This post was updated on September 30, 2015
When filling out your LinkedIn profile, it’s important to know how much room you have to fill in. LinkedIn tells you when you have hit your character limit but until you get to that point, how do you know how far you have to write? Each field is different and has it’s own limits. It’s important to note that LinkedIn counts characters… NOT WORDS. So when they say character they mean each letter, space, or punctuation mark… NOT WORDS!
Here are the maximum characters each field of the LinkedIn profile supports:
Search Result Listing
First Name: 20
Last Name: 40
Headline: 120
Background
Summary: 2,000
Experience
Company Name: 100
Title: 100
Description: 2,000
Skills & Endorsements
Skill: 80
Additional Information
Interests: 1,000
Advice for Contacting: 2,000
Honors & Awards
Title: 255
Issuer: 255
Description: 2,000
Organizations
Organization: 255
Positions Held: 255
Addtl Notes: 2,000
Volunteer
Organization: 100
Role: 100
Description: 2,000
Projects
Project: 255
Project URL: 255
Description: 2,000
Publications
Publication: 255
Publication URL: 255
Description: 2,000
Test Scores
Name: 255
Score: 20
Description: 2,000
Courses
Course Name: 100
Number: 25
Education
Degree: 100
Field of Study: 100
Grade: 80
Activities/Societies: 500
Description: 1,000
I absolutely recommend using up as much space as possible. Fill in the fields. Of course, on the other hand, I do not suggest you fill stuff in just to fill it in. Be smart about it. If you have something to say, say it. Be genuine and honest. Don’t go overboard just to go overboard. Remember, it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
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I had the pleasure of meeting you at PodcampPhilly. Have used your ebook and received an unsolicited call yesterday from a firm in the area looking for someone with my skills!
Thanks.
Hi Chris! Thanks so much for keeping me updated! That’s wonderful news! I wish you luck with this opportunity! I can’t wait to hear more!
Hi Donna,
I’m really curious about why some experts (including you) are saying “use up as much space as possible”. This seems to fly in the face of the usual emphasis on brevity in writing for the web, or in writing a resume. Why do you think length is good for LinkedIn?
If you could reply offline, I’d prefer that – thank you so much!
thea.kelley111@sbcglobal.net.
I recently realized that Hootsuite truncates all scheduled Linked In posts to 140 characters, even though you can post more than that on Linked In directly. Do you know of a tool that allows you to schedule posts to Linked In without truncating?
Thank you in advance,
LMD
I was able to post more characters through LinkedIn sharing, however mostly about(95%) of my sharing throws the error when the content goes more than 140 characters.
Can some one check on this and let me know the details.
Thanks,
Bhuvan
Brilliant, I asked the question on google – how many words in a company profile for LinkedIn? And up this article popped. Exactly the information I needed and just wanted to say thanks for putting it together xxx
Hi there
My ‘recommender’ wants to plan ahead before getting to the Linked In field and finding there isn’t space — what is the word count allotment for a recommendation?
Thanks
Hi
Really its very good information for me i am very thankful to you.
Thanks, thanks a lot.