Since its creation in 2002, professional social network LinkedIn has continued to expand its range of services offered to its users. One of them, “licenses and certifications”, allows the users to supplement their profile with tangible elements in order to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive job market, and this includes adding and highlighting a LinkedIn micro credential on their page.
Do you have a language certification, have completed an online learning course, or have a particular set of skills that you have been evaluated on?
Find out in this article how to add and highlight a LinkedIn certification.
If you’re a training organization and want to provide your learners with certifications that they can integrate into their LinkedIn profile with a single click, we invite you to discover the BCdiploma credentials solution.
What is a LinkedIn certification?
First introduced in 2010, the feature to add a certification to your profile was originally a way for users to display their various certificates, patents and licenses. Launched in 2013, the Direct-to-Profile Certifications pilot program complemented this use of certification. This partnership program established with online education and training institutes such as Coursera offers users the option to add a certification for the completed course to their LinkedIn profile directly through the partner institution.
here are many reasons to add a certification to your LinkedIn profile. For example, you may want to add concrete elements to your skills, or you may want to locate your level in an existing certification. This last component can help recruiters find you more easily in search results. In this respect, visibility is another objective of LinkedIn certification: LinkedIn profiles with at least one certification are on average six times more visited than others. This can be very useful in a job search.
Many types of certifications can be featured on your LinkedIn profile: language level (TOEIC, TOEFL), course completion certificate, training related to a particular technology, etc. This is in addition to certifications delivered by LinkedIn Learning, the social network’s e-learning portal launched in 2016 following the acquisition of Lynda.com, an online training platform. Personalized for each user, it guides content proposals according to each user’s profile. On the corporate side, it allows employees to follow continuous training.
Today, the digitization of companies and the constant growth in LinkedIn registrations (more than 740 million members worldwide) are leading to a democratization of certifications on LinkedIn. BCdiploma guides you through a step-by-step process to add your certifications to your profile and highlight them to your professional network.
How can I add a LinkedIn certification?
Adding a certification is quite easy and free, but it does require you to follow a very specific process. Follow the steps below to add a certification to your profile.
How can I add a certification in 4 steps?
Step 1: Go to the LinkedIn website and then, in the top right-hand menu, click on “Me” (just below your profile picture) and then on “View Profile”.
Step 2: You are now at the top of your profile page. In the box with your cover photo and profile picture, open the “Add a profile section” drop-down menu.
Step 3: Once you open the drop-down menu, you will find the different sections of your LinkedIn profile, from the intro to the supported languages. Click on the “Background” tab, then on the “Licenses and Certifications” section.
Step 4: You can now fill out the corresponding fields to add your certification to your LinkedIn profile! For each of them, you will need the following information and to fill in the corresponding fields:
- The name of the certification / license / certificate (mandatory);
- The issuing organization (mandatory);
- The issue date and the expiration date, you can also check the box “This credential does not expire” if applicable;
- The Credential ID (optional);
- The Credential URL (optional).
Once all fields are completed, click “Save” and your certification will be added to your profile. If you want to enhance your LinkedIn page, you can click on “Save and add another” and repeat the steps above.
How can I highlight a LinkedIn certification?
Now that you have added your certifications to your profile, you can also choose to highlight them. This will give you more visibility and credibility with your professional network, but also with people who are not connected to you.
Once on your profile, you can click on “Edit Public Profile and URL” on the right side of your screen to see the information displayed for your network. You can then modify the visibility of your public profile and observe the changes made in real-time depending on what you decide to display or not. Scroll down to your public profile page and check the “Show” button next to “Certifications”.
Note that LinkedIn no longer notifies your professional network when you add a certification to your profile. To highlight a certification, you can post when you get a new certificate for example, or hide other sections of your public profile. For example, you may decide to hide “Education” and “Volunteer Experiences” so that your certifications appear higher on the page.
What are some mistakes to avoid when adding the certification?
While adding a certification on LinkedIn has many benefits, several common mistakes could negatively impact your profile.
Try to keep the certifications on your profile as clean as possible, so that you only keep the most relevant and appropriate ones related to your job and business line. For example, there is no point in adding non-professional certifications, even if you feel that your profile is not complete enough. On the other hand, it will always be relevant to fill in your language certificates, regardless of the environment in which you work.
Similarly, focus on the most accurate certifications and be as thorough as possible. In particular, fill in the issue and expiration dates as soon as possible, although filling in these fields is optional when adding a certification to your LinkedIn profile. The same goes for the diploma ID and the credential URL if you have them: this is a guarantee of credibility for your LinkedIn page.
Finally, never add a certification or license that you can’t prove. In case of an audit during a job search, for example, this could be very prejudicial to you.
BCdiploma: Diplomas, certifications and badges on the blockchain
BCdiploma is a solution that allows all schools, universities and training organizations to provide their students with diplomas, training certificates, skills badges and digital Open Badges perfectly suited for sharing on your LinkedIn profile.
These certifications are provided in the form of a unique, secure, personal URL link valid for life, which you can copy and paste into the “Login URL” in Step 4 of the above “Add a certification on LinkedIn in 4 steps” process.
Using blockchain for authentification, BCdiploma delivers tamper-proof, verifiable and 100% digital certificates to universities and training organizations: BCdiploma allows you to gain credibility and trustworthiness with future recruiters and in the business world.
Check out BCdiploma‘s website to discover the more than 170 institutions in 22 countries that already trust us.
FAQ
What is a LinkedIn certification?
Adding a LinkedIn certification is a great way for business professionals to highlight an achievement in specific courses, the learning of a new skill or the recent completion of a project to differentiate themselves in the job market. Furthermore, listing specific skills or certified training on their profile can help increase users’
How can I add a certification on LinkedIn?
To add a LinkedIn certification on your profile, click on the “Add a profile section” on your profile page, then click on the “Background” tab and “Licenses and Certifications” section, where you can fill in the corresponding fields.
How is blockchain used for diplomas and certificates?
Universities and training organization can use blockchain technology to deliver digital, secure and verifiable blockchain certificates to students or professionals who have completed their learning courses, in the form of a unique URL, which can easily be added to their LinkedIn profile page.