How to Add a Promotion on LinkedIn: A Step-by-Step Guide

Key Points to Remember

• To reflect your promotion on LinkedIn, you can either modify your existing role (LinkedIn may prompt you to “add new position”) or create a brand new position under the same company. Ensure the employer information is precisely the same so that the roles are correctly grouped together.
• Before saving, carefully review all details such as your job title, start date, and look for any typos. Also, decide whether you want to activate the “notify network” option, which automatically shares the update with your connections.
• After your promotion is official, consider announcing it with a LinkedIn post. Express gratitude to your colleagues, highlight your accomplishments in your previous role, share your enthusiasm for your new responsibilities, and connect your growth to the company's values.

Congratulations on your well-deserved promotion! Updating your LinkedIn profile to reflect this achievement might seem straightforward, but there are a few nuances to be aware of. This guide will walk you through the process of adding your new role within the same company to your LinkedIn experience, and explore different ways to share this exciting news with your network.

How to Update Your LinkedIn Profile with a Promotion

There are essentially two methods for adding a new position with your current employer: you can either edit your existing experience entry or create a completely new one. Here's a basic overview of the steps involved:

1. Add your new job title to your experience section.
2. Review all the changes you've made.
3. Share your promotion with your LinkedIn network.

Let's delve into the different approaches for adding and announcing your promotion on LinkedIn. To begin, open LinkedIn in a separate tab or window and navigate to your profile by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner.

Method 1: Modifying Your Existing Experience

Once you're on your LinkedIn profile, scroll down to the "Experience" section to begin making updates. This method involves using your current job information as a starting point for adding your new position.

To edit your experience, look for the pencil icons provided by LinkedIn. You'll need to click these icons twice. First, scroll down to your work experience and click the pencil icon located in the top right-hand corner of the entire section. This will cause pencil icons to appear next to each of your positions.

Next, locate your current employer within your experience section and click on the pencil icon that corresponds to your most recent job title. This will open an "edit experience" box.

The first text box will display your job title. Delete the existing text and enter your new title. Don't worry, you'll be able to retain both titles!

Entering a new title should trigger a prompt immediately below the text box you've just edited. LinkedIn will likely ask, “Did you get promoted? Add a new position to show your career progression.” Click the "+ Add new position" text to add your promotion.

Congratulations again! You've earned this!

Note: If your titles are very similar, LinkedIn might not recognize this as a new position. In this case, refer to the steps in method two.

Method 2: Adding Your Promotion as a New Position

Instead of editing your current position, you can treat your promotion as an entirely new job entry. To do this, scroll down to the "Experience" section and click on the plus sign.

Click on “add position” to proceed.

This process should look familiar, as it's the same way you added your other work experiences to LinkedIn.

The top section of the "add experience" window provides the option to "notify network" of the changes. Toggle this option on or off now to avoid forgetting later.

If you accessed this window by editing your current job, you'll likely see your new job title and employer information already filled in. If you're adding your promotion as a new position, you'll need to enter this information manually.

You'll need to manually add your employment type, company name, location, and industry. Since you're still with the same employer, this information should remain identical. Pay close attention to entering the employer information exactly as it appears in your other entries; otherwise, your promotion won't be displayed correctly. Again, this information will be pre-filled if you choose the “add a promotion” route.

You can adjust your start date at this stage and select the option to "end current position as of now." These options are helpful if you're updating your public profile after the promotion has already taken effect.

You can also add a description of your new role. It's perfectly acceptable to skip this section for now and return to it later when you can better articulate your impact in your new position.

Updating Your LinkedIn Headline

Your profile headline might or might not be the same as your current job title. You can make changes from this window to reflect your promotion.

LinkedIn allows you to showcase the skills you utilize in specific roles. These skills will be listed within your experience section and in your skills section.

Identify and highlight your top skills to present the best version of yourself.

Note: This option is unavailable for profiles that have already reached LinkedIn's 50-skill limit.

The last section is a media section. Similar to the description, you can revisit this section later when you have more time in the position.

Remember to save your changes!

Reviewing and Saving Your Updates

As many writers and editors know, typos are often most noticeable immediately after saving changes (or sending an email). After clicking "save," refresh your page and double-check that all the changes you've made are accurate.

Verify the start date, job title, and any other modifications you made in the "add experience" popup window. If you added a new position instead of adding a promotion, confirm that the positions are nested under the same company profile. If they aren't, ensure the employer information is exactly the same for both entries and that the dates don't overlap.

