<!--
metadata:
  title: "LinkedIn experience and skills"
  platform: "linkedin"
  objective: "Rules for keeping experience credible, making skills easy to validate, and using current LinkedIn profile features well."
  status: "draft"
  last_updated: "2026-04-24"
  tags: ["linkedin", "experience", "skills", "credibility"]
  agent_priority: "high"
-->

# LinkedIn experience and skills

> This file outlines how to structure professional history and skills on LinkedIn so the profile stays credible, searchable, and easy to validate.

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## 1. Overview

The Experience and Skills sections are the evidentiary foundation of the profile. They validate the claims made in the headline and About section. Inconsistencies here, especially when compared with a CV or public portfolio, create avoidable credibility problems.

## 2. Experience constraints

**Rule:** Keep the CV and LinkedIn factually aligned. Ensure the dates, titles, employers, and core results listed in Experience match the facts used in the CV. Small wording differences are fine; factual mismatches are not.

**Rule:** Use the Action + Metric format for bullet points. Just like your CV, use formulas like STAR or XYZ (e.g., "Optimized SQL queries, reducing server costs by 20%"). Do not write generic paragraphs outlining your basic duties.

**Rule:** Map direct URLs into Experience entries. For technical roles, do not just list the projects. Add direct links to relevant GitHub repositories, papers, demos, or product pages when those links are public and support the claim being made.

## 3. Skills constraints

**Rule:** Use current LinkedIn skill features, not obsolete ones. LinkedIn Skill Assessments are no longer available. LinkedIn now encourages members to show how a skill is used by linking it to roles, projects, education, and credentials on the profile.

**Rule:** Reorder the top skills to match the profile's positioning. LinkedIn lets members reorder skills. Put the strongest and most relevant skills first so the profile's top signals match the role being targeted.

**Rule:** Use standard skill names and attach them to real evidence. LinkedIn allows up to 100 skills. Fill the section with relevant, recognizable terms, then connect those skills to experience, education, or credentials when prompted. A shorter, accurate list is better than a bloated list of weak matches.

## 4. Anti-Patterns

### The orphan skill

**What it looks like:** Listing skills that are never supported anywhere else on the profile. **Why it fails:** Recruiters cannot easily validate the claim, and the skill becomes weak evidence instead of strong evidence. **What to do instead:** Make sure the most important skills also appear in experience bullets, project links, credentials, or education entries.

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*Next step: Drive traffic to your new profile with the [Engagement strategy](./engagement-strategy.md).*
