After months of sending in applications, fielding emails from recruiters, and attending interviews, you finally found a new job. Congratulations!

But before you officially make the switch to your new firm, you’ll need to tie up some loose ends first — updating your LinkedIn profile being one of them.

In the midst of this whirlwind of change, you might be wondering when you should go public about your new role. In this article, we’ll discuss why it’s best to wait two weeks before updating LinkedIn with your new position, how to align your announcement with significant professional milestones for maximum impact, and provide examples of how to make your long-awaited announcement.

When to update LinkedIn with a new job

The best time to update your LinkedIn profile with a new job is about two weeks after you've started your new position. This gives you enough time to settle into your new job, understand the company, and gain insight into your role and responsibilities.

Waiting also allows you to align your update with specific milestones and achievements at your new job, creating a more impactful announcement, such as successfully leading your first project, implementing a significant change, or receiving an award.

Here are three great times to update your LinkedIn profile:

After you've finished probation

Most jobs come with a probationary period, where employers monitor your performance to decide if you're the best fit for the role. Probationary periods usually don't last long — most conclude within the first few weeks or months — but it's better to wait until this period ends before you share your new job with your professional network.

After completing a significant project

Updating your profile after successfully completing a project can demonstrate your capability and achievements in a real-world context and show your immediate contribution and effectiveness in your new position. It also gives you something impressive to brag about!

After completing training

Updating your profile after completing significant training in your new role highlights your commitment to professional growth and expertise and showcases your dedication to enhancing your skills.

Why wait to update your LinkedIn profile?

You’re really excited for your new role and want your whole network to know as soon as possible. So why bother waiting at all? Why not flash your new title the moment you put in your two weeks’ notice?

Your job offer might fall through

We don’t want to be the bearer of bad news here, but there’s still a small chance your new job might fall through. While it’s uncommon for employers to renege on a job offer, it’s not unheard of. After all, things aren’t truly official until you’ve actaully started the work.

You may not like the job

Probation is often seen as an opportunity for employers to evaluate new employees, but it also gives new hires the chance to see if the role is right for them. You may decide several weeks into your new job that it just isn’t for you — and decide to quit right then and there. As a result, it’s best to wait until you know you’ll be here to stay before you formally announce this new change on LinkedIn.

You’ll be swamped with work

New hires are often asked to hit the ground running, so you might not have time to do much outside your new job. Not only will you have to familiarize yourself with new surroundings, software applications, and co-workers, you’ll also need to adapt to new processes, standards, and procedures. In other words, merely acclimating to your new job will fill up your entire plate, so save LinkedIn for later.

You don’t know what the role entails yet

Updating your LinkedIn profile to reflect your new position isn’t as simple as inputting your new job title. You’ll also need to describe the position and offer details on what you’re doing. However, as a new hire, you’re often left with more questions than answers over your job duties — and may not have the information you need to describe your new role as well as you’d like. Wait until you have a better understanding of what the job is really like before you put it into your own words on LinkedIn.

To help with contract negotiations

Updating your LinkedIn profile with a new role can signal to both your new and current employer that you’ve ended your job search. Keeping your new job under wraps allows you to maintain leverage in negotiations with your new (and old) employer, as it shows you’re still considering your options, which might prompt better offers or terms.

Drawbacks of updating your profile too soon

Updating your LinkedIn profile immediately after accepting a new job can raise concerns about loyalty and professionalism in the eyes of your current employer. An abrupt announcement may be perceived as a lack of commitment or discretion, especially if you haven't yet communicated your departure internally.

A hasty LinkedIn update can also be seen as impulsiveness by your new employer and reflect poorly on your decision-making and professional image. It's best to wait until your transition is fully confirmed and communicated appropriately at your current workplace before making any announcements.

It's also crucial to avoid disclosing sensitive or confidential information about your old or new employer in your update. Always adhere to your employer's policies on information sharing, privacy, and NDA agreements, ensuring that your update maintains professional courtesy and discretion.

How to announce your new job on LinkedIn — including templates

When you're settled in to your new role, you can start updating your LinkedIn profile. In this section, we'll give you a few templates you can use to announce that you've joined a new team.

Template 1: Thanking your previous company

This template is excellent if you want to call out specific things about your new company — as well as thank people who helped on your job search or people you're excited to meet at your new company:

After [X] incredible years at [Previous Company], I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined [New Company, e.g. Resume Worded] to [1 liner of what you're doing, e.g. 'lead our research and product development team.]