Be on the lookout for common typos:

• "Manger" instead of "manager"
• "Principal" instead of "principle" (or vice versa for school administrators)
• "Buisness" instead of "business"
• "Pubic" instead of "public"
• "Liason" or "liasion" instead of "liaison"
• "An" instead of "and"

Sharing Profile Updates with Your Network

Many users retain LinkedIn's default settings for job updates, meaning the platform automatically notifies connections when employment changes are made. This is one way to announce your promotion – simply by adding the new position to your experience section.

If you prefer to change this default setting, you can do so in the "visibility" section of your settings by clicking on "share profile updates with your network.”

Posting About Your Promotion on LinkedIn

Regardless of whether you choose to share the automated notification, consider creating a post to announce your new role on LinkedIn. Your network will likely want to celebrate your career advancement, so give your former classmates and colleagues the opportunity to congratulate you. When announcing your promotion, you can also adjust your post privacy settings to control whether the announcement is public or visible only to your network.

What to Include in Your Promotion Post

Consider crafting a heartfelt message of gratitude, recognition, and appreciation to acknowledge your hard work. Of course, timing is crucial – avoid surprising former or new coworkers with the news. It's generally best to wait until you've formally accepted the role and clearly communicated the changes to all relevant parties before updating your LinkedIn profile.

You don't need to go into excessive detail, but creating a post announcing your promotion is a great way to inform your network, keep your target audience updated, and showcase your career progression.

Here are some suggestions for what to include in your LinkedIn update:

• Announce your transition and highlight positive aspects of your previous role. This might include professional achievements, key accomplishments, lessons learned, and personal growth.
• Acknowledge and express gratitude to colleagues who have supported you throughout your career journey.
• Provide relevant details about your new role and express your enthusiasm for the responsibilities ahead.
• Emphasize how the new role and the company culture align with your values, interests, and skills.

Landing a promotion is a significant accomplishment, and the extent to which you share details about it on LinkedIn is entirely up to you. Whatever you choose, maintain a professional and respectful tone.

How Long Should You Wait Before Updating LinkedIn?

Similar to starting a new job, it's generally advisable to wait a couple of weeks before updating your LinkedIn profile. However, if you're certain about your new position and career path, you might feel comfortable sharing the news sooner.

Example Posts Announcing a New Job Title

• "Exciting news! I am thrilled to announce my promotion to [new position] at [company name]. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue growing and developing within the company and am excited to take on new challenges and responsibilities in this role. I want to thank my colleagues and superiors for their support and guidance throughout my time here. I am looking forward to contributing to the company's success in my new position. #promotion #career #growth"
• "I am thrilled to share that my first week as a [job title] at [company name] has been a great success. I am passionate about the company's commitment to improving financial literacy for clients and aligns with my own values. I am grateful for the support and guidance provided by my team, including [@tag name] and [@tag name], as I navigate my new role. I am excited for the opportunities and challenges ahead and look forward to contributing to the company's success. #newjob #promotion #careergrowth"
• "I am elated to share that I have been promoted recently to [new position] at [company name]. I have been a part of this amazing company for over 10 years and I couldn't be more excited to take on this new role and continue to contribute to its success. I am grateful to be a part of such a talented and dedicated team. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my previous manager, [@tag name], for providing me with the skills, knowledge and guidance that helped me to excel in sales and lead a big team with confidence. Although I will miss my previous team, I am looking forward to the new opportunities and challenges that come with this new position and excited to see what the future holds. #careergrowth #promotion #newjob"

Keeping your LinkedIn profile current is essential, whether you've changed employers or not. Your LinkedIn profile often appears as one of the top search results on Google, so it's wise to ensure your current position is accurately reflected.

Your connections will be supportive throughout your career. Sharing successes, such as your promotion, is an easy way to keep people in your professional network informed about your key accomplishments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does LinkedIn automatically notify my network when I change my job title?

It depends on your settings. By default, LinkedIn may share job title updates with your network. You can modify this setting either in your general settings or within the "add experience" window.

How can I change my job title without notifying my network?

In the "add experience" window, LinkedIn provides an option to "notify network" of changes. Ensure this option is toggled "off" before saving your profile. Once you save, your LinkedIn profile will be updated discreetly.

How can I delete a job update that LinkedIn shared with my network?

Navigate to your profile and click on "show all activity." Any recent posts will be displayed here. Locate the post notifying your network of the job update, click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, and select "delete post."

Should I add my promotion on other social media sites?

Consider updating your other social media profiles, such as Twitter, TikTok, or Quora, to maintain consistent and accurate information about your employment, especially if you had previously listed your prior title.