When you are in career transition, it is important to strengthen and communicate your career brand. For some roles, it can be beneficial to demonstrate that you are a subject matter expert in your field or industry. It may be particularly of value in roles where there is a high premium on innovation, thought leadership and expertise. There are a few ways you can convey this via your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Associate Yourself with Success

A great way to show that you are a subject matter expert in your field is to be affiliated with Associations. If you are, be sure to indicate this in its own section on your resume and LinkedIn profile. You can also qualify your involvement, especially if you’re part of a steering committee or member of the executive.

Mentioning your certifications is another way to demonstrate expertise. If it is commonly done in your field, you can place the certification following your name as is typically done with PMP (Project Management Professional certification), P.Eng. (Professional Engineering Certification) and CPA (Certified Public Accountant). You can also have a Certifications section on your resume to further elaborate by indicate the name of the certification and the certifying body.

If you have spoken at conferences or published articles related to your field, you should indicate those on your resume and LinkedIn profile as well.

Learning Can Enhance Expertise

If you are enhancing your expertise with education, you will want to include this on your resume and LinkedIn profile. Even if you are currently enrolled in the program but it won't be completed for a while, you can still include it, just indicate the expected year of completion. You can indicate this in brackets next to the name of the program and the institution. If enrollment in this program will be of significant interest to potential employers, you should also mention it in the Profile of your resume and the About section of your LinkedIn profile.

Communicating Subject Matter Expertise on LinkedIn

There are many ways to actively and passively convey expertise on LinkedIn. Follow established thought leaders in your field. Follow organizations who are leaders in fields related to what you do and what you want to do next. Join LinkedIn Groups with a focus on your profession. Read books and articles to stay up to date on what is happening in your industry and post some of that information on LinkedIn. It is recommended that you review information thoroughly before posting it because posting it connects it to your career brand. To convey your areas of focus and interest through LinkedIn, you can comment on others' posts that are relevant to what you do. Aim to comment, share, or post on LinkedIn one time per week to remain active and top of mind.

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Especially if subject matter expertise is highly regarded in your field, you will want to focus on your main career brand touchpoints, the resume and LinkedIn profile, to convey your expertise.