LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 740 million members. As a site dedicated to career networking and job searching, LinkedIn profiles showcase resumes, work histories, skills, and endorsements. With so much career-centric information, a common question among LinkedIn members is: should I include my high school on my profile or delete it?
There are pros and cons to listing a high school on LinkedIn. Including it can demonstrate well-roundedness, fill employment gaps, and connect you with alumni. But it also takes up prime profile real estate and may project immaturity or lack of professionalism to some audiences.
So when is the right time to delete your high school from LinkedIn? The ideal time depends on where you are in your career and life stage. In general…
Keep High School on Profile When:
- You recently graduated and have limited work experience
- You want to reconnect with former classmates
- You have important awards/activities to showcase from high school
- You have sparse work history and need to fill gaps
Remove High School When:
- You have over 10 years of professional work experience
- Your profile is cluttered and high school is lowering relevancy
- You have impressive college/university credentials to showcase instead
- You hold senior professional roles and want to maintain executive-level image
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. The following sections dive deeper into the pros and cons of keeping or removing your high school details from your LinkedIn profile at different life stages.
Pros of Keeping High School on LinkedIn Profile
Here are some potential benefits of continuing to showcase your high school education on LinkedIn:
Demonstrates a Well-Rounded Background
Including your high school provides a more complete overview of your educational background. Listing achievements, awards, sports, clubs, and other activities from your teen years shows you’re multi-faceted and expands beyond your workforce skills. This can make you appear more well-rounded and interesting.
Highlights Accomplishments from High School Era
Did you win the state track championship? Get voted Most Likely to Succeed? Captain the debate team that took nationals? Were you student body president or valedictorian? These types of standout high school honors, awards, leadership roles and accomplishments are worth showcasing even into adulthood.
Don’t be afraid to tout teasers or highlights from impressive high school achievements on your LinkedIn profile. Just don’t go overboard where it’s excessive.
Provides Networking Opportunities with Alumni
LinkedIn also facilitates networking and connections. Including your high school makes it easier for fellow alumni to find and connect with you. This can be advantageous for networking, career opportunities, mentorships, and making valuable peer connections.
Fills in Employment Gaps
For job seekers with limited work histories or large resume gaps, adding the high school section helps fill in space. This prevents profiles from looking too sparse. Simply listing “High School Diploma, 2000-2004” for someone with 2-3 short work stints can visually pad the profile.
Adds Credibility for Some Fields Like Education & Sciences
If you work in education, research, the sciences, or other fields where background credentials matter, detailing your own high school education may lend additional credibility. This signals first-hand familiarity with high school curriculum from the educator perspective.
Cons of Keeping High School on LinkedIn Profile
Despite the benefits, there are also drawbacks to leaving your high school details front-and-center on your LinkedIn profile:
Takes Up Valuable Profile Real Estate
LinkedIn profiles have limited space. Most experts recommend condensing to 1-2 pages max. Keeping outdated high school details eats up this valuable profile real estate that could be better utilized showcasing recent higher ed or career achievements.
Can Project Immaturity
For college graduates and mid-career professionals, flaunting high school activities can sometimes come across as immature or regressive. Think twice about showcasing high school superlatives, dance team photos, or junior prom.
Loses Relevance as Your Career Progresses
What was a key achievement in high school becomes less important with time. A senior class vice presidency, while impressive at 18 years old, loses relevance when you’re a 30-year marketing executive applying for Director roles.
Removes Focus from Higher Education
For most professionals, college and graduate degrees carry more weight and relevance than high school. Leading with secondary schooling distracts focus from more applicable higher education credentials.
Can Make You Appear Stuck in the Past
Dwelling on high school past accomplishments too much at an older age can make some people appear stuck in yesteryear versus focused on the future. Being forward-driving is key for career-focused LinkedIn profiles.
When to Keep High School on LinkedIn Profile
Here are some guidelines on when you should keep your high school details front-and-center on LinkedIn:
You Graduated Within Last 1-5 Years
For recent grads or those just starting careers, including high school is appropriate. It provides relevant background context when you have minimal work history. Fresh high school grads can list diplomas, clubs, awards, etc. Twenty-somethings with a couple years of college or jobs should include abbreviated high school lines.
You Want to Reconnect with High School Friends
If networking with old classmates is a priority, keeping your high school visible on your profile enables classmates to find and connect with you more easily. You’re more discoverable when searchable by high school name.
