How to Add Promotion on LinkedIn So It Actually Gets Noticed
Here’s how to add promotion on LinkedIn in the way that shows your progress: go to the Experience section of your profile, add a new position at the same company (picking the exact company page from the dropdown), set the start date, tick that it’s your current role, and make sure the option to notify your network is on before you save. LinkedIn then groups both roles under one company, so people can see you moved up rather than moved on.
That’s the mechanics. Getting the update noticed takes a little more: a sharper headline, a short announcement post and, ideally, a profile photo that looks like the person who just got promoted. This guide covers all of it.
Why add a new position instead of editing the old one?
You can simply edit your existing job title, but you lose the story. When you add a new position under the same employer, LinkedIn nests the roles together, showing each title with its own dates. Recruiters, clients and colleagues can see at a glance that you were promoted from one role to the next.
Editing the old entry makes sense only if the change is tiny, such as a corrected job title, or if you’d rather keep a quiet profile.
How to add promotion on LinkedIn on desktop
LinkedIn moves buttons around from time to time, but the process on a computer currently looks like this:
- Open your profile. Click your photo or the Me icon at the top of LinkedIn, then View Profile.
- Find the Experience section. Scroll down and click the + icon at the top of the section.
- Choose Add position. This opens the form for a new role.
- Enter your new title. Use the title your employer uses, not a creative version of it.
- Pick the company from the dropdown. Select the entry with the company logo. If you type the name freehand or choose a slightly different spelling, LinkedIn may show the roles as two unrelated jobs instead of grouping them.
- Set the dates. Add the start month and year, and tick that you’re currently working in this role.
- Tidy the previous role. Open your old title and give it an end date that matches the start of the new one.
- Check the notify option. Look for the toggle to notify or share with your network before you save.
- Save. LinkedIn may then offer to create a post celebrating the new role.
How to add a promotion in the LinkedIn app
The steps on a phone are almost identical:
- Tap your profile photo, then View profile.
- Scroll to Experience and tap the + icon.
- Choose to add a position or role.
- Enter the title, select your employer from the list, and add the start date.
- Switch on the option to say you’re currently in this role.
- Check the notify network toggle, then tap Save.
If you can’t see the option to add a position, update the app first. Older versions sometimes lay the screen out differently.
Should you notify your network?
For a promotion, usually yes. It’s good news, it reminds your contacts you exist, and it tends to bring congratulations from people you haven’t spoken to in a while, which is often where new opportunities start.
A few things worth knowing:
- The toggle is on the edit screen. Check it each time you save a role. If you’re making several edits in one go, you might switch it off for the small tweaks and on for the main change.
- There’s also a master setting. Under Settings & Privacy, then Visibility, a setting called Share profile updates with your network controls whether profile changes are announced at all.
- It doesn’t happen instantly. The update can take a little while to appear in people’s feeds.
- Get the details right first. Once the announcement has gone out, fixing a typo won’t take it back, so check spelling and dates before you save.
If you’d rather keep things quiet, for example while a change is still being announced internally, switch the toggle off and share the news later with your own post.
How to make your promotion actually get noticed
Adding the role is only half the job. These are the things that make people stop scrolling.
| Update | What to do | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | Rewrite it to reflect the new role and what you help people with | It appears next to your name in search, comments and the feed |
| Role description | Three to five lines on what you now own and what you achieved to get there | Gives context to anyone who clicks through |
| About section | Adjust anything that describes your old job | Avoids mixed messages on the same profile |
| Announcement post | A short, genuine post thanking the people who helped | Posts get far more conversation than automatic updates |
| Profile photo | Replace it if it’s old, blurry, cropped from a party or a selfie | It’s the first thing people see next to your news |
| Banner image | Use something linked to your company or field | Makes the profile look current and cared for |
Writing the announcement post
Keep it short and human. A structure that works well:
- One line with the news: the new title and the company.
- One or two lines on what you’ll be focusing on.
- A thank you to the team or the people who helped, tagging them if they’d be happy with that.
- A photo. A picture of you nearly always draws more attention than a plain text post or a logo.
Avoid turning it into a CV. Nobody needs every achievement of the last three years; they need to know what changed and feel pleased for you.
Common mistakes when adding a promotion
- Overwriting the old role. You lose the visible progression that makes a promotion impressive.
- Picking the wrong company entry. The roles won’t group, and it looks like you changed employer.
- Leaving the old headline. Your new role says one thing and your headline says another.
- Announcing before your employer does. If the change hasn’t been made public internally, wait.
- A profile photo from years ago. A senior title next to a fuzzy holiday crop undermines the message.
- Forgetting the dates. Overlapping or missing dates make the timeline confusing.
A new role deserves a new headshot
A promotion often means more visibility: speaking at events, meeting clients, appearing on the company website and in press releases. That’s when a tired profile picture starts to show. A professional headshot that looks like you on a good day, with clean light and a background that suits your industry, does a lot of quiet work every time someone views your profile.
We’re a photography and video team based in Sudbury and Colchester, working across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and London. Our headshot photography covers individuals, and if the whole team needs updating we also offer corporate portraits and team photos. For more on getting the most from your images, read corporate photography for LinkedIn, websites and marketing or our comparison of studio and environmental headshots, then get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a promotion on LinkedIn without notifying everyone?
Switch off the notify network toggle on the edit screen before you save. You can also turn off Share profile updates with your network under Settings & Privacy, then Visibility.
Why are my two roles showing as separate jobs?
Usually because the company was typed or picked differently for each role. Edit the entries so both use the same company page from the dropdown.
Can I add an internal promotion that happened years ago?
Yes. Add the position with the correct historic start and end dates. You’ll probably want to switch off notifications for older changes.
Should I post about my promotion as well as updating my profile?
It’s worth it. An automatic update is easy to miss, while a short personal post with a photo invites congratulations and conversation.
Do I need a new profile photo after a promotion?
Not always, but if your photo is more than a few years old or wasn’t taken professionally, a promotion is a natural time to replace it.