Should I Put LinkedIn on My Resume?

Are you wondering, “Should I put LinkedIn on my resume?”  The answer is an emphatic yes!  Your resume is a static, two-dimensional document.  That limits both how much and what you can share with potential employers. 

LinkedIn is a dynamic platform that allows you to supplement the information you provide on your resume to create more interest in your candidacy.  You can share additional relevant work history, photos, videos, slide presentations, and other examples of your work that best showcase your talents.  LinkedIn also provides social proof about you and your skillset if your profile has endorsements and recommendations.

Why Add LinkedIn to Your Resume?

If you’re asking about adding LinkedIn to your resume, you’re likely looking for a new position.  Your resume is a great tool for generating interest in you.  Your LinkedIn profile can help you answer the question, “Why should I meet with you?” 

Keep that question in mind as you build out your profile.  Does your LinkedIn “About” section supplement the way your resume begins to answer that question?  Make sure it does.  Also, make sure your career highlights further build out your story.

Finally, if you have recommendations or endorsements, make sure that they reflect your story.  Your story is ultimately your professional brand.

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Also, recruiters are on LinkedIn.  87% of recruiters regularly use LinkedIn.  94% of recruiters vet candidates on LinkedIn.  So, if you are applying for positions, you can bet that recruiting professionals will check out your profile.  If they’re going to view your profile anyway, why not make it as easy as possible for them to find your profile?

What to do Before you Add LinkedIn to Your Resume

1. Review your LinkedIn profile.  Make sure it’s up to date and reflects the story you want to tell.
2. Complete any missing sections.  Do you have any relevant awards or examples of your work that you want to share?  If you’re using the desktop version of LinkedIn, you can click the add a section button from your profile view to add a section.  Under the “featured” section, you could add media that you reflect your skills.  If you’re using the mobile app, you’ll see a blue circle with a “+” sign in it at the bottom of your page.  Click the button and review your available options.
3. Customize your public LinkedIn web address or URL.  Your URL is address for your liked in public profile.  It’s the link you’ll share on your resume.

LinkedIn assigns a URL that’s fairly long and concludes with a seemingly random series of 9 numbers.  Why not make it more reflective of your identity? If you’re viewing LinkedIn on your desktop, follow these steps to personalize your URL:

1. Click on the drop-down menu under your picture in the menu bar.  The menu says “Me.”
2. Open your LinkedIn Profile.
3. In the upper right corner of your profile page, click on “Edit Public Profile and URL.”  A new window displaying your profile will open.
4. In the upper right corner of this window, click the blue pencil under “Edit Your Public URL.”
5. Change the last section of your URL – the one with random numbers and letters – by putting your name in the space following the last “/.”  If your name is taken, consider adding a location.  For example, I customized my URL with todd-hustel-midwest.  This indicates to the search engine that I live in the Midwest US.  I was able to secure my name, too.
6. Click “save” to update your profile with your custom URL.

If you’re customizing your URL on the LinkedIn app, follow these steps:

1. Click on your photo at the upper left corner of the screen.
2. Click “view profile”
3. Scroll down to the Contact section.  This will be near the very bottom of your profile.
4. Click the pencil in the Contact section.
5. Click on your LinkedIn URL. You’ll be redirected to the public profile page.
6. Make the changes as outlined above.
7. Save your work.

How to Add LinkedIn to Your Resume

Once you’ve cleaned up your LinkedIn Profile and customized your LinkedIn URL, it’s time to add LinkedIn to your resume.  There are 2 ways to add LinkedIn to your resume.

1. Paste your custom URL into the header of your resume and letterhead along with your other contact information.  This is the easiest and, in my experience, the most common way to add LinkedIn to your resume.
2. On the mobile App, you can create a QR code.  A QR or Quick Reference code enables others to connect directly to your LinkedIn profile by scanning your code with their phone.

This is a great way to share your LinkedIn profile.  You can add it to your resume – either in the header or in a side margin if your resume has a space like that.  You can also add the code to other documents or presentations that you share.  It’s an easy way for people to quickly locate your profile in the moment – without having to type in your customized LinkedIn URL.

The downside of adding your LinkedIn QR code to your resume is that your QR code requires a smart phone or tablet device camera to capture the code and present your profile.  If a recruiter is using a phone or tablet to review your resume/cover letter, they may not have access to their camera to capture the QR code.

Here’s How to Find Your LinkedIn QR Code

1. On the mobile App, click on the icon containing 4 squares in the LinkedIn search bar.
2. Choose the “My Code” option at the top of the page above the camera.  You’ll see your photo, your present job title and a QR code on your screen. 
3. At the bottom of the screen, select either share my code or save to photos. 
4. When you click on share my code, you’ll have an option of sharing with your photo or with the code only.  The choice is yours.  Personally, I share the photo.  My belief is this is a way to support my brand. 

I save a copy in my photos as well because I add this to the end of presentations and some documents that I share.

Bonus Tip!

As a bonus, LinkedIn includes a “Public Profile Badge” that can be added to your personal website or to your online resume.  LinkedIn has great directions for using this tool in their help section.  Click here for more. 

Adding LinkedIn to your resume will help support your story, give recruiters or hiring professionals access to more detail about your skills and accomplishments, and provide social proof of the statements you make in your resume.

Add LinkedIn to your resume by adding your custom LinkedIn URL to the header of your resume along with your contact information or by pasting a customized QR code onto your resume.  Finally, if you have a personal website or online resume, you can add a profile badge from LinkedIn that lets visitors connect to your LinkedIn profile with just one click.

If you have any comments or questions, please leave them in the comment section.  I wish you the best as you search for the next step in your career.

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