Optimizing LinkedIn skills

I spent about an hour on Friday optimizing my LinkedIn skills. Here are the things that I learned.

1. Don’t be afraid to delete skills no matter how many have endorsed you for them. Technology skills are quickly replaced. For example, I had Windows 7 listed and I had to delete that. No one cares if I know Windows 7. I deleted many low-value skills that don’t distinguish me from other IT people. When you only have 100 slots, you have to use those for maximum benefit.
2. Put the list of skills in some order. I choose alphabetical order but it might make sense for you to put it in order of popularity or job demand. I am a generalist and then a specialist in IT. If you are only a specialist, it would make sense to put skills in the order of your specialty. Then recruiters who read them will see you have the skills they need/want.
3. Use a high-resolution screen to reorder your skills list. I shared that I had a projector that had less resolution than my built-in laptop display. I had difficulty with that because to reorder your skills you have to drag and drop. On a low-resolution display, this is slow and prone to error.
4. Eliminate redundant terms. You can have the same skill listed multiple times. If you have a single case in Upper/Lower case. When you order the skills in step #2 then you see this. In my case I had VPN listed twice and the second one was VPN Networking I think. Some terms are close enough that you don’t need to have them both. I deleted the second VPN term because it implies networking.
5. Be prepared to lose the LinkedIn Skills test endorsement. LinkedIn says those will disappear in 2024. I spent time doing those assessments and it is unfortunate but that is life.
6. Combine terms. Think in terms of a non-technical audience such as recruiters or hiring managers. Can you combine terms so that just by having one term they can see that you understand more? For example, rather than put Azure I put Azure Intune which shows that I understand a specific part of Azure very well. Being specific is better than trying to seem as though you understand all of Azure.
7. Be specific. The more specific you can get with the words that you use the better it is for hiring managers. Recruiters/hiring managers search for skills and you are matched to jobs because of skills. Try to be as specific as possible so that when they look for those skills you will easily match.
8. Look over the list and ask yourself if it makes sense. After you do all this, look over the list and ask yourself if it makes sense. Would someone reading the list come to this same conclusion after interviewing you and finding out your experience? You want the skills list to accurately reflect your strengths. If it doesn’t seem like you are a medium/expert to yourself, don’t add that skill to the list.
9. Be humble. As above consider what you are trying to accomplish. Add skills that are you strong in. Don’t try to pad the skills list. You don’t have to have 100 skills, but if you do, then you should share them. Don’t add terms that you are weak in or know nothing about. If you do, you will just waste time/trust when people discover that you don’t know what you claim to know.
10. Add these skills to your resume and the summary in your profile. Help recruiters/hiring managers see that you have the skills that they need. Make it easy for people to recognize your knowledge and you will get flooded with opportunity.