How to Add Your Resume to LinkedIn
Contents
- How to add your resume to LinkedIn: You have several options
- Why You Need a LinkedIn Profile
- A LinkedIn Profile Helps You Land Your Dream Job
Are you trying to figure out how to add your resume to LinkedIn? If so, you’re probably planning to use it for job searching or to make quality connections with recruiters in your area. This is a good move. An accessible LinkedIn resume streamlines the application process and helps hiring managers understand your experience and skills.
If you’re new to LinkedIn or haven’t previously used it to apply for jobs, it can be tricky at first to find your way around. Fortunately, the professionals at YES know precisely how to add your resume to LinkedIn, and we can optimize it for LinkedIn so that you get found by an average of 8 recruiters! Learn our tips for using LinkedIn to apply for jobs and form beneficial connections.
How to Add Your Resume to LinkedIn: You Have Several Options
There are multiple ways to incorporate your resume into LinkedIn. First, you can upload a copy directly to your LinkedIn profile, and it will be available to anyone who wishes to view it. Uploading your resume allows you to share it with employers when you apply for jobs through LinkedIn, and recruiters can also download it if they come across your profile.
LinkedIn also allows you to share your resume with your connections in the form of a post. Posts are helpful if you want to notify your contacts that you’re looking for a job. People looking for employees who fit your skill set may reach out to you for interviews.
Other people use their LinkedIn profile as a facsimile of their resume. This is the most common way to use LinkedIn, as you can input your experience, education, and skills on a single page and choose who can view it.Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn
Every LinkedIn profile includes an option for featured media. Featured media include anything you deem relevant to your professional career. For instance, if you’re a published writer, you can use the featured media section to showcase your most prized works.
You can also use the featured media section to upload your resume and display links to other websites or content your viewers may find helpful. For instance, if you have a site that hosts your reel or portfolio, you can link to it.
To upload your resume to LinkedIn, follow these simple steps:
- Navigate to your LinkedIn profile.
- Select “Add Section.”
- Expand the section options and choose “Featured,” then “Media.”
- Select your resume from the files on your computer and click “Upload.”
If you decide to upload your resume, we recommend that you remove any identifying information you don’t want to make available to the public, like your email address and phone number. People who find your resume and decide to contact you can send you a message through LinkedIn. You can share your contact details later if the conversation progresses to a job interview.
Apply for Jobs Through LinkedIn with Easy Apply
Thousands of employers use LinkedIn to post their open positions. People looking for a new role can use the platform to find suitable roles and apply through the company’s website or through the Easy Apply option.
Not every open role will allow job seekers to use Easy Apply. Some organizations prefer that you apply through their website. However, if you find a position you’re interested in with the Easy Apply option, using it simplifies the application process, potentially saving you time.
You’ll know that a job accepts LinkedIn applications if it includes a button that says “Easy Apply.” Read through the job description to ensure you’re interested, then click on the button.
You’ll probably be asked to provide basic information about yourself, like your name and contact information. After you fill out your details, you’ll click through to the next screen, which asks you to upload your resume.
To upload your resume, search your computer files and locate the file you want to submit. Click “Upload,” and LinkedIn will automatically store a copy of your resume with your application.
After uploading your resume, you may need to fill out additional details, like your current availability. Once you finish, LinkedIn will prompt you to submit your resume. Click “Submit Application.” You should hear back from a hiring manager if they feel you’re a good fit for the role.
That said, at YES we do not recommend that you apply without tailoring your resume to the job posting. As the old expression goes, “The lazy person works hardest.” While using Easy Apply without any tailoring may result in interviews if your resume already closely matches the job description, know that this method risks your self-confidence. You could apply to dozens or hundreds of jobs without getting an interview and conclude that employers don’t value you. The much more likely truth is that your applications just don’t contain enough matching keywords.
Share a Post that Includes Your Resume
People who have many connections, especially with recruiters or companies they’d like to work for, may benefit from sharing their resumes through a post.
Posting on LinkedIn is similar to posting on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. You share the media you want your followers to see (in this case, your resume) and include a short note indicating that you’re looking for a new role.
To share a post on LinkedIn that contains your resume, follow these steps:
- Select “Start a Post” from the top of your LinkedIn newsfeed.
- Click on the icon that resembles a note.
- Select “Choose File” and select your resume from your available computer files.
- Finalize the post by clicking “Done,” which will appear at the bottom right.
Remember, anyone in your connections can see your post. If you prefer your job search to be discreet because you’re currently working for another employer, posting your resume probably isn’t the best option. You don’t want to cause rifts with your manager or company.