You Have Strong Associations or Nostalgia with Your High School Years
Maybe you had an exceptionally positive high school experience – a tight-knit class, special teacher, lifetime friends, significant personal growth period, etc. The high school years were formative and you have warm nostalgia for that era. For those with strong high school affinity, showcasing it is reasonable.
You Have Major Awards, Achievements or Activities from High School Worth Highlighting
Salutatorian, Eagle Scout, state athletic championships, scientific patents, nationally recognized extracurriculars…if you achieved something objectively remarkable in high school that still stands out years later, it’s justifiable to emphasize. Just don’t let it dominate your whole profile.
You Have Large Resume Gaps and Need to Fill Space
Sparse work histories are problematic on LinkedIn. Including high school line items can patch holes for recent grads or those frequently out of work. Any line fills gaps better than blank space. But focus on pumping up other areas of your profile first.
When to Remove High School from LinkedIn Profile
In contrast, here’s guidance on when you should delete or de-emphasize high school on your LinkedIn profile:
You Have 10+ Years of Post-High School Work Experience
Once you’ve been in the workforce for over a decade, your high school years become far less relevant. A 10-year cut off is a common benchmark experts recommend for removing or downplaying high school on resumes and LinkedIn.
You Have a College Degree or Advanced Credentials to Highlight Instead
Got a marketing MBA, engineering Ph.D or other impressive higher ed credentials? These should take center stage on your profile over any high school achievements at this stage. Make room to showcase advanced degrees prominently.
Your Profile is Cluttered and High School is Lowering Relevancy
As a LinkedIn profile expands, high school increasingly clutters prime space. Trim it down to the barebones (school name, diploma, graduation year only) or remove it completely to tighten up and enhance relevancy.
You Hold Senior Professional Roles Wanting to Maintain an Executive Presence
Senior managers, directors, VPs, executives and other seasoned professionals should be thoughtful about maintaining a leadership presence. Highlighting high school officer roles or sports teams can detract from this goal.
You Want to Convey Continual Growth and Forward Momentum in Your Career
At senior levels, it becomes more about demonstrating forward momentum versus past glories. Showcasing recent career progress conveys continual advancement and evolution. So emphasizing high school less helps keep the focus future-driven.
Tips for Removing High School from LinkedIn
If you determine it’s ideal to remove or reduce emphasis on high school in your LinkedIn profile, here are some tips to do so effectively:
Delete It Entirely If You Have 10+ Years Relevant Work Experience
For seasoned professionals, deleting high school altogether clears the most space and minimizes irrelevant past content. You have sufficient work history it’s unnecessary.
Keep Only The Minimum If You Must Include It
If your work history is limited, briefly listing just “High School Diploma, [Name], Graduated [Year]” takes up little space while plugging work gaps.
Replace With College or Alternative Education instead
Rather than removing high school entirely and leaving a gap, replace it by expanding college, vocational training, credential certificates or other education entries as applicable.
Move High School to the Bottom of Your LinkedIn Profile
Keep it visible but bump it down under positions, skills, and education sections. Deemphasize it strategically by moving to bottom of page.
Remove Specific Awards/Clubs and Generalize
Rather than listing “Class President, Varsity Soccer Captain, Yearbook Editor” just put “High School Leadership Roles and Clubs”. This minimizes level of detail.
Personalize Based on Your Needs and Goals
Ultimately whether to include or exclude high school must be evaluated per individual. Consider your career stage, goals, audience, and specific achievements to guide decisions. Tailor LinkedIn profiles based on objectives and what credibly conveys your personal brand.
There are no absolute rules. Some CEOs and authors mention high school to demonstrate lifelong perseverance. Others remove it when credibility relies on advanced credentials. Know when highlighting the past boosts or distracts from your future. Then carefully curate and customize content.
Conclusion
Deciding when to remove your high school details from LinkedIn depends on your career stage, goals, and audience. Typically, those in college or just starting careers benefit by keeping high school listed to demonstrate well-roundedness and fill in gaps.
However, most working professionals should delete or minimize high school details once they’ve gained over 10 years of experience. At that point, focus shifts to emphasizing career achievements, higher education, and forward momentum.
Aim to project relevance and maturity by customizing high school content appropriately. With the right LinkedIn profile curation over time, you can connect with classmates, showcase achievements, and convey continual advancement across career phases. Carefully considering when to highlight versus remove high school details helps craft the optimal profile.