Skills to Put on LinkedIn: Lists by Role, How Many to Add, and Tips (2026)
Oct 20, 2026
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7 mins read
Your LinkedIn skills section is easy to ignore. Most people add a few skills when they set up their profile and never touch it again. But skills do two quiet jobs: they help the right people find you in search, and they back up what the rest of your profile says about you.
The best skills to put on LinkedIn are the ones your buyers, clients, or hiring managers actually search for, and that your headline, summary, and experience can prove. LinkedIn lets you add up to 100 skills. A focused list of relevant skills, with your strongest five as Top skills, works better than filling every slot.
This guide covers how to choose your skills, skill lists by role, how many to add, how to add and reorder them, and how to make your skills work with the rest of your profile.
Why LinkedIn Skills Matter
Skills work like searchable tags on your profile. When someone searches LinkedIn for a skill, profiles that list it are easier to find. LinkedIn’s Help Center also says endorsements on your skills contribute to the strength of your profile and increase the likelihood you’ll be discovered for opportunities related to those skills.
Skills also build credibility. When a prospect, client, or hiring manager checks your profile, your skills give them a fast read on what you’re good at. If those skills match your headline and experience, your profile tells one clear story. If they’re random or outdated, it creates doubt.
That matters most if you use LinkedIn to reach out to people. Before someone accepts your connection request or replies to your message, they look at your profile. Your skills are part of what tells them you know your space.
How to Choose the Right Skills for Your LinkedIn Profile
Most skills advice is written for job seekers, so it tells you to copy keywords from job descriptions. That works if you’re job hunting. If you use LinkedIn to sell, recruit, or build a network, think like the person you want to reach instead.
Start with your buyer. What would your ideal client or prospect search for to find someone like you? Those are your priority skills.
Match your headline and experience. Every top skill should be something your headline, summary, or work history can back up.
Mix hard and soft skills. Hard skills show what you do. Soft skills show how you work with people. Lead with hard skills.
Use LinkedIn’s standard skill names. When you type a skill, pick it from LinkedIn’s dropdown instead of inventing your own wording. Standard names are the ones people search for.
Cut what’s outdated. Skills from a job or field you’ve left can confuse people about what you do now.
Skills to Put on LinkedIn by Role
Use these lists as a starting point. Pick the ones that are true for you and relevant to the people you want to reach.
Sales and business development
Sales Prospecting
Lead Generation
B2B Sales
Social Selling
Cold Calling
Sales Pipeline Management
Account Management
Negotiation
Closing
CRM tools such as Salesforce or HubSpot
Founders and business owners
Entrepreneurship
Business Development
Go-to-Market Strategy
Strategic Partnerships
Product Strategy
Fundraising
Leadership
Team Building
Business Strategy
Marketers
Content Marketing
Demand Generation
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Email Marketing
Marketing Automation
Account-Based Marketing
Copywriting
Marketing Strategy
Social Media Marketing
Recruiters
Talent Acquisition
Sourcing
Technical Recruiting
Full-Cycle Recruiting
Boolean Searching
Interviewing
Employer Branding
Candidate Experience
Consultants and agency owners
Consulting
Client Relations
Business Strategy
Project Management
Proposal Writing
Digital Strategy
Change Management
Account Management
Soft skills that work for any role
Communication
Relationship Building
Problem Solving
Active Listening
Presentation Skills
Adaptability
Time Management
How Many Skills Should You Have on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn allows up to 100 skills in your Skills section. Skills you attach to roles in your Experience section don’t count toward that limit.
You don’t need to use all 100. A focused list of skills you can genuinely back up is easier for people to scan and makes your profile look more credible. Around 15 to 30 relevant skills is a practical range for most people.
What matters more is order. Put your most important skills first and choose your Top skills carefully, because those are what visitors notice.
How to Choose Your Top Skills on LinkedIn
LinkedIn lets you highlight up to five Top skills in your About section. They show at the bottom of your About section, so anyone reading your summary sees them right away.
Pick five skills that:
match your headline,
matter most to your buyers or clients,
and are backed up by your experience.
If you sell LinkedIn lead generation services, for example, your Top skills might be Lead Generation, B2B Sales, Social Selling, LinkedIn Marketing, and Sales Prospecting.
How to Add Skills on LinkedIn
On desktop:
Click the Me icon at the top of LinkedIn, then View Profile.
Click Add profile section.
Select Core, then Add skills.
