Do you maximize the Accomplishments section of your LinkedIn profile? Probably not. I say that because my experience shows that many people don’t know this section even exists. People tend to focus primarily on their summary, experience, volunteer, and education sections.

So, while it’s easy to overlook this section, populating it can make a big difference.

If you’ve never added anything to this section, you’ll need to start by clicking on the Add a Profile Section. Then scroll down to accomplishments and click on the arrow.

Now you can start looking at the segments of this section and determine where you have something to add. To add a segment, click on the + sign in the circle alongside that segment. Doing so will produce a template for you to complete.

These available options are:

  • Publications
  • Patents
  • Courses
  • Projects
  • Organizations
  • Honors and Awards
  • Test Scores
  • Languages
  • Organizations

 

Maximizing the Accomplishments Section

While there are more segments in accomplishments than just those listed here, these are the most commonly completed segments.

  • Publications: Here’s a great place to include any book (including e-books), chapter of a book, or article you’ve published. Reference co-authors if appropriate. Such publications enhance your professional credibility.
  • Courses: List any professional development courses you’ve taken that relate to your field. Especially if you’ve made a career pivot, as I did, these courses show your commitment to increasing your expertise.
  • Projects: These time-limited activities could be part of your professional or volunteer work. This is a great place to include those who were part of each project, called “creators” in LinkedIn lingo. Projects are a terrific way to bring attention to how you contribute beyond your title.
  • Honors and awards: What goes in here can range from being honored as a top performer at work to being recognized for long-time leadership in a volunteer organization. You can go back as far in time as you wish for this section. In fact, one of the awards I’m most proud of is being one of the six outstanding graduates of the University of Wisconsin: Madison for the class of 1971.
  • Organizations: Include professional, volunteer, community, charitable and/or business organizations you belong to or have participated in. But don’t just list the name of the entity. Give a short description and then describe your role(s) within it. Sharing this kind of information shows your generosity of spirit and commitment to your community. Also, people active in organizations will take note of your involvement in those they also belong to. Such shared interests may open doors for you.

 

How About You?

What parts of the Accomplishments section of your LinkedIn profile have you populated? Perhaps it’s time to revisit your profile to see where updates to the section are in order.

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective and productive using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

She works with business owners, business development professionals, coaches, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com