A detailed LinkedIn profile can make all the difference between fielding plenty of emails from recruiters and hearing nothing but silence. This goes beyond just filling out your work history and uploading your profile picture, however.
Most people don’t know exactly how recruiters use LinkedIn or why it is important to add your skills. That’s where we come in. We’ll cover the following to get you set up for a successful search:
- Why LinkedIn skills matter
- How to add skills on LinkedIn
- The top skills for LinkedIn—with examples!
Why LinkedIn skills matter
Busy recruiters rely on LinkedIn to find the top tier talent to fill their roles. Whether they create their own search or leverage LinkedIn’s filters, the results they receive are based on the details of your profile.
For example, if a recruiter is looking for an administrative assistant, they might pull together keywords related to admin skills like “administrative,” “scheduling,” ( time management) “calendar management,” and “ customer service.” The more of those terms that show up on your profile, the more likely you are to show up in their search results.
While you can—and should—interject these skills into your experience section and summary, the easiest place to add them is the LinkedIn skills section.
How to create a LinkedIn skills list
Adding your top skills to LinkedIn is simple once you know the steps. Follow this process:
- Click “Me” at the top right of the screen, then select “View Profile”
- Scroll down to the Skills section of your profile
- Select the edit (pencil) icon next to the Skills section
- Choose the skills you’d like to add
With 50 skills to play around with, you can select a mixture of hard and soft skills. Be aware that most recruiters search for hard skills and will expect to see evidence of them in your experience section.
Although LinkedIn may recommend skills based on its algorithm’s understanding of your background, only select those that fit your goals. If you’ve been in IT but want to transition to finance, the bulk of your skills should be related to finance roles or be transferable.
Try to make use of all 50 skills. This will increase the chances of a recruiter finding and contacting you. Remember to check back over time to make sure you’re not missing any newly developed skills (or see if it’s time to remove any that are dated).
The top skills to list on LinkedIn
While the best skills for your profile will be specific to your experience and expertise, there are market trends to be aware of.
First, dig up your current job description or spend some time jotting down what you do on a regular basis. Then, review job postings you’d like to consider for the future and see what skills are listed. This should give you a great starting point of role-specific skills to put on LinkedIn.
From there, consider the current professional climate. You can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about the advent of generative AI, and LinkedIn is no different. Whether you’re a software developer or a writer, chances are AI will become part of your role sooner or later. The more you can learn, the better.
Data skills remain in demand, as do leadership and coaching skills. Strategic thinking and problem-solving are as necessary as ever, and project management is a useful skill in nearly every role. Change is a constant in today’s business world, so any experience with change management is beneficial.
Below are several examples to consider as you build up your LinkedIn skills section.
25 Skills to add to LinkedIn for 2024
- Generative AI
- Data analytics
- Project management
- Strategy development
- Change management
- Leadership and coaching
- Relationship building
- Communication
- Stakeholder management
- Client relations
- Digital marketing
- Social media
- Agile methodologies
- Software development
- Product management
- Financial analysis
- Machine learning
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Remote work
- Cloud computing
- Budget management
- Customer service
- Design thinking
- Written communication
- Research
Key takeaways
The best skills to add to your LinkedIn profile are those that reflect your knowledge and expertise, as well as those that align with the direction you hope to go in.
It’s a great idea to pay attention to market trends and changes in your industry and check in every so often to see if you can add or remove any skills.
