Did you know that you can rearrange the sections on your LinkedIn profile? Did you know that you can add custom sections to your profile to highlight any languages you know, any certifications you have earned, any publications you have written, or any skills you possess? Why do I like to start blog posts with lots of questions? I will answer the first two questions. If you know the answer to the third, please let me know.
Rearranging Your LinkedIn Profile
All of the sections on the left side of your profile can be put in any order you like.
I would recommend that you put them in the order that tells the best story about your career. If you are a new college graduate, you may want to put your education above your experience. If you have gotten some good quality recommendations from former colleagues, it would make sense to move these to the top. Whatever information is going to put your best foot forward to potential employers and anyone else looking at your profile should be featured first.
To rearrange the sections, click on Profile and then on Edit Profile in the top menu bar.
To the left of each section name, there is a move icon (two arrows crossed). Click and drag this icon to move each section to the desired position.
Adding News Sections to Your LinkedIn Profile
There are 5 custom sections that you can add to your profile: Certifications, Languages, Patents, Publications, and Skills. These sections allow you to further customize your profile with your unique skills and background. In addition, there are 17 applications that can be used.
Everyone should add the skills section. LinkedIn has many predefined choices or you can type your own. For each skill, there is a field to enter your proficiency level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert) and years of experience. The skills range from soft skills like networking and team building to technical skills like HTML, PHP, and databases. And just because a skill isn’t pre-populated doesn’t mean you can’t use it. Type in any skill you have and select a proficiency level and years of experience.
You can optionally add the other sections if they apply to you. Remember that all of these sections are fully searchable within LinkedIn, so the more details you have about you experiences and skills on your profile, the easier it will be for the right people to find you.
To add a section, click on the Add Section link towards the top of the Edit Profile screen. This will bring up a menu of available sections.