If you do use this method, as a best practice, remove personal contact details, just like you would if you uploaded your resume directly to your LinkedIn profile. Anyone who sees your post can send you a message through LinkedIn, and you can decide whether to share your email address or phone number later.
Use Your Profile as a Resume
Many professionals treat their LinkedIn profile as a digital resume. They simply fill out the available fields on their profile that display their current and prior experience, education, and skills. This is the easiest way to share your resume in the job application process.
If you’d like to use your LinkedIn profile as a resume, fill out each available section. The “About” section includes your name and a headline, which should fit the jobs you’re looking for and make hiring managers excited to look at your profile.
Other sections allow you to list your professional and volunteer experience, relevant skills, and any honors or awards you’ve received. You’ll want to include the dates you were in each role and specific tasks you were responsible for, just like you’d present in your resume.
A fully developed LinkedIn profile will help recruiters and hiring managers find you if they need someone with your skills and experience. You can also include a link to your LinkedIn profile on your physical resume, giving hiring managers an easy way to find you if needed, as well as a peek at your recommendations.
Why You Need a LinkedIn Profile
Despite LinkedIn’s many features, like unique job postings and networking opportunities, some people don’t have LinkedIn profiles. If you’ve never created a LinkedIn profile, you’re missing out on a few benefits:
Form Stronger Connections in Your Community
LinkedIn is a great way to meet professionals in your industry. You can follow organizations in your area and connect with senior managers who may need your help in the future. You can also use LinkedIn to learn of upcoming in-person networking events, like happy hours, golf tournaments, and other meetups that allow you to meet new people.
If you support any social causes, like the SPCA or Habitat for Humanity, make sure to follow them. Most non-profit organizations share upcoming events with their LinkedIn followers, allowing you to volunteer a few hours in your area.
Easily Apply for Available Jobs
Several major online job posting forums exist, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and Monster. However, LinkedIn is a strong competitor; many companies prefer to list their available openings on the platform.
When you set up your LinkedIn profile, you’ll gain instant access to job listings that fit your search criteria. You won’t limit your job searching process to a single platform, and you can explore opportunities that you might not be able to find on other sites.
Companies that use LinkedIn for job listings sometimes accept applications directly through their posts. This can save you time as you look for new roles.
Help Recruiters Find You
Some of the best opportunities aren’t the ones you’re looking for—they’re the ones that pop up when you least expect them to. While you might be very happy in your current role, a recruiter could contact you about something even better, like an executive position in a new startup or an opportunity to use a new certification you earned.
When you have a LinkedIn profile, recruiters can more easily locate you in a search. By making your LinkedIn profile comprehensive, you can improve your chances of appearing in their search results.
Improve Your Authority
In some industries, like law and banking, being an expert in your field can help you land prime job opportunities. If you regularly share content relevant to your profession, your followers will begin to see you as an authority in your area.
A solid reputation appeals to organizations that need a leader in their department. If you have many connections and want to improve your credibility for future roles, don’t hold back from sharing important content.A LinkedIn Profile Helps You Land Your Dream Job
LinkedIn offers tremendous benefits, especially for people who are looking to grow their careers or find a new job. Now that you know how to add your resume to LinkedIn, you can use it to apply for open roles or connect with employers you’re interested in working for.
To ensure that recruiters start contacting you because you have a resume optimized for LinkedIn, book a consultation with YES. We’ll create a professionally written LinkedIn profile that starts to make the contacts roll in.
About the Authors
Katherine Metres Akbar is the founder and president of YES Career Coaching & Resume Writing Services, one of Washington metro’s two top-rated career success companies. She and her team have helped over 5,000 people and organizations perfect their resumes, master networking, get interviews, receive offers for dream jobs, resettle employees through outplacement, and optimize their teams. Katherine is the world’s only Interview AikidoTM coach, a Certified Talent Optimization Consultant, Certified Professional Career Coach, and a Certified Professional Interview Coach. An award-winning writer, she previously served as a U.S. diplomat and executive director of a civil rights non-profit. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.
Michael Akbar is the co-owner and vice president of YES Career Coaching & Resume Writing Services. He is a Certified Professional Career Coach, Certified Federal Career Coach, Certified Business Advisor, and Certified Talent Optimization Consultant helping leaders build their dream teams. Michael leverages his business development background to help coachees get their dream job, often on the hidden job market. Michael has spent 15 years as an entrepreneur coaching business owners to break through their barriers to success. After talking his way into two jobs in order to get a work visa, Michael was inspired to create Interview AikidoTM to help people get jobs, even when they are underqualified. He holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University and a Master of Science from the City University of London.
The home team is completed by Farah Akbar, a joyful, stubborn, and—some say—adorable terrier/pitbull mix the Akbars adopted from the shelter after a traumatic early life.