How to Showcase Tech Certifications on Your LinkedIn + Resume

Table of Contents

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• What’s the Difference Between a Certification, Credential, and Degree?
• How to List Certifications on Your Resume
• How to Feature Certifications on LinkedIn
• How to Talk About Your Certification in an Interview

You’ve worked hard to earn your tech certifications – and now it’s time to make them work for you. Whether you're job hunting or building your professional brand, certifications from AWS, CompTIA, or PMI signal to employers that you have verified, up-to-date skills. But a certification won’t help your job search if it’s buried at the bottom of your resume or missing from your online presence. In this guide, we’ll show you how to effectively highlight these certifications on your resume and LinkedIn profile, and how to confidently discuss them in job interviews.

What’s the Difference Between a Certification, Credential, and Degree?

While the terms certification, credential, and degree are often used interchangeably, they each have distinct meanings – and it's important to understand the differences, especially when listing them on your resume.

• Credential is an umbrella term that refers to any qualification that proves a person’s skills or experience. This can include bootcamp certificates, licenses, certifications, and in some cases, degrees.

• Certification is a specific type of credential awarded by a professional organization to confirm that an individual has met a set of standards and demonstrated competence in a particular area – think CompTIA Security+, AWS Cloud Practitioner, or Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals.

• Degree is an academic qualification granted by a college or university after completing a program of study (e.g., a Bachelor's or Master’s degree).

It’s also helpful to distinguish certifications from other, similarly named qualifications:

• Professional licenses are legally required before you can practice certain professions, like teaching, law, or nursing. These are typically issued by a state board and often require ongoing education to renew.

• Online certificates – while still valuable, these usually indicate that you’ve completed a course or training program, not that you've been assessed against standardized criteria. These are best listed in the education section of your resume, not under certifications.

Why should you list certifications on your resume?

You should list certifications because they may be required for the position, and you don’t want your resume to be overlooked if you have them! But even if a certification isn’t listed as a job requirement, you should list these:

• To show you have the experience and credibility
• To demonstrate your skill level
• To compensate for practical experience, if you’re new to the field
• To pass the Automated Tracking System (ATS), important especially if you’re applying to larger companies

However, best practice dictates that you shouldn’t include certifications on your resume that are not relevant to the job you’re applying for, or if the certification has expired (and you’re not going to renew it). 

How to List Certifications on Your Resume

Include certifications that are relevant to the position you’re applying for on your resume. If you’re applying for a Software Developer position, you would definitely want to feature your AWS Certified Developer Associate certification. Try to take the point of view of a hiring manager, and tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for and what skills your certification implies. 

For example: A Scrum master certification demonstrates your coaching, teaching, and organizational skills, and that you can facilitate streamlined work processes. This would give you an edge and help you stand out from other similarly skilled candidates.

Where to List Your Certifications on Your Resume

You have a bit of flexibility when it comes to listing your certifications on your resume, as it depends on your format and overall work experience. You can modify your “Education” section and call it “Education and Certifications” and place it near the bottom of your resume after your work history. 

There’s no “one size fits all” rule when it comes to your resume, so use your best judgement on placement, or use a resume template that fits your current experience level.

How to Format Your Certifications

If you choose to have one section titled, “Education and Certifications,” list your degrees first (school name, degree, and your graduation date if it’s less than 10 years ago), then list your certifications in the next paragraph. You can also place them under separately titled sections.

Regardless, the formatting of your certifications will be the same. List them in reverse-chronological order (most recent certification first) and include:

• Full title of the certification (with any common abbreviations in parentheses)
• The issuing association or organization
• Date of certification (or “in progress” if you haven’t completed it, along with anticipated date of completion)
• Certification expiration date, if applicable
• Any pertinent additional details about the certification, if you have enough space on your resume

Examples of proper formatting:

You should also list these certifications in your “Skills” section so that the hiring manager doesn’t miss them! 

How to Feature Certifications on LinkedIn

To include your certifications on LinkedIn, you’ll include the same information as above in the Licenses & Certifications section and/or in your About section. To add to your LinkedIn profile, follow the following steps:

1. Log into your LinkedIn account (and if you don’t have one, create one)
2. Click on “Add profile section”
3. Choose “Licenses & Certifications”
4. Enter the Certification Name, Issuing Organization, Issue Date, Expiration Date, and any optional details like Credential ID, and Credential URL 
5. Hit “Save”
6. Repeat this process for additional certifications

Here's a straightforward example in the Licenses & certifications section of a LinkedIn profile:

How to Talk About Your Certification in an Interview

Chances are that the hiring manager will have a good idea of your certifications before calling you into an interview – after all, they’ve seen your resume. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring them up during the course of discussion. The key is to work your certifications into your answers, rather than just listing them (unless they ask you to, of course). 

Even if the hiring manager already saw your certifications on your resume, it’s still important to reference them during the interview ... strategically. Rather than listing them outright, weave your certifications into your answers to highlight how they’ve prepared you for the role. So how do you do that? The key is to keep it relevant to the position you’re interviewing for. Instead of just “name dropping,” explain how you used a specific certification on the job in past projects and the successful outcomes you had from utilizing the skills you learned to get that certification. And if you're speaking with someone without a technical background (common in early interview rounds), skip the jargon and focus on impact – how your certified skills delivered real results.

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