Type a skill and pick it from the dropdown, or choose one from the suggestions based on your profile.
Save, then repeat for more skills.
On the mobile app:
Tap your profile picture, then View profile.
Tap Add section.
Tap Core, then Add skills.
Type a skill and choose it from the dropdown or the suggestions.
Save, then repeat.
You can also attach skills to individual roles in your Experience section, which shows people where you used each skill. To do it from the Skills section, click the pencil icon next to a skill and tick the roles or schools where you used it.
How to Reorder Your LinkedIn Skills
On desktop:
Go to your profile and scroll to the Skills section.
Click the Edit (pencil) icon.
Click the More icon in the upper right and select Reorder.
Drag skills into the order you want.
On the mobile app:
Go to your profile and scroll to Skills.
Tap the Edit icon, then the More icon.
Tap Reorder, then hold and drag each skill into place.
Once you have more than three skills, LinkedIn may group them into categories such as Industry Knowledge, Tools & Technologies, and Interpersonal Skills.
How to Remove Skills on LinkedIn
Go to your profile, scroll to the Skills section, and open your full skills list. Click the pencil (Edit) icon next to the skill you want to remove, then click Delete skill at the bottom of the pop-up. Remove skills that are outdated, irrelevant to your current work, or that you can’t back up.
LinkedIn Skill Endorsements: How to Get Them and Do They Matter?
Endorsements are when your 1st-degree connections confirm that you have a skill. According to LinkedIn, endorsements add to your profile’s strength and make it more likely you’ll be discovered for related opportunities. They also act as quick social proof when someone checks your profile.
To get more endorsements:
Endorse others first. People often return the favor.
Ask colleagues, clients, or partners who have seen your work to endorse a specific skill.
Keep your top skills at the top, since those are the ones people see and endorse most.
You can manage how you give and receive endorsements under Endorsement settings: open your Skills section, click Edit, then the More icon.
Make Your Skills Match the Rest of Your Profile
Skills don’t work on their own. A prospect who sees “Lead Generation” in your skills will check whether the rest of your profile backs it up.
Your headline says who you help. Your skills should prove you can do it. See our LinkedIn headline examples.
Your summary tells the story. Your Top skills sit right under it, so they should support the same message. Here’s how to write a LinkedIn summary.
Your experience shows results. Attach skills to the roles where you used them so your claims have proof.
Your profile photo and banner get people to stop and look. Your skills help convince them you’re worth a reply.
If you’d rather not rewrite everything by hand, the We-Connect Profile Optimizer rewrites your headline, summary, and experience descriptions, enhances your profile photo, and generates a new banner, so the rest of your profile backs up the skills you list. Nothing goes live until you approve it.
Check How Your Skills Section Scores
Skills is one of the six sections the free LinkedIn Profile Score checks, along with your profile photo, banner, headline, summary, and experience. Paste your profile URL and get a score out of 100, with feedback for each section and your two Priority sections flagged first. It’s free, instant, and needs no sign-up.
Put skills that your buyers, clients, or hiring managers search for, and that your experience can back up. Lead with hard skills tied to your role, add a few soft skills, and choose your five strongest as Top skills.
How many skills can you add on LinkedIn?
You can add up to 100 skills to your Skills section. Skills linked to roles in your Experience section don’t count toward that limit.
How many skills should I list on LinkedIn?
Around 15 to 30 relevant skills works for most people. A focused list is easier to scan and more credible than filling all 100 slots.
How many Top skills can you have on LinkedIn?
You can highlight up to five Top skills in your About section.
Do LinkedIn endorsements matter?
Yes. LinkedIn says endorsements strengthen your profile and make you more likely to be discovered for related opportunities. They also give visitors quick social proof.
Do LinkedIn skills help you show up in search?
Yes. Skills act as searchable keywords on your profile, which makes it easier for people searching for those skills to find you.
How often should I update my LinkedIn skills?
Review them whenever your role, offer, or target audience changes, and remove skills that no longer reflect what you do.
Conclusion
Your LinkedIn skills section takes a few minutes to update, and it works for you every time someone searches for what you do or checks out your profile. Pick skills your buyers care about, keep the list focused, choose your five Top skills carefully, and make sure your headline, summary, and experience back them up.
Once your profile is ready, put it to work. We-Connect helps you automate personalized LinkedIn outreach with the LinkedIn Lead Engine, AI Assist, and AI Auto Reply,, so the people who find your profile also hear from you.
