Click the “+” icon to add any certifications or tests in this language.
- Click “Save” to add the language to your profile.
You can add as many languages as you want. The languages will then appear in a separate “Languages” section on your profile.
What to Include in Your Language Skills Section
When listing languages on LinkedIn, what information should you include? Here are some key details to add:
- Language Names: List each language you know fluently or conversationally.
- Proficiency Level: Choose the level that best represents your abilities in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
- Certifications: Mention any language exams or certifications that demonstrate your proficiency.
- Uses: Briefly note how you utilize each language, such as at work or in your daily life.
Let’s look at each of these points in more detail:
Language Names
Start by simply listing the name of each language you know. Try to use the full names, for example “German” instead of just “Germanic”. This helps make sure recruiters can clearly identify which languages you’re claiming fluency in.
Only include languages you have at least a conversational ability in. There’s no need to list languages you just have a beginner’s grasp of.
Proficiency Level
Choose the proficiency level that best matches your skills for each language:
- Native or bilingual: This language is one of your native tongues and you are fully fluent.
- Fluent: You have expert-level proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
- Conversational: You can carry on basic conversations and understand the gist of native speakers.
- Elementary: You have beginner-level skills and grasp common vocabulary.
Pick the level that most accurately represents your abilities – don’t inflate your skills as recruiters may test you.
Certifications
Mention any formal language examinations or certifications you have completed, such as:
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
- IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
- TEFAQ (Test de connaissance du français)
- Goethe-Zertifikat (German exam)
- DELE (Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera for Spanish)
Include the name of the certificate or test, the issuing institution, your score, and the date you received it. Certifications boost your credibility.
Uses
Briefly note how you use your language skills. For example:
- “Use German daily in my job in communications at BMW.”
- “Studied abroad in Costa Rica, using conversational Spanish.”
- “Employ Hindi fluently as it is my native tongue.”
This provides helpful context about where and why you utilize this language regularly.
Language Skills Section Formatting
In addition to listing the key details covered above, pay attention to how you format the “Languages” section:
- List your strongest language skills first to showcase your top abilities.
- Break down each language onto its own line for easy reading.
- Use bullet points to highlight certifications and language uses.
- Keep descriptions concise – 2-3 lines per language maximum.
Here is an example of how to effectively format your language skills section:
Languages
- English (Native or bilingual)
- TOEFL score 110/120
- French (Fluent)
- DELF B2 certificate awarded 2016
- Use daily for work in international business meetings and communications
- Spanish (Conversational)
- Completed immersion study abroad in Spain
- Can converse with Spanish-speaking customers
This clear, organized presentation will look attractive to recruiters and help your language abilities stand out.
Should You Verify Your Language Skills?
LinkedIn gives you the option to take short language tests to “verify” your proficiency levels for some languages. Verified skills appear with a checkmark icon.
Verifying can be a good idea for these reasons:
- It provides objective proof of your skills, not just self-reported abilities.
- The tests only take 1-2 minutes and are free.
- Verified skills appear higher in LinkedIn search results.
However, verifying is optional. If you have certifications or demonstrations of skills in your profile already, you may not need to verify as well.
How to Verify Language Skills
To verify a language, follow these steps:
- In your profile’s “Languages” section, click the “Verify” link next to the language.
- Take the short multiple-choice test presented to demonstrate your comprehension.
- Pass the test by answering at least 60% of questions correctly.
- The language skill will now appear as verified with a checkmark icon.
Verifying your top language skills sends a signal to employers that you have the proficiency to back up your listed abilities.
Common LinkedIn Language Skill Mistakes
When adding language skills to your LinkedIn profile, be sure to avoid these frequent mistakes:
- Only listing “conversational language skills” without the specific language names.
- Omitting clear proficiency levels like fluent, conversational, etc.
- Not including any language certifications or credentials you have earned.
- Listing languages you barely have elementary skills in.
- Exaggerating your actual proficiency in a language.
- Just writing “see resume” instead of outlining language abilities.
Ensure your language skills section contains detailed information on your proficiencies so you can showcase these assets to employers.
Tips for Improving Your LinkedIn Language Section
Here are some additional tips for making your LinkedIn language skills section as compelling as possible:
- Place the section prominently near the top of your profile.
- List both languages you have full proficiency in as well as conversational skills.
- Include links to any language certifications or test scores.
- Mention unique uses like translating, interpreting, tutoring or foreign residence.
- Quantify your skills: “8 years experience with fluent German.”
Taking steps like these will maximize your language abilities in your LinkedIn profile and help recruiters see you have strong multilingual skills for diverse roles.
Example of a Strong LinkedIn Language Section
What does an impressive, well-formatted language section look like on LinkedIn? Here is a sample profile excerpt with strong language skills presented:
Languages
- Spanish (Native or bilingual)
- Used as primary language for 5 years living in Spain and Chile.
- English (Fluent)
- TOEFL score 110/120 in 2020
- Employed as an English-Spanish translator for 2 years.
- Italian (Conversational)
- Spent 1 semester abroad in Italy gaining conversational skills
This section immediately lets employers know the applicant has:
- Native-level Spanish abilities
- Certified fluent English skills
- Conversational Italian speaking skills
The quantifiable details and international experience help these language skills stand out.
Conclusion
Highlighting your language proficiencies on LinkedIn is crucial for attracting global employers in our increasingly multilingual business world. Be sure to accurately list your language abilities, level of proficiency, certifications, and professional uses.
With an organized, detailed language skills section, you can effectively showcase your multilingual capacities to recruiters. Verifying your top languages and quantifying your experience also helps. This will open up more career opportunities where your language fluencies provide a competitive advantage.