Do certificates and mock interview scores on LinkedIn actually help freshers?

Genuine question for people who've been through placement season or are on the other side of hiring now.

My LinkedIn feed is full of certificates — course completions, workshop badges, hackathon participation, and lately interview-readiness scores from mock interview platforms. I've posted a couple myself. But I keep wondering: does any of this actually move the needle with recruiters, or are we just posting for each other?

My current thinking

• Generic participation certificates ("attended a webinar on AI") — probably close to zero value. Everyone has fifty of these.
• Skill certificates with substance behind them — seem to work more as conversation starters than filters. Two of my friends were asked about specific certifications in interviews, which turned into good discussions because they could back them up.
• Scores and assessments — this is the interesting one. A certificate that shows a measured score (like an interview readiness score out of 10) feels different from an attendance badge, because it claims something checkable. A recruiter told my senior that anything with a verification link gets more benefit of the doubt than a JPG.

Where I've landed

The certificate itself probably doesn't get you shortlisted — your resume and referrals do that. But a profile that shows consistent, dated evidence of preparation (courses, practice scores, projects) builds a story that you're serious, and recruiters do scroll profiles before calls. The worst case is a bare profile; the second worst is fifty meaningless badges drowning the two that matter.

Would love to hear from anyone who's actually screened candidates: do you look at the Licenses & Certifications section at all? And does a verifiable link vs a screenshot make any real difference?