Verification is essential in many aspects of life—from verifying your identity when opening a bank account to confirming your credentials for a job application. The social media world is no different.

And if you are familiar with platforms such as X, Snapchat, and Co., verified users aren’t a new concept for you. Often given to celebrities and public figures to prevent impersonation, the verification badge has become a status symbol for the average user.

But have you heard of LinkedIn’s verification feature? It allows every user, not just selected ones, to apply for verification. Since the feature is accessible to everyone, the question arises whether LinkedIn verification is truly necessary or does more harm than good. We have the answers for you right here.

The basics of LinkedIn verification

Let’s first take a look at the fundamentals of LinkedIn’s verification feature. Unlike other social media sites, LinkedIn provides three distinct types of verifications: one for the workplace, one for educational institutions, and one for identity. Each version requires different documentation, and you can choose to prioritize one over another.

Workplace

You can verify your workplace using four different types of documentation. Unfortunately, workplace verification is very limited, as it’s only supported by certain companies and available in certain countries. 

The easiest way is to use your work email and verify it through a code sent to your inbox. While this is the easiest method, it is currently only eligible to a small number of companies, but LinkedIn is looking to expand it to more. 

However, if your company uses Microsoft Entra Verified ID, it can enable workplace verification through it. LinkedIn also allows workplace verification via the LinkedIn Learning License and LinkedIn Recruiter License.

Educational institution

There are two ways to verify your educational institution on LinkedIn. Like workplace verifications, verification is only available for a limited number of institutions.

The first way to verify your education is to use your school email and enter a code sent to its inbox. The second way is through your LinkedIn Learning license if your institution provides it.

Identity

LinkedIn’s process for identity verification is the most popular mode of verification, but it is also the most controversial. Using a third-party verification service, you must submit a picture of your ID, a live selfie, and your cellphone number. Depending on your region, your third-party service will be different: CLEAR for users in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and Persona for other areas that support verification. Both verification services are well-known, with CLEAR being known as an alternative for TSA ID verification in airports and Persona being used by Instacart, Square Capital, and Lime.

How LinkedIn verification helps

Now, let’s take a look at what benefits LinkedIn verification has to offer. The biggest advantage that verification gives you is more credibility on LinkedIn. Verification allows other users to know that you are who you say you are and that your credentials are truly credible. It also prevents fraud and impersonation, as it’s difficult for criminals to fake your identity in real time. In addition, verified users get increased visibility, so more users can come across and view your profile. This benefit can lead to more connections and bigger opportunities in social selling.

LinkedIn is also very lax about implementing verification. It’s not mandatory, and it’s free to apply. Another advantage is that the removal process for verifications is simple, just in case you ever decide you don’t need them for your profile anymore.

What are the cons?

A significant drawback for both workplace and educational institution verifications is that they’re extremely limited in availability. Both are only available in certain regions and are only eligible for a certain number of workplaces and educational institutions. 

As previously mentioned, identity verification has been very controversial in the LinkedIn community. Users have grown concerned about using third-party verification services for LinkedIn’s identity verification. While Linked has stated that all data is deleted according to CLEAR’s and Persona’s privacy policies and that they do not receive biometric information, some users have found issues with CLEAR’s software quality and Persona’s murky policies. There have also been instances of verifications in the wrong place, such as an educator’s workplace being verified as their educational institution.

In addition, LinkedIn verification doesn’t seem necessary to the platform. Sure, there are some benefits, but you can get increased visibility, connections, and engagements through other methods. While credibility is good, it’s not 100% necessary to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, and your interactions with your community will prove more of your credibility than the verification badge.

Our final thoughts

Overall, verification can be a great way to validate your identity and credentials to the rest of your LinkedIn community, and it’s very low stakes when it comes to the sign-up process.

However, the feature is only available under limited circumstances and has some ambiguity regarding its policies and software processes. At the end of the day, it’s your decision whether to verify your account, but it’s essential to always do research before making that decision.

Photo by Abid Shah, Bastian Riccardi, Souvik Banerjee, and Greg Bulla on Unsplash