How to add a certification on LinkedIn

Most LinkedIn recruiters looking for candidates with specialized knowledge use certification keywords to identify them. If they find the credentials they are looking for in your profile, they will have greater confidence in your abilities. To distinguish yourself from other job seekers, you need to know how to update your profile with your latest certifications.

If you don’t know how to add a certification to your LinkedIn profile, this article will show you how.

Add a certification on LinkedIn

While LinkedIn does not make certifications mandatory, it recognizes the value they bring to professional development. You can add as many certificates to your profile as you want and even have other professionals endorse you for specific certifications.

Generally, LinkedIn certifications fall into three categories:

• Educational certifications: relate to formal educational achievements, including diplomas, degrees, master’s degrees, and doctorates.
• Industry-specific certification: Demonstrate your specialization in a specific area.
• General Certifications: These certificates do not fall into any of the categories above, but show your proficiency in a certain area, such as communication or leadership.

These are the steps to add the certification to your LinkedIn profile:

1. Log in to your LinkedIn account and navigate to the top right corner.
   
2. Tap “Me” and select “View Profile” from the drop-down menu. This opens your profile page.
   
3. Scroll down to “Licenses and Certifications.” If you haven’t used the p before, it may not appear on your profile. Go to the top of the page under your title and tap the “Add Professional Section” button.
   
4. Tap “Recommended” and select “Licenses and Certifications.”
   
   
5. Type the name of your certification in the “Name field.” Below the name field, enter the name of the issuing organization and select it from the drop-down menu. Only organizations with a LinkedIn page appear in the drop-down menu after you type their name.
   
6. If your certificate does not have an expiration date, check “This credential does not expire” and choose the issue date. Uncheck the option if your certificate has an expiration date and enter the issue and expiration dates.
   
7. Enter your certification ID in the “Credential ID” p, if you have one.
   
8. Finally, copy your certificate link from the issuer’s website and paste it into the “Credential URL” box. When you’re done, tap “Save”, your certification should be visible on your profile. If your certificate is in PDF format, see how to create a link in the p below.
   

Create a link for PDF certificates

LinkedIn does not allow you to upload your certificate to prove you earned it. Instead, the licenses and certifications page has a credentials URL p where you can redirect someone to view your certificate. If your certificate is a PDF or you can’t access it from the issuer’s website, create a link before completing the certification form on LinkedIn.

These are the steps to follow:

1. Go to your Google Drive account or sign up if you don’t have one.
   
2. When you log in, upload your PDF certificate from your device. Navigate to the left sidebar and select “New.”
   
3. Choose “Upload File” from the drop-down menu. This opens a file explorer, from which you can locate your certificate on your device.
   
4. Select your certificate and tap “Open” to move it to your Google Drive.
   
5. Right click on the certificate and select “Get Link”. A pop-up window opens from which you can copy your link.
   
6. Before copying the link, tap the drop-down menu next to “Restricted” and choose “Anyone with link” so that anyone who views your profile will have access to your certificate.
   
7. Tap “Copy Link” and paste it into the “Credential Link” p.
   

How to add a LinkedIn certificate from the issuer platform

If you get a certificate from one of LinkedIn’s partners, you can add it to your profile from their page.

1. Go to your certificate on the issuer page and look for the “Share” option. It mainly appears below the certificate, but may differ depending on the platform.
   
2. Select the “LinkedIn” option to share your certificate with LinkedIn. You will receive a login message if you log out of LinkedIn.
3. After signing in, you’ll have two options: share your certificate as a post or add it to your profile. Choose “Add to my profile.”
   
4. The previous step automatically opens the “License and Certifications” page. Initially, your certification details would be filled in automatically, but now you enter them manually, as explained above.
   
5. Tap “Save” when you’re done.
   

How to Add LinkedIn Certifications to Your Profile

In addition to offering a comprehensive platform that connects professionals, LinkedIn also promotes a culture of continuous learning. Provides certification courses to keep professionals up to date with industry trends and best practices.

If you earn one of the LinkedIn certificates, you can add it to your profile as follows:

1. Sign in to your LinkedIn account and tap “Learning” in the top right corner. This takes you to your courses.
2. Navigate to “Learning History” in the left sidebar to access your completed courses.
3. Select the certificate you want to add to your LinkedIn profile.
4. When it opens, select “Add to LinkedIn Profile.”
5. In the new window, tap “Add to profile” to confirm.
6. Refresh your LinkedIn account and tap “Me” in the top right corner. Choose “View Profile.”
7. Scroll to “Licenses and Certifications” and your LinkedIn certificate details will be displayed. If you click “Show Credentials”, the link will redirect you to view the certificate.

How to edit or remove certification from your LinkedIn profile

If you want to update your certification data or delete it, these are the steps to follow:

1. Open your LinkedIn profile and scroll to the “Licenses and Certifications” p.
   
2. Tap the “Pencil” icon on the right to enable editing mode for all certificates.
   
3. Select the certificate you want to edit and tap the “Pencil” icon.
   
4. Edit the ps you want and tap “Save.” On the contrary, if you want to delete the certificate, tap “Delete License or Certification” in the lower left corner.
   

Frequent questions

Do I have control over how my certificates appear?

LinkedIn does not offer a way to rearrange your certificates however you want. It sorts them automatically, with those that do not have an expiration date appearing at the top. Those with an expiration date appear below, from the furthest to the nearest expiration date.

What if my certificate is not affiliated with any organization? Can I add it to my LinkedIn profile?

You can add any certificate to your LinkedIn profile to showcase your transferable skills. Go to the licensing and certification p and enter your certification information. Be sure to create a credential URL to direct viewers to your certificate for verification.

What should I do if I can’t find the issuing organization in the LinkedIn dropdown menu?

If the issuing organization is not listed in the dropdown menu, it does not have a LinkedIn page. Go ahead and enter the correct name. Although the empty logo bar makes your certification less attractive, you cannot create an organization page without administrative rights. However, you can ask the issuing organization to create a LinkedIn page.

Improve your profile with certifications

Don’t underestimate the potential your LinkedIn certificates have. Whether academic or not, they can help you open up new networking opportunities and pave the way for accelerated career growth. So whenever you get a certificate from any institution, head over to LinkedIn and add it to your profile using the above methods.

How many LinkedIn profile certifications do you have? Have you received a positive impact after adding them? Tell us in the comments p below.