How Posting Course Certificates on LinkedIn Can Increase Your Visibility, Support, and Even Lead to Job Opportunities

When I was asked by IIBA to write an article on displaying digital badges and certificates online, my answer was a resounding YES!

I had recently seen our participants in The Business Analyst Blueprint® (a training option many pursue on the way to obtaining their CBAP® and other IIBA® certifications) experience so many wins and so much recognition for their achievements, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share those wins with the larger business analysis community.

As we closed our Spring 2019 session of The Business Analyst Blueprint®, several participants shared their Certificates of Completion with their professional networks.

 

The results have been incredible!

Here are the results some of our recent participants experienced.

Susan Enoma, an agile BA and consultant, received 98 reactions and 51 comments. She also received a lot of promising calls on interviews as a result of the post.

Kira Judge, a Senior Business Analyst, reported receiving a job offer from another office in her company shortly after posting her certificate.

Other participants received outpouring of support, and additional exposure as a result of posting their Certificates.

For example, Munzolli Tower, CBAP, who was recently promoted into a Senior Business Analyst role received comments like:

• Congrats, not surprised by your excellence in achievements!
• Enjoyed reconfiguring your synapses! Great job on your part! (From instructor Doug Goldberg, CBAP)
• Along with several “Congratulations!”

And Todd Fleming, a Business Analyst / Project Manager seeking his next opportunity let me know that while this was his very first post on LinkedIn, and his profile is still a work-in-progress, his Certificate of Completion post generated 3,193 post views, 52 reactions, and 7 comments.

And even more impressive was the number of profile views that it generated - 34 profile views,
which was a 3,300 % increase.  He also received a nice acknowledgement in person from a colleague that viewed and commented on the post. 

Todd also wanted to thank LinkedIn and the Veteran Affairs, which provided him with a 12-month upgrade to Premium, for being a verified US veteran, which allowed him to see this data.

The results don’t end here.

But the real results go beyond even these individual posts. For one, I get to highlight each of these participants in this article and introduce you to their great work!

And for me personally, it was extremely gratifying to see each individual not only celebrate their own success and publicly claiming the growth they experienced, but also support and acknowledge each other.

It was also incredibly rewarding to see our talented and dedicated instructors acknowledged for the difference they made in each participant’s life and career. They work extremely hard behind-the-scenes to ensure our participants receive massive results in our programs – and they deserve the public recognition too!

How to Maximize Your Post

And while there is really no wrong way to do upload a course certificate to LinkedIn, here are some tips we share with our participants when they earn a Certificate of Completion from one of our programs:

• Share your Certificate of Completion in a new post.
• Write something that’s specific to your achievements in the course. For example, share your take-aways, and what you are proud of accomplishing, or a new skill you mastered and the impact that has had on your organization.
• Tag your instructor(s) in the post, so they will be sure to see it and help you celebrate.
• Add tags (example #businessanalysis, #IIBA) so your post reaches even more people – both in and out of your network.
• And don’t overlook adding your new skills to your profile as well!
• Your training or certification can also go in the Accomplishments section of your LinkedIn profile.

Here are some examples of how our participants applied these suggestions:

Munzolli Tower wrote:

“I enjoyed being a part of the BA BluePrint. It was a great experience, and I got the chance to sharpen my skill and pick up a few new ones along the way. I want to thank my instructors, Doug Goldberg, CBAP, Paula Bell, CBAP, Laura Brandenburg, CBAP, and Nadine M. who twisted and pulled my mind in ways I wouldn't have considered while encouraging me to find the needed answers.”

Todd Fleming wrote:

“This was a challenging and rewarding course, which sharpened my BA skills in business process analysis, use cases, wireframes, and data modeling. I enjoy the value that this experience has already brought to my work and projects.”

What These Celebrations Really Mean to Our Profession

There is more to these celebrations, and these posts, than the mechanics of leveraging social media, or even the visibility, support, and opportunities that these simple posts generated for these professionals.

A major challenge our community faces is being recognized for the value we bring to our organizations and the impact we can make on our projects.

I firmly believe that we will be more valued as a profession when each of us individually owns our value – and this means we have to get a little “promotional” at times. We have to do what’s uncomfortable and share our wins, celebrate our successes, and be clear about our accomplishments.

These participants have proven that when you do this, your community will rise up to support you. They will also start to see you in an expanded way.

So yes, maximize the exposure of every new credential, skill, and accomplishment. One success leads to another. This practice literally transforms your career and can create opportunities for you to move forward to the next level.

We build our profession one business analyst at a time, and success starts with you.

Learn more about Certification Digital Badging

---

 

About the Author