How to Add Experience on LinkedIn: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

To add experience on LinkedIn, click "Add profile section" on your profile, select "Add position" under Core, then enter your job title, company, dates, and description. According to LinkedIn's official data, members with at least one position receive up to 3.5x more profile views.

Key Takeaways

• Quick path: Profile → Add profile section → Core → Add position
• Impact: Adding experience leads to 8x more profile views and 5x more connection requests
• Best practice: Include your top 5 skills for each position
• Media support: You can add images, videos, and documents to each role
• Network sharing: Toggle off "Share with network" while building your profile to avoid notification spam

How to Add Work Experience on LinkedIn

Follow these steps to add a new position to your LinkedIn profile:

Step 1: Navigate to Your Profile

1. Log into your LinkedIn account
2. Click the "Me" icon in the top navigation
3. Select "View Profile" from the dropdown menu

Step 2: Open the Add Section Menu

1. Click the "Add profile section" button below your profile photo
2. This button appears near your headline and connection count

Step 3: Select "Add Position"

1. In the popup menu, find the "Core" section
2. Click "Add position" to open the experience form

Step 4: Fill in Your Experience Details

According to LinkedIn's Help Center, you'll need to provide:

Field	Required	Description
Title	Yes	Your official job title
Employment type	No	Full-time, part-time, contract, etc.
Company name	Yes	Search or add new company
Location	No	City, state, or remote
Start date	Yes	Month and year
End date	No	Leave blank if current role
Description	No	Your responsibilities and achievements
Skills	No	Up to 5 relevant skills
Media	No	Images, documents, links

Step 5: Save Your Experience

Click "Save" to add the position to your profile. Your new experience will appear in your Experience section.

Employment Types on LinkedIn

LinkedIn offers various employment type options depending on your location:

• Full-time - Standard 40+ hour/week employment
• Part-time - Less than full-time hours
• Contract - Fixed-term or project-based work
• Self-employed - Running your own business
• Freelance - Independent contractor work
• Internship - Student or entry-level training position
• Apprenticeship - Formal learning-while-working program

Choose the option that best reflects your actual employment arrangement.

How to Write an Effective Experience Description

Your experience description should highlight achievements, not just responsibilities.

Description Best Practices

Do include:

• Quantified achievements (percentages, numbers, revenue)
• Specific projects and their outcomes
• Skills demonstrated in the role
• Industry-relevant keywords

Avoid:

• Generic job description copy
• Long paragraphs without breaks
• Vague statements without context
• Buzzwords without substance

Example: Before and After

Weak Description:

Responsible for managing marketing campaigns and working with the team on various projects.

Strong Description:

Led digital marketing campaigns that generated $2.4M in pipeline revenue over 18 months. Managed a team of 4 specialists, increasing qualified lead generation by 156% through LinkedIn content strategy and paid advertising optimization.

Adding Skills to Your Experience

According to LinkedIn's recommendations, you should list your top 5 skills for every position.

How to Add Skills to a Position

1. Edit an existing position or add a new one
2. Scroll to the "Skills" section
3. Start typing to search for skills
4. Select up to 5 relevant skills
5. Skills appear in your Skills section and under the position

Why Skills Matter

Skills added to positions:

• Appear in search results when recruiters filter by skill
• Show context for how you developed each skill
• Strengthen your overall Skills section
• Help with LinkedIn's algorithm matching

Adding Media to Your Experience

LinkedIn allows you to showcase your work with media attachments.

Supported Media Types

• Images - Screenshots, infographics, photos
• Documents - PDFs, presentations, reports
• Links - External websites, portfolios, articles
• Videos - YouTube links, hosted videos

How to Add Media

1. Edit the position you want to enhance
2. Scroll to the "Media" section
3. Click "Add media"
4. Upload files or paste links
5. Add a title and description for each item

What to Showcase

• Case studies demonstrating results
• Presentations you've delivered
• Articles you've written
• Awards or recognition received
• Projects you led or contributed to

Managing Network Notifications

When you add or edit positions, LinkedIn may notify your network.

How to Control Notifications

According to Coursera's LinkedIn guide:

1. When adding/editing a position, look for "Share with network"
2. Toggle this OFF if you don't want notifications sent
3. Turn it back ON for significant updates you want to announce

When to Share vs Not Share

Situation	Share?
Building profile for first time	No
Making multiple edits	No
New job announcement	Yes
Promotion	Yes
Minor corrections	No

Impact of Adding Experience

LinkedIn data shows significant benefits from completing your Experience section:

Profile Performance Improvements

According to LinkedIn's own statistics:

Metric	Improvement
Profile views	8x more
Connection requests	5x more
Messages received	10x more
Search appearances	29x more (with multiple positions)

Members who include at least one position receive up to 3.5x as many profile views as those without experience listed.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Leaving Gaps Unexplained

If you have employment gaps, consider:

• Adding freelance or consulting work
• Including volunteer positions
• Listing relevant education or certifications
• Being honest about career transitions

2. Using Vague Job Titles

• ❌ "Manager" → ✅ "Marketing Manager"
• ❌ "Consultant" → ✅ "Digital Strategy Consultant"
• ❌ "Engineer" → ✅ "Senior Software Engineer"

3. Copying Job Descriptions

Don't paste generic job descriptions. Write personalized content that highlights YOUR specific contributions and achievements.

4. Ignoring Keywords

Include industry-relevant keywords that recruiters search for. Check job postings in your field for common terminology.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add work experience to my LinkedIn profile?

To add experience on LinkedIn: Click "Me" → "View Profile" → "Add profile section" → "Core" → "Add position." Fill in your job title, company, dates, and description, then click "Save." You can add media like documents and images to showcase your work.

Why can't I add experience on LinkedIn?

If you can't add experience, ensure you're logged in, have a complete basic profile, and aren't experiencing a temporary glitch. Try refreshing the page or using a different browser. LinkedIn occasionally restricts new accounts briefly to prevent spam.

How many positions should I list on LinkedIn?

List all relevant positions that demonstrate your career progression and skills. According to LinkedIn's data, profiles with multiple positions receive up to 29x more views. Focus on the last 10-15 years unless earlier experience is highly relevant.

Should I add short-term jobs to LinkedIn?

Add short-term positions if they're relevant to your target roles or demonstrate valuable skills. For very brief roles (under 3 months), consider whether they strengthen or clutter your profile. Contract and freelance work can be grouped under a consulting umbrella.

How do I add experience for a company not on LinkedIn?

When typing the company name, if it doesn't appear in search results, you can add it manually. Type the full company name and select "Add [Company Name]" from the dropdown. LinkedIn will create a basic company entry, though it won't have a logo or page.

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