The short answer
Use the individual profile’s Featured work-sample controls to add the intended post, article, link or media, then reopen the saved item and its destination. Confirm edition, dates and audience before choosing its position. Removing a sample from Featured and deleting its source are different actions; featuring does not make a restricted source publicly accessible.
What you’ll take away
- Featured work samples and Premium profile-detail pinning have different documented scopes.
- A visible profile card does not prove every reader can open its destination.
- Verify the source version again after replacing a recap or changing its year.
Choose one useful source and an honest label
Pick the actual recap a profile visitor should understand now. Record its edition, period, collection limits and original URL or media version. A title such as “My 2026 results” can mislead when the source ends in October or contains a limited public-post sample. Include that boundary in the title, description or accessible companion rather than asking the cover image to explain it.
LinkedIn’s work-sample help covers posts, authored articles, external links and media. Its separate profile-content help describes a Premium feature for highlighting items such as Experience or Skills. Those are not interchangeable instructions. Use the controls for the sample you actually have; this guide does not promise that every account has every entry type or paid feature.
Check source access before featuring it
LinkedIn’s Featured FAQ says profile viewers need a signed-in LinkedIn account and that source visibility still applies. A connections-only post does not become an unrestricted public report because its card is featured. The FAQ also says the Featured content is not discoverable through search. Treat a separate external destination’s own permissions as another access check.
Open the intended destination in an appropriate authorized viewer context and inspect the actual content. Keep the review scoped; do not expose a private recap merely to make a preview work. A post from an Event or Group has additional documented featuring restrictions. When the available source is unsuitable, prepare a genuinely appropriate public derivative or leave it unfeatured.
Add, reopen and order the correct sample
The documented desktop work-sample route starts at your profile, Add profile section, Recommended and Add Featured, followed by the add control and the matching sample type. Select the correct existing post/article or supply the intended link/media and save. Read the actual account controls if the layout differs. Do not choose the separate Premium profile-detail option for a recap file.
Reopen the saved card, inspect its title and destination and compare the actual attached version. Newly featured items normally appear first; the work-sample help documents reordering when at least two samples exist. Choose a deliberate order that puts the current useful reference where intended. A changed local filename does not replace an already featured attachment.
Resolve three common stale-sample cases
F1 — Constructed year mismatch: the card title says 2026 but opens a 2025 report. Outcome: hold the misleading card, select the intended source and verify the reopened destination before using the new title. Editing a description alone does not transform last year’s numbers into the current edition.
F2 — Constructed audience mismatch: an appropriate contact can open the featured post, but a non-connection cannot. The source is connections-only. Outcome: record the intended audience limit or choose an authorized public derivative; do not call the source unavailable to everyone or promise that featuring overrides it.
F3 — Constructed stale placement: a previous recap is still useful as history but should not lead the profile. Outcome: reorder it or use Remove from featured and verify the display. Do not choose Delete just to tidy the Featured list. Check the actual confirmation because deleting content can have consequences beyond unpinning it.
Keep a short maintenance record
The private worksheet records source, period, visible label, viewer context, position, exact change and reopened result. Review it after a new edition, source correction or access change. If the destination becomes unavailable, revise the display or remove the stale card rather than inventing evidence that the source still works.
These are documented controls and constructed editorial cases. No profile was changed, sample uploaded or public link shared for this guide. The presence of a card does not measure profile visits, task completion or sales. Keep those outcomes separate and maintain only the minimal private references needed to check your own display.
Sources & product references
Product details reflect the publication date. External features and interfaces may change.
