Your LinkedIn Featured Section Is Career Real Estate
Most job seekers spend hours updating their résumé and LinkedIn headline, but completely overlook one of the most visible parts of their LinkedIn profile: the Featured section.
Located directly below your About section, the Featured section gives you a permanent space to showcase the work, accomplishments, content, and ideas you want visitors to notice.
Think of it as your professional gallery.
What Is the LinkedIn Featured Section?
The Featured section allows you to intentionally highlight content on your profile.
Unlike a regular LinkedIn post that moves down your feed over time, Featured content remains visible on your profile until you decide to change it.
That makes it especially valuable for career marketing.
Even when you're not actively posting or searching for a job, your profile can continue communicating your professional value.
Why Job Seekers Should Care
Your LinkedIn profile shouldn't simply repeat your résumé.
It should help someone understand:
What you have accomplished
What you believe professionally
What you're capable of
What you want to do next
Why someone should want to connect with you
Your Featured section can help tell that story.
As Scott explains in the accompanying video, one example is a job seeker using Featured content to show what they believe, what they have done, and what they want to do.
That's career marketing in action.
What Should You Put in Your Featured Section?
You don't need to fill it with everything you've ever created.
Focus on the content that strengthens your professional story.
1. Career Accomplishments
Show evidence of what you've achieved.
Consider featuring:
Major projects
Awards
Certifications
Professional milestones
Presentations
Portfolio pieces
Don't just tell people you're accomplished.
Give them something they can see.
2. Your Best Professional Content
If you've written a LinkedIn article, created an insightful post, published a resource, or shared something that represents your expertise, consider featuring it.
Choose content that demonstrates how you think not just content that received the most likes.
3. Media Appearances
Have you appeared on:
YouTube
Podcasts
Industry publications
News sites
Webinars
Professional panels
Feature those appearances.
Third-party visibility can provide another layer of credibility and give visitors a better understanding of your expertise. Scott specifically recommends adding relevant media appearances to the Featured section.
4. Your Professional Point of View
What do you believe about your industry?
What problems are you passionate about solving?
What principles guide your work?
A strong Featured section doesn't have to be a collection of accomplishments. It can also communicate your professional perspective.
This is especially useful when you're trying to build a personal brand.
5. Projects and Work Samples
If your work can be shown, show it.
Depending on your profession, this could include:
Portfolio projects
Presentations
Case studies
Articles
Videos
Designs
Research
Professional resources
Your goal is to move from “Here's what I say I can do” to “Here's evidence of what I can do.”
Your Featured Section Should Match Your Career Goal
This is where strategy matters.
Don't build your Featured section randomly.
If you're looking for a leadership role, feature content that demonstrates leadership.
If you're transitioning into a new industry, highlight projects and experiences that support that transition.
If you're building credibility as a subject-matter expert, feature content that demonstrates your expertise.
If you're trying to attract clients, showcase your services, results, media, and resources.
Your Featured section should support the story you want your profile to tell.
Don't Treat LinkedIn Like a Static Résumé
One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is treating LinkedIn as nothing more than an online résumé.
Your résumé tells someone where you've been.
Your LinkedIn profile can help communicate:
Where you've been + what you've learned + what you believe + what you can contribute + where you're going.
That's a much bigger story.
And your Featured section gives you a place to make that story visible.
A Simple Featured Section Audit
Open your LinkedIn profile and look at your Featured section.
Then ask yourself:
Is it empty?
If it is, you're leaving valuable profile space unused.
Does everything support your career direction?
Remove anything that no longer represents where you're headed.
Does it show evidence?
Don't rely entirely on statements. Include work, accomplishments, projects, or content that supports your claims.
Does it show your personality?
Your professional brand should still feel human.
Does it make someone want to learn more?
Your Featured section should create curiosity, not just fill space.
Think of Your Profile as a Professional Gallery
Imagine someone lands on your LinkedIn profile for the first time.
They shouldn't have to dig through your entire career history to understand your value.
Your Featured section can give them a curated view.
Here is what I've accomplished.
Here is what I know.
Here is what I believe.
Here is what I'm working toward.
That's much more powerful than simply listing another job title.
🎥 Watch the Video
Scott breaks this strategy down in the accompanying video, including examples of how job seekers can use the Featured section to create greater visibility and stand out through intentional career marketing.
And if you're one of the first five people to DM Scott with the lead singer of The Smiths, he offered a 20–30 minute overview of the Featured section, LinkedIn profile, and potentially job-search strategy.
Your LinkedIn Profile Should Work When You're Not Working
You don't have to post every day.
You don't have to constantly update your profile.
But your profile should be ready when someone visits it.
A recruiter.
A hiring manager.
A potential referral.
A future client.
A professional connection.
Your Featured section is one more opportunity to make sure they see the right version of your professional story.
Don't leave that space empty.
Use it intentionally.
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