How many skills should you list on LinkedIn

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 50, 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. Favour, 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.

Not sure which skills you are missing for the jobs you want? A free LinkedIn Score checks your profile against what recruiters scan and points out the gaps.