How many skills should you list on LinkedIn
Why the skills list is really a search field, how many to add, and which ones actually surface you.
By Standout · 12 July 2026
The skills section looks like a formality, a place to tick a few boxes and collect endorsements. It is actually one of the most powerful search fields on your profile, and most people underuse it.
Skills are a filter, not a badge
When a recruiter narrows a search to “must have SQL” or “must have project management”, they are filtering on the structured skills field. If you have not listed the skill, you are excluded from that filter, no matter how much your experience implies it. The skill has to be there in black and white.
How many to add
LinkedIn allows up to 100, and there is little harm in a full, relevant list. But do not pad it with things you cannot back up. The goal is coverage of the terms recruiters search, not a wall of buzzwords. A focused list of genuinely relevant skills beats 50 vague ones.
Which skills to choose
The same source as always: the job descriptions for the roles you want. Favor, in this order:
- Hard skills and tools, the specific technologies, methods and platforms of your field (SQL, Xero, Figma, Prince2, whatever applies).
- Domain skills, the named competencies of the role (financial modelling, demand generation, clinical governance).
- A few soft skills, only the ones that genuinely matter for the role, and sparingly.
Pin the right ones
LinkedIn lets you pin your top skills and shows them prominently. Pin the handful most central to your target role, not simply the ones with the most endorsements. A single well-chosen pinned skill does more for your findability than a dozen endorsements on something off-target.
Want a second opinion on your skills list? A free LinkedIn Score rates your skills alongside your headline, About, experience and completeness, and suggests specific fixes.
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Score my LinkedIn profile, free →Common questions
Up to 100 (the cap was 50 until early 2024). You do not need all 100, but there is little downside to a healthy list as long as the skills are genuinely relevant. What matters most is that the handful recruiters actually filter for are present and near the top.
A little. Endorsements add a light signal of credibility, especially on your most important skills, but they are not the main event. Having the right skill listed at all matters far more than how many endorsements it has.
A couple are fine, but recruiters rarely search for them, and they do not distinguish you. Prioritise the hard skills, tools and methods specific to your field, because those are what searches filter on.
LinkedIn lets you pin your top skills, and it shows them prominently. Pin the ones most central to the roles you want, drawn from the job descriptions you are targeting, not just the ones you happen to have the most endorsements for.
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