Given the massive role that LinkedIn plays in the modern job search process, I’ve tried to use this blog over the years to keep folks updated on the “latest and greatest” changes to the site — and emerging ways that it can be used to improve one’s employment prospects.  Normally, this involves just sharing a single new tip at a time.  But over these past few months, LinkedIn has made a TON of changes to the site that it will behoove most active job hunters to know about, so I’m going to cover them all here in one fell swoop.

1) Doubling of the Skills Section:  Since its inception in 2004, LinkedIn has allowed users to enter up to 50 competencies in the “Skills” section of their profile and I’ve always encouraged people to max this limit out — since it not only helps your profile be more findable by employers and recruiters, but also plays a key role in getting considered for applications to jobs posted on LinkedIn.  Recently, however, they’ve decided to double the allowed number of skills to 100.  So while it’s a bit of a pain in the rear and you might have to stretch your brain to come up with 100 keywords to include, I’d still strive for that goal.  In doing so, beyond adding the core skills related to your occupation, you might consider punching in some further information (now that there’s plenty of room to do so) regarding the industries you’ve worked in, software programs you’ve utilized, and various “soft skills” you possess such as teamwork, collaboration, adaptability, and the like. I’d also mention that when you add a new skill on LinkedIn, the system invites you to tie each of your entries to the specific job(s) during your career where you’ve utilized that particular competency.  It’s hard to say whether this matters much, but if you’ve got time on your hands and want to be thorough, it’s probably worth taking this extra step.

2) New “Custom Button” Feature: If you’re a LinkedIn Premium subscriber, you also might now see an option to Add a Custom Button right under your photo/wallpaper at the top of your profile.  Click this option and you’ll see a menu of actions you can program the button to perform, ranging from linking it to your website or blog to having it take the visitor to your online store, book an appointment on your calendar, or request further information about your services.  While this addition isn’t an earth-shattering one, in some ways it’s the first feature I’ve seen that allows a certain amount of customizability to the needs of different users.  So if you’re a paid LinkedIn user and have access to it, I’d use it, but if you’re a free user I wouldn’t sweat not having it available.

3) Verify Your Identity: Similar to social media sites like Twitter/X, it seems like LinkedIn is dealing with a lot of phony accounts and is therefore encouraging people to hit the “Verify Now” button at the top of their profile, next to their name, to prove they are who they say they are.  This process involves going through an external identity verification service called CLEAR and I honestly can’t come up with a compelling reason why somebody would go through all of the hassle involved in the “verify” process unless they’re dealing with a case of identity fraud or the like — or they’re required to do by their employer.  Still, it’s interesting to see that they’ve now snuck this feature on there in sort of copycat fashion to other social sites.

4) Create a QR Code for your Profile: While this feature isn’t a brand new one, I’ll throw it in here anyway.  Simply put, for those familiar with such technology, LinkedIn now allows you to create your own unique QR code that will link people directly to your profile.  I suppose some people will just do this for the “cool” factor involved and might subsequently add the code to their resume, business cards, or email signature or something along those lines — but to me, it’s basically just a party trick and not all that much more convenient from just sharing your LinkedIn address link with people directly or asking them to just look you up by name on the system.

5) The “People Also Viewed” Feature is Going Away: In just the past few days, LinkedIn sent out a low-key announcement indicating that the above setting — which has been around forever — is getting replaced with a new “Other Similar Profiles” feature.  In a nutshell, all this means to the average user is that any time somebody looks you up on the system, people with similar backgrounds to you will be shown on the right side of the page.  This has always been the case, but this time around they’re just changing the name and NOT allowing you to turn this feature off — which is a shame, because I’ve always recommended people disable it, since it basically just showcases your competitors next to your profile.  Oh well.  It is what it is.

So there you have it.  A quick rundown of some of the latest changes LinkedIn has made to their interface and some of the new bells and whistles they’ve decided to add.  Honestly, for most people item #1 is the only one that’s truly a big deal — but take a look at the other additions and if they’re in any way relevant to your business and career goals, go for it!