How to Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn

Uploading your resume to LinkedIn is a very easy — and effective — way to search for your next great job.

Most people know LinkedIn as a professional networking site, but it’s also one of the world’s largest job-posting sites. In fact, many potential employers prefer LinkedIn over other job boards because of its large pool of potential candidates and its wide range of filtering options.

However, just having a great LinkedIn profile — as important as that is — will not always be what grabs an employer’s attention. You should also upload your resume to LinkedIn because each one has a specific role to play in your job search.

Why add your resume to LinkedIn?

Your LinkedIn profile and resume actually complement each other — especially when both are well-crafted.

Your resume is a concise, professional, fact-based document tailored for a specific career or job position; employers then use