At its most basic, a certificate is proof of something. It could be that you had perfect attendance or are an excellent swimmer. And if you thought your days of earning certificates had passed, think again!
Throughout your career, you’ll likely pursue all kinds of certificates. And you’ll want to make your boss, recruiters, and hiring managers aware of them. The obvious solution is to add these certificates to your LinkedIn profile, but that isn’t quite as straightforward as it sounds. Ready to get started? Here’s how to add a certificate on LinkedIn.
What Is a Certificate?
When you finish a professional class or series of classes, you’ll often receive a certificate. It’s proof that you completed whatever tasks you needed to and attended all the required sessions. It’s also a testament to your motivation and determination.
As an example, when you complete a LinkedIn Learning Course, you’ll get a LinkedIn certificate you can add to your profile. Likewise, when you complete a Forage virtual job simulation, you can add that accomplishment to your LinkedIn profile and resume. Both certificates demonstrate your interest in learning and developing your professional skills.
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It’s important to note that a certificate is not the same as a certification, degree, or professional license. These professional endorsements have different education and testing requirements.
Why Add Certificates to Your LinkedIn Profile (and Resume)?
Beyond being proud of and sharing your accomplishment with the world, adding your certificate to your LinkedIn profile and resume can help your job search. For example, if a recruiter is searching for candidates on LinkedIn or in their applicant tracking system (ATS), they may use that certificate as a keyword. Including it on your profile and resume helps your information appear in their results.
And pursuing education on your own demonstrates your deep interest in the field and commitment to continual learning, something employers like to see.
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How to Add a Certificate on Linkedin
Before we explain how to add a certificate in LinkedIn, it’s important to note that a certificate is not a course, honor, or award, so don’t add it to those sections.
>>MORE: A Beginner’s Guide to LinkedIn
Create the Profile Section
If you don’t already have the Licenses & Certification section visible on your LinkedIn profile, click “Add Profile Section,” then hit the arrow next to “Recommended.” That will drop down a new menu. Click “Add licenses & certifications.”
Add Your Certificate
The “Add license or certification” box should now be on your screen. Under “Name,” you’ll include the certificate title. The organization’s name goes in “Issuing organization.” In the date fields, you’ll add the date your certificate was issued and the date it expires. If it has no expiration date, you can leave this blank.
Insert Credential IDs and URLs
The last two fields you need to fill out are credential ID and credential URL.
>>MORE: If you’re looking for more ways to talk up your certificates in a job interview, read up on how to leverage your Forage experience.
In general, the credential ID is the unique number assigned to the certificate you earned, while the URL helps explain what the certificate is for.
Add Skills
Sometimes LinkedIn will ask you to add a skill that’s associated with your certificate. However, not every user has this option. If you do, it will look like this:
If you have one or more skills you’d like to add, hit the “add skill” button an add a skill. You can also skip this step.
Save and Share
Once you’ve filled in all the fields, hit save. The last screen gives you the option of sharing your accomplishment on LinkedIn, but you can skip this step. Here’s what it looks like when you share:
Adding a Forage Certificate on LinkedIn
Below is a brief video outlining the steps to add your certificate to your LinkedIn profile. We used a demo certificate, so it does not have the credential URL or a real credential ID.
Show Your Motivation
Now that you know how to add your certificate to LinkedIn, you’re ready to showcase all the skills you’ve learned in Forage’s virtual job simulations Not only do certificates highlight your motivation to continually develop and learn, it’s a great way to show employers that you’re genuinely interested in the field.
Ready to learn how to optimize LinkedIn for your job search?
- How to Upload or Add Your Resume to LinkedIn
- Should You Use LinkedIn Easy Apply?
- When Should You Update Your LinkedIn Profile With a New Job?
- How to Find and Reach Out to Recruiters on LinkedIn
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