How to Add Interests on LinkedIn

Adding interests to your LinkedIn profile is a small but powerful way to build deeper connections, humanize your professional brand, and fine-tune the content you see. In this guide, we'll walk you through exactly how to add and manage your interests, why it matters for your career, and the most strategic ways to use this feature to stand out.

More Than Just a "Like": Why Your LinkedIn Interests Are a Strategic Asset

Unlike many profile sections that require you to write text, the "Interests" section on LinkedIn is built automatically based on the companies, influencers, groups, and newsletters you follow. It seems passive, but it's a dynamic and public signal that reveals more about who you are than you might think. Done right, it becomes a strategic tool for professional growth.

1. It Humanizes Your Professional Brand

Your job title and skills are important, but they don't tell your whole story. Your interests offer a glimpse into your personality, your passions, and your sense of curiosity. A software engineer who follows leaders in sustainable technology isn't just a coder, they're someone who thinks about the larger impact of their work. A financial controller who follows publications on organizational psychology shows they care about team dynamics, not just spreadsheets. These small details make you more memorable and relatable to recruiters, clients, and colleagues.

2. It Creates New Networking Opportunities

Shared interests are the foundation of all relationships, and that includes professional ones. When a potential client, hiring manager, or former colleague visits your profile, the "Interests" section can provide an unexpected point of connection.

• "Oh, you follow Professor Scott Galloway, too? His latest take on brand strategy was brilliant."
• "I see you're in the 'SaaS Growth Hacks' group. I've found it incredibly valuable."
• "I noticed you follow Brene Brown. Her thoughts on leadership really resonate with me."

These icebreakers turn a cold outreach into a warm conversation. Your interests list is a silent handshake, signaling a shared intellectual common ground to anyone who looks.

3. It Curates a Smarter, More Relevant Feed

Perhaps the most practical benefit happens right in your own LinkedIn feed. The LinkedIn algorithm pays close attention to what you follow. When you follow relevant industry leaders, companies doing innovative work, and newsletters that publish insightful content, your news feed transforms from a random collection of posts into a powerful professional development tool.

Getting better content means you have more opportunities to engage thoughtfully. Your likes, comments, and shares become more relevant, further strengthening your personal brand as someone who is knowledgeable and active in your field.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Interests on LinkedIn

First, a crucial point: you can't manually type in or "add" an interest like a skill. Your interests section is populated entirely by the pages, people, groups, and hashtags you follow. So, the process of adding interests is all about being intentional with that "Follow" button.

Step 1: Locate Your Current "Interests" Section

Before you start adding new ones, it's good to know where they live and what's already there.

1. Navigate to your personal LinkedIn profile.
2. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of your profile page.
3. There, you'll find the Interests section, typically divided into a few tabs: Top Voices, Companies, Groups, Newsletters, and Schools.

This is your public-facing library of interests. Now, let's start adding to it.

Step 2: Start Following Intentionally

The main tool for finding and adding interests is LinkedIn's search bar. Here’s how to follow different types of entities that will populate your "Interests" section.

Following Companies

Every company you follow shows up in your interests. Use this to signal your industry expertise, places you admire, or even companies you'd love to work for someday.

• How to do it: Type the name of a company into the search bar. Go to their official page and click the blue + Follow button near their logo.
• Good ideas: Follow your current and past employers, competitors in your space, industry giants, and innovative startups you admire.

Following Influencers and Thought Leaders

Following people is one of the most powerful moves you can make. It signals who you learn from and whose ideas you value.

• How to do it: Search for a person's name. On their profile, you’ll see either a "Connect" or "Follow" button. Everyone on LinkedIn can be followed, even if you're not connected. Just click + Follow. Many top executives and creators operate primarily through follows.
• Good ideas: Follow authors, journalists, top executives in your field, and renowned experts in topics that fascinate you, both professionally and personally.

Joining Groups

Groups are active communities that show up prominently in your interests. Being a member signals that you're an active participant in your industry's conversations, not just a passive observer.

• How to do it: Use the search bar to find groups related to your profession (e.g., "Digital Marketing Professionals" or "Executive Assistants Network"). Click into the group's page and select Request to join. Once you're approved, it will appear in your interests.
• Good ideas: Join at least 3-5 groups that are highly relevant to your role, your industry, and your career aspirations.

Subscribing to Newsletters

LinkedIn Newsletters are a feature many top creators use to share deep expertise. Subscribing not only gets you great content in your inbox but also lists the newsletter in your interests.

• How to do it: When you're on the profile of an influencer who publishes a newsletter, you’ll often see a notification to subscribe. You can also find them via content you see in your feed. When you see an article from a newsletter, click the author's name and you'll find an option to subscribe.
• Good ideas: Find newsletters from leaders who consistently share valuable, well-researched insights.

The Strategic Curation: What Kind of Interests Make You Stand Out?

Following random things is easy. Being strategic is what builds your brand. Your interest list should be a blend of professional relevance, personal passions, and aspirational goals.

1. Align with Your Profession (The "Table Stakes")

This is the foundation. Your interests list should instantly communicate your professional context. If recruiters can't tell what industry you're in by scanning your interests, you're missing an opportunity.

• For a UX designer: Follow design-centric companies like Figma and Adobe, inspirational agencies like IDEO, and thought leaders like Don Norman.
• For a sales representative in the renewable energy sector: Follow major energy firms, publications like Greentech Media, and groups focused on solar or wind power policy.
• For an HR professional: Follow companies known for great culture like Patagonia, influencers like Adam Grant, and groups focused on employee engagement and DEI.

2. Showcase Your Curiosity (The "Growth Mindset")

Show that you're thinking about the future, not just dwelling in the present. Follow companies and leaders from industries that are adjacent to or impacting your own.

• An accountant should absolutely follow topics related to advancements in AI and FinTech.
• A project manager shows foresight by following influencers who specialize in asynchronous work and the future of remote collaboration.
• A content writer should follow thought leaders in an area they want to grow into such as social media marketing. Or, following companies like HubSpot shows passion for an industry and dedication to becoming a thought leader.
• It's a sign that you are building a personal brand with intention by carefully planning out what kind of content creator marketer you showcase yourself as online.

This tells people you're a forward-thinker - a valuable trait in any employee or business partner.

3. Reflect Your Personal Brand and Values (The "Human Element")

This is where you can add personality. What do you stand for? What excites you beyond your day-to-day work?

• Follow a non-profit related to a cause you fiercely support.
• Follow authors, artists, or thinkers whose work inspires you.
• Follow leaders known not just for their business acumen, but for their integrity and ethical leadership style.

These interests might spark the most authentic conversations because they’re genuine reflections of who you are.

Managing Your Interests: The Regular Tune-Up

Your interests aren't set in stone. As your career evolves, so should the things you follow. It's smart to audit your "Interests" section once or twice a year to ensure it's still an accurate reflection of your professional self.

How to Unfollow and Clean Up Your List

1. Go to your profile and navigate to your Interests section.
2. Click See all to view the complete list, sorted by category.
3. From here, navigate to the category you want to edit (e.g., Companies).
4. Next to each interest, you’ll see a button that says Following. Simply click it to unfollow. The page will be instantly removed from your interests section.

A quick clean-up can remove old companies you followed years ago or topics that are no longer relevant to your career path, keeping your profile fresh and focused.

Final Thoughts

Your LinkedIn interests are far more than a passive list of logos, they are a living, breathing part of your personal brand narrative. By thoughtfully curating the companies, people, and topics you follow, you can strengthen your networking efforts, position yourself as a curious professional, and create a more valuable and engaging experience every time you scroll through your feed.

Once you’ve tuned your LinkedIn feed by adding relevant interests, the next step is participating in those important conversations. We found managing our own posting schedules and engaging with communities across different platforms was hard to juggle, which is why we built Postbase. Our goal is to make a simple, modern tool where your content calendar, post scheduling, and community engagement all live in one clean space, helping you build your brand without the chaos of constant app-switching.