Having a strong LinkedIn presence is crucial for any professional looking to advance their career. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. As such, it has become a go-to place for recruiters and hiring managers to evaluate potential candidates. This raises an important question – should you list all of your skills on your LinkedIn profile?
The Pros of Listing All Skills
There are some benefits to providing an exhaustive list of your skills on LinkedIn:
- It shows the full breadth and depth of your abilities. Recruiters can get a comprehensive view of everything you bring to the table.
- You may surface in more searches. Recruiters often search for candidates based on specific skills and keywords. A complete skills list can help you come up in more of these searches.
- It lets you endorse and get endorsed. Displaying all your skills makes it easier for connections to endorse you for the things you’re best at.
- It builds your brand as an expert. Showcasing a wide range of competencies you possess can strengthen your personal brand and thought leadership in your field.
In summary, a detailed skills list helps provide a full picture of your qualifications and helps you get discovered by more recruiters and hiring managers.
The Cons of Listing All Skills
However, there are also some potential downsides to listing every single skill you have:
- It can be overwhelming. Too many skills listed can look cluttered and make it hard for viewers to quickly grasp your most relevant abilities.
- It includes superfluous skills. Some skills may not be meaningful to the jobs you want. Irrelevant skills just add noise.
- It can hurt your credibility. Stretching to list every skill under the sun may raise eyebrows and hurt your professional brand if you can’t truly back up those abilities.
- It won’t stand out. Generic lists of skills blend into the background. Prioritizing your top skills makes you stand out more.
In essence, an excessively long skills list becomes less helpful and less credible. Prioritizing the most relevant skills is best.
Best Practices for Listing Skills
Given the pros and cons, what is the right approach to take? Here are some tips:
- Lead with your top skills. Put your 4-6 most proficient and relevant skills at the top. This quickly shows viewers your areas of greatest expertise.
- Tailor to each position. For your top skills, customize them based on the types of roles you are targeting.
- Use keywords. Insert keywords used in job listings to help surface your profile in searches.
- Only include skills you can demonstrate. Be ready to prove proficiency for every skill listed.
- Prioritize transferable skills. Skills like communication, teamwork and problem-solving are versatile across roles.
- Cut generic skills. Eliminate fluff skills that most people could claim like “Computer Proficiency”.
The best LinkedIn skills sections showcase your most relevant and impressive abilities. They should be customized for each role you are applying for. Follow the guidelines above to make your skills list stand out.
Should You Include All Your Skills or Just the Main Ones?
At the end of the day, you do not need to stuff every single skill into your LinkedIn profile. Here are some scenarios when you may or may not want to include your full range of skills:
When to Include All Skills
- When applying for generalist roles that draw on many different areas of expertise
- When you are earlier in your career and want to demonstrate the breadth of your capabilities
- When you are open to several different types of professional opportunities
- When you have a limited number of very relevant skills for each role you are interested in
When to Only Include Main Skills
- When applying for specialized roles that require deep expertise in a few key skills
- When you are a seasoned professional and want to emphasize more advanced skills
- When you are focused on a narrow range of professional targets
- When you have an extensive list of skills that are applicable to each open position
The more focused your professional goals are, the more you can pare down your skills list to just the most applicable abilities for those types of roles. Whenever you are casting a wide net or playing up your versatility, including a fuller inventory of skills can be beneficial.
Tips for Featured Skills Section
In addition to your main skills list, you can select up to 10 skills to showcase prominently in the “Featured” skills section at the top of your profile. Here are some recommendations for making the most of this prime profile real estate:
- Spotlight your very top skills here. Treat it like the highlight reel of your abilities.
- Consider rare and valuable skills. Unique skills can help you stand out more here.
- Rotate skills when applying for new roles. Adjust your featured skills based on each position.
- Include keyword skills mentioned in job posts. Feature the must-have skills for your target roles.
- Get endorsed for these skills. Aim to build social proof through endorsements.
The featured section offers a chance to call attention to your most sought-after and impressive competencies. Make sure this space draws in viewers and clearly communicates how you are a great match for open positions.
Presenting Your Skills Visually
Rather than just listing your skills in standard text form, you can bring your profile to life by presenting your skills visually. Here are some ideas for visually showcasing your top skills in an engaging way:
Skill Meters
Add visual meters or progress bars to illustrate your proficiency levels for key skills. This brings in more color and personality than just stating “expert in X skill”. For example:
Data Analysis | █████████████████ 95% |
---|---|
Project Management | █████████████ 80% |
Software Development | ████████ 60% |
Skill Icons
Use icons or logos associated with each skill to quickly communicate your expertise. For example, if you are proficient in a software or programming language, include the official icon for it.
Certifications
Display badges or logos for certifications you’ve earned to visibly underscore your credentials. For example:
Multimedia Samples
Include relevant video, image, slidedeck, or document samples that demonstrate skills in action. For example, a designer could showcase designs, a programmer could link code samples, etc.
Key Takeaways
Highlighting the right skills in your LinkedIn profile is crucial for career success. Keep these tips in mind when creating your skills section:
- Lead with your most relevant skills for each role.
- Leverage keywords mentioned in job descriptions.
- Only include skills you can truly support with evidence.
- Use your Featured Skills to emphasize unique value.
- Present skills visually with progress bars, icons, samples, etc.
A well-crafted skills profile allows you to put your best foot forward and get noticed by more recruiters. By following best practices, you can create an accurate and compelling skills profile that advances your career aspirations.