LinkedIn Skills & Endorsements: How to Choose the Right Skills
The Skills section helps recruiters quickly understand your expertise and plays an important role in LinkedIn searches. Choosing relevant skillsโnot simply adding as many as possibleโcan improve your profile and support the story told by your resume.
Quick Answer
Add skills that accurately reflect your experience and match the jobs you want. Prioritize the skills most relevant to your target role, keep them updated, and organize your top skills to support your professional brand.
In This Guide
What Are LinkedIn Skills?
The Skills section allows you to list professional abilities such as:
โ Technical skills
โ Software knowledge
โ Languages
โ Business skills
โ Leadership abilities
โ Communication skills
Visitors and recruiters can quickly see your areas of expertise without reading your entire profile.
Why Skills Matter
Relevant skills help:
โ Support your professional identity
โ Improve profile completeness
โ Match recruiter searches
โ Reinforce your experience
โ Highlight areas of specialization
Skills should complementโnot replaceโyour work experience.
How to Choose the Right Skills
When deciding which skills to include, ask yourself:
โ Is this skill relevant to my target role?
โ Can I demonstrate it with experience?
โ Does it appear in job descriptions I'm interested in?
โ Is it one of my strongest abilities?
Quality is more valuable than quantity.
LinkedIn lets you pin your most important skills near the top. Choose skills that match your current career goals, appear frequently in job postings, reflect your strongest expertise, and align with your headline and work experience. Review these regularly as your career evolves.
Hard Skills vs Soft Skills
Hard Skills
- Java
- Python
- SQL
- AutoCAD
- Excel
- Adobe Photoshop
Soft Skills
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Problem Solving
- Leadership
- Time Management
- Adaptability
A balanced profile usually includes both technical and interpersonal skills.
What Are Endorsements?
Endorsements are acknowledgments from other LinkedIn members who recognize your skills.
While endorsements don't verify expertise on their own, they can add credibility when they come from:
โ Managers
โ Colleagues
โ Clients
โ Teammates
โ Professional contacts
They're most valuable when they support skills you've clearly demonstrated in your experience.
Skills Should Match Your Resume
If your resume highlights Java, Spring Boot, and REST APIs, those same skills should appear on your LinkedIn profile.
Consistency between your resume and LinkedIn profile helps reinforce your professional brand and avoids confusing recruiters.
Common Mistakes
Avoid:
โ Adding every possible skill
โ Including outdated technologies
โ Listing skills you can't demonstrate
โ Ignoring industry-specific keywords
โ Leaving your top skills unchanged for years
โ Prioritizing irrelevant skills
Best Practices
โ Focus on skills relevant to your target role
โ Keep technical skills current
โ Balance hard and soft skills
โ Reorder your top skills periodically
โ Remove outdated or irrelevant skills
โ Ensure your work experience supports your listed skills
Highlight the Skills Recruiters Want to See
Choosing the right skills is easier when your achievements are clearly organized. Resumee helps you build ATS-friendly resumes, identify role-specific skills, tailor your application to job descriptions, and create a professional profile that stays consistent across your resume and LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many skills should I add?
There's no perfect number, but focus on relevant, high-quality skills rather than trying to add as many as possible.
Should I include soft skills?
Yes. Soft skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork are valuable when supported by your experience.
Are endorsements important?
They can strengthen your profile, but they're most effective when combined with strong work experience and measurable achievements.
Can I remove outdated skills?
Yes. Regularly reviewing and updating your skills keeps your profile relevant to your current career goals.
Should my LinkedIn skills match my resume?
They should generally align. Your strongest skills should appear consistently across both your resume and LinkedIn profile.