LinkedIn continues to roll out changes to make it an increasingly critical space to be in for networking and professional development. A recent favourite rolled out with minimal fanfare is a personal favourite. The new LinkedIn profiles show what you can do!

I love using visuals and colour in the materials that my company or I create. I always have found how something is presented visually to be important to its success as a communications tool. So text only LinkedIn profiles looked boring.

Even worse, LinkedIn profiles failed to give you the opportunity to show what you can do. I can say I created great case for support documents as Director of Communications for the YMCAs of Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo but you needed to take my word for it. Now I can show you and you can judge for yourself.

New LinkedIn profiles mean you don’t just say it

The new LinkedIn profiles can now be much more interesting for people to view while showing more about who you are and demonstrating your expertise. I love the new LinkedIn profiles!

Here’s what I’ve added to the YMCA portion of my LinkedIn profile.

How to add work samples to your LinkedIn profile

Adding work samples to your LinkedIn profile is fairly simple. Each position has what I’ll describe as a portfolio section. You also have them in the summary and education sections.

When I first looked at or edited my profile after this new option was added, LinkedIn was actively encouraging me to add material to my portfolio sections and made it obvious where and how. Chances are if it’s been awhile since you reviewed or edited your profile, your experience will be the same.

If you don’t add material immediately or didn’t when you had the chance, don’t worry. You still can but it’s not entirely obvious if you’re not familiar with this change and what to look for to add work samples You’ll see beside your position title a rectangle with a + sign in the bottom right corner as in this screen capture. Click on the arrow and you’ll be asked if you’d like to add a file or a link.

Tips on adding work samples to your LinkedIn profile portfolios

• Use materials that show a preview of your work - Not everything that you’d like to show will have a preview. It must be an approved provider or content type.
• Examples of providers that work well: Youtube, Issuu.com, Slideshare
• Materials and sources you might want to avoid: You can link to anything on the web and upload any document but if it’s not an approved provide or content type, a placeholder image is used where the preview would go. You lose the visual impact. You can still share the work sample but it may be a more difficult sell to get someone to want to open it. For example, a PDF does not share well in your LinkedIn profile portfolios as you might expect especially if the content looks attractive. Storify is one source I wanted to use that currently is not supported.
• Check back for new options: I’m sure that the sources and file types that present attractively will be enlarged over time so you might be able to add showcase some of your work better later on.
• Keep your content fresh: Just like any good website or other online tool, it’s best to keep your LinkedIn profiles fresh by adding or changing what you feature. Doing so is especially important for your summary section and your current position in the experience section.

At this point, you are not able to indicate what role(s) you played in creating a work sample. Did you do the writing? The graphic design? The photography? All of it? None of it but you prepared the financial statement? At some point, I hope that LinkedIn allows for some brief annotations of what is being shared.

Speaking of portfolios…

My business is at a point where I can share a portfolio of work samples of work done for clients. Over the coming months, I’ll add more samples of work done by Communicate & Howe! and a few select pieces from earlier in my career.