How to Add Portfolio and Projects to Your LinkedIn Profile

Many professionals do excellent work, but their LinkedIn profile does not show it. The profile lists job titles and responsibilities, but there is no concrete evidence of what was actually produced.

For fields like design, technology, marketing, communication, and consulting, a portfolio and well-described projects on LinkedIn can be the difference between getting an interview invitation or not.

The two main ways to show your work on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has two primary spaces for demonstrating what you have built:

1. Featured section: appears just below your About section and accepts links, documents, images, and LinkedIn posts
2. Projects within experience entries: inside each role, you can add specific projects with descriptions, dates, and co-creators

Both serve different purposes and using both is recommended.

Featured section: what to include

The Featured section is the most visible part of your profile after your photo and headline. It is the first place a recruiter or hiring manager will look for concrete evidence of your work.

What works well:

• A link to your online portfolio (Behance, GitHub, personal site, Dribbble)
• A PDF case study you created
• A presentation about a relevant project
• An article or publication that demonstrates expertise
• A LinkedIn post that performed well and shows your knowledge

What to avoid:

• Generic documents that do not show a result (e.g., a certificate list)
• Broken or outdated links
• Too many items competing with each other, pick the best 3 to 5

To add: go to your profile → click "Add profile section" → "Featured".

How to add projects inside experience entries

Inside each role, you can add projects by clicking the "+" icon on the experience entry. Each project includes:

• Project name
• Dates (start and end)
• Description: use it to describe the goal, what was done, and the outcome
• Collaborators: tag other people who participated
• URL: link to the project if applicable

Description tip: follow the problem → action → result format.

Example:

"Redesigned the app onboarding flow to reduce first-week churn. Conducted research with 40 users, redesigned 6 screens, and ran an A/B test. First-week churn dropped from 38% to 22% over two months."

When you do not have metrics to show

Not all work has a number attached to it. Designers, writers, teachers, and consultants often do not have a "churn dropped by X%" to present.

In those cases, describe the context and qualitative impact:

• "Created the brand identity that is now used across 3 countries in Latin America"
• "Developed the training curriculum for 200 customer service employees"
• "Rewrote the sales pitch used by the commercial team in 15 countries"

Context matters. The reader understands that impact was generated, even without an exact figure.

For developers and tech professionals

If you have repositories on GitHub, GitLab, or published projects, add them to the Featured section with a description of what each project does and which technologies it uses.

In the experience section, detail specific contributions: "built the authentication system using OAuth 2.0" is more meaningful than "worked on the backend."

If you have personal projects, apps, scripts, open-source tools, list them. They demonstrate initiative and show which technologies you use outside of work.

Auditing what is already on your profile

Before adding more items, review what is already there:

• Do all links still work?
• Do the listed projects represent your best current work, not something from five years ago?
• Do the descriptions show results, or just responsibilities?

A profile with three well-described projects is more convincing than one with ten projects that have no context.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add work from confidential client projects?

Yes, as long as you omit identifying information if required by your contract. You can describe the type of project, the context, and the result without naming the company. Examples: "project for a financial services company," "e-commerce client with over 500,000 users."

How many items should I include in the Featured section?

Between 3 and 5 items. The Featured section displays items as a carousel, too many items dilute attention and make the profile feel cluttered. Choose what best represents your current work.

Is it worth creating a separate portfolio website?

It depends on your field and seniority. For designers, photographers, and developers, a personal site typically conveys more professionalism. For other fields, a well-structured PDF in LinkedIn's Featured section may be sufficient. If you create a site, add the link to the Featured section and also to the website field on your profile.

Can I add videos to my LinkedIn portfolio?

Yes. You can add a YouTube, Vimeo, or any video URL link to the Featured section. LinkedIn generates an automatic preview. For video professionals, presenters, and anyone in communication roles, this can be especially impactful.