LinkedIn has more than one billion users, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, and is the globe’s largest professional networking site, according to the company.
Simply put, if you’re looking for a job and not making the most of the platform, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to be discovered by prospective employers.
Part of successfully using the networking platform is crafting an updated and optimized profile that attracts your ideal audience. When looking for a new opportunity, you want to capture the attention of recruiters and hiring managers.
One of the most important sections of your LinkedIn profile is your Experience section. Here’s everything you need to know about writing your LinkedIn work experience section:
What To Include In Your Include In Your LinkedIn Work Experience Section
For starters, what should you include in your Experience section?
Although you don’t want to include all the details of your resume on your LinkedIn profile, you want to include enough details to capture a prospective employer’s interest. In other words, you don’t want to share so much information on your profile that a recruiter doesn’t have a reason to contact you to ask for your resume.
The primary goal of your LinkedIn Experience section is to increase your chances of being found by recruiters on the platform and have them invite you to apply for open positions at their company once they view your profile.
Importantly, though, you don’t want to mirror the content of your resume on your LinkedIn profile. Not only should you be customizing your resume for each application you submit, but you also want to be mindful of any confidential or proprietary information that may be in your resume that shouldn’t be shared in a public venue like your LinkedIn Experience section.
How Far Back Should Your LinkedIn Work Experience Go?
Now, how far back should your LinkedIn work experience section go?
While you want to be intentional with how much you share to prevent information overload, you can also increase your chances of being discovered on the platform by strategically adding relevant experiences that are keyword-friendly. Unlike your resume, you’re not limited to one or two pages in length with your LinkedIn profile and can go further back in your work history.
One way to battle ageism that might arise when adding expenses from a decade or two ago is to simply embrace your years of experience, rather than hide them, and market your track record as a differentiator.
Note: If you worked at a top industry company very early in your career, you might consider leaving it on your profile, as it will increase your likelihood of appearing in searches, as many recruiters use the “Previous Companies” filter to search for talent.
How To Write Your LinkedIn Work Experience Section
So, what exactly do you include in your LinkedIn work experience section, and what should you leave out?
1. Provide a brief overview of your position and company.
You can begin your LinkedIn experience with a brief, high-level oversight of your role and responsibilities.
You don’t need to go into depth here, as your goal is to show that you’re qualified to be considered for the positions you’re applying to. You can share additional details of your day-to-day work, oversight, and impact in your resume and during the interview process.
You can additionally provide a brief description of your company. Although users can click on the company’s LinkedIn page, providing a company description is a valuable opportunity to insert keywords into your profile.
2. Highlight your top career accomplishments.
You’ll also want to include a few of your biggest career accomplishments. Similarly, you don’t need to include all your accomplishments here, since you’ll be sharing your resume when applying for positions.
Instead, you want to share a sampling of accomplishments that demonstrate your impact and showcase your unique value proposition (AKA your fabulousness) in action.
3. Feature major projects and press.
Depending on your position and industry, you can feature relevant projects, press, and other accolades from your career in your Experience section.
You want to be clear about your role, as many job seekers will highlight projects without clarifying their role and impact
4. Insert relevant industry keywords.
Finally, you must inject relevant keywords throughout your profile, including in your Experience section, if you want to increase your chances of being discovered on the platform.
Consider pinpointing five of your target positions, extracting the top skills and then weaving the words throughout your Experience section.
But don’t stop there. You can also append these keywords to the end of each of your position descriptions. If you’re targeting a leadership role in product management, for example, you might end your most recent role with the following text: “AREAS OF FOCUS: Product Strategy & Roadmaps | Product Management | Product Team Leadership | Cross-functional Collaboration | Executive Presentations & Influencing | Market Research | User Experience | Product Metrics & KPIs.”
If you’re targeting a higher-level position than the one you currently hold, you can also add your boss’s job title to your Experience section, as this is a strategic and tactical way to weave your target keyword into your job profile. For example, if you’re a director of product management and targeting VP roles, you can include, “Report to vice president of product management” or “Recruited by vice president of product management” in your description to get that title on your profile without having ever held it.
LinkedIn Work Experience Section Example — Head of Product
The following is an example of a LinkedIn work experience section for a product leader at a SaaS startup:
Recruited by Chief Product Officer (CPO) to lead product management for SaaS-based grocery delivery app solution. Rapidly recruited, onboarded, and coached team of 3 product managers.
Launched beta version of app into test market within 4 months of hire. Rapidly evolved app and deployed new features based on customer feedback.
Partnered closely with operations, marketing, sales, customer success, and engineering teams to balance growth with business capabilities as well as launch in 2 additional markets.
AREAS OF FOCUS: Business Strategy & Revenue Growth | Product Roadmaps | Digital Product Launches | Product Team Leadership & Development | Technical Project Management | KPIs & Reporting
How To Address An Employment Gap In Your LinkedIn Experience Section
But what should you include in your Experience section if you have a gap in employment?
Consider addressing the lapse on your LinkedIn profile so you can spend your networking conversations and interviews focused on your qualifications, not your current employment status.
Your explanation of the gap can be incredibly brief, as it simply needs to alleviate any worries the reader may possess about your work history and employability. Try to aim for one to two sentences in length here.
The following are a few examples of what you might include in your profile to address a gap in employment:
- Took an intentional 9-month break from employment following successful exit from FinTech startup. Now available for Chief Product Officer roles at startups and VP+ roles at mid-size and enterprise companies.
- Part of 24% of workforce laid off following company’s failure to secure Series B funding. Open to senior engineering manager and director of engineering positions at large tech and tech-enabled companies.
- One of 4,000+ employees impacted by reduction in force. Targeting human resources business partner (HRBP) and similar roles, with a focus on employee experience and design.
Fortunately, LinkedIn now has formal ways to address career gaps in your profile, which, in addition to the number of people who were unemployed due to the “Great Resignation,” has really helped reduce the stigma associated with unemployment.
Should I Put All Of My Work Experience On LinkedIn?
You do not have to put all your work experience on your LinkedIn profile. However, one benefit of including your early career experience is that it allows you to be found in additional searches on the platform.
Unlike your resume, LinkedIn does not have a page length restriction, so you don’t have to be as worried about condensing your earlier experiences.
If you worked for well-known companies early in your career, it often doesn’t hurt to include them on your profile, as many recruiters use the “Previous Company” search feature to source for talent.
Including a more comprehensive work history can be especially helpful if you’re targeting senior management and executive roles that demand 10 to 20+ years of experience. In these cases, you want to focus your attention on highlighting your most relevant achievements.
Final Thoughts On Writing A Powerful LinkedIn Profile When Job Searching
Although important to developing your online presence, your work experience section is only one aspect of a complete LinkedIn profile. If you’re looking for a new job, you’ll also want to spend time updating and optimizing your LinkedIn headline and About section and ensure you have an appropriate profile photo. You’ve got this!