What excites me most about Resume Worded? Two things: The mission and the people.

We live in a world where people are changing their careers every 2 years. This is crazy compared to ten years ago, where people stuck with their industry or company for ten+ years. Resume Worded is at the centre of this transition, and it's equipping jobseekers with all the right tools and support they need to make the right career decisions and changes.

Resume Worded's leadership and our talent universe are comprised of pioneers, category creators, and technology geniuses who, most importantly, are also all-around great humans. I’m so honored to be a part of this amazing team, where I get to learn from [John Doe, Stephanie Steph, e.g. you can tag people in here]!

Thank you to [Alice Peter, Peter Smith, ... tag people who helped you in the job search] and the Resume Worded product team for this opportunity—and to [perhaps a recruiter who helped you, or someone you'd like to call out again] for bringing me here.

If you’re ready to join the movement to help jobseekers change their careers to what they want to do, please reach out to me. We are hiring!

Template for announcing a new job on LinkedIn in a post, while thanking your previous employer

Template 2: Comprehensive LinkedIn post to announce your new job.

Here's a second template from a LinkedIn user, showing how to create a positive, professional linked in post to announce your career move:

Template 3: Short and simple LinkedIn post to announce your new job.

Here's a third sample post that gives an effective overview of your new position in a short and sweet way:

Tips for updating your LinkedIn profile in a professional manner

Start with the basics

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Find the correct organization, put in your official job title, and enter your start date — defined as the first day on the job, and not the day you received your offer letter.

List your job duties and accomplishments in bullet point format, and quantify them if you can. Keep your content short and digestible, and avoid long sentences. Start each bullet point with an action verb — words like “created”, “sourced”, “gathered”, “negotiated”, or “coordinated”. Also, include a sentence or two on the company and its clients — who are you working for, what do they do, and who do they serve?

Update your LinkedIn headline, too, as this is the first thing people see when hovering over your profile, and it’s a great attention-grabber. You can update your LinkedIn headline by including keywords relevant to your new role. Use the tool below to find the best ones.

Optimize your profile

Beyond headlines and written descriptions, there are a myriad of other things you can do to make your LinkedIn profile more competetive and tailored to the recruiters who might stumble upon it. This may help you generate leads, find future job opportunities, or meet new people. Resume Worded’s LinkedIn Review can offer you pointed feedback on how to polish your profile and increase your visibility.

Include links to job-related projects

LinkedIn gives you the option to link relevant primary sources. projects, papers, or sites to your new position. This is an excellent way to optimize your profile and showcase examples of work you’ve done on the job, so use it to your advantage. After all, showing — rather than telling — is one of the best things you can do to allow your network to really understand what you’re up to.

Thank your previous employer

Take the opportunity to write a post about your time at your current job — what you did, what you learned, who you worked with, and how you felt about working there. Thank your co-workers, supervisors, and mentors, and tag them on LinkedIn if they have a profile.

Update your profile only when you need to

You should only update your profile when you have something of substance to add. Specifically, announce new roles and duties only after the details have been set in stone. Don’t write that you’re a “future” or “incoming” hire at a company, even if you’ve accepted the new job offer. Additionally, don’t post anything until you’ve left your current job — doing otherwise may dampen your current firm’s perception of you.

Remove internships/volunteer experience once you’re working full-time

Once you’re onto your second or third full-time job, you can safely remove any internship or volunteer experience you might have had while you were in college. This keeps your LinkedIn looking fresh and neat. After all, most people aren’t interested in knowing about a two-month summer stint when you’ve had three years of full-time work experience post-graduation.

Related: How To Update Your LinkedIn After Graduation

How to use your new LinkedIn update to expand your professional network

Updating your LinkedIn profile when you land a new job can be more than just an announcement; it can help you expand your professional network, attract opportunities, and enhance your industry contacts.

Here are some ways to use your LinkedIn update to boost your professional profile online:

• Tag your new company and colleagues to expand your network and reach more people in your new organization’s connections.
• Use keywords and industry-specific terms in your update to improve visibility in LinkedIn searches, making you more discoverable to recruiters and industry peers.
• Share insights alongside your update to position yourself as a thought leader and add depth to your professional image.
• Engage with comments and messages promptly to create active engagement that can lead to meaningful professional connections.
• Use the momentum of your job update to request recommendations from past colleagues or managers. These testimonials add credibility to your profile and can impress future employers or collaborators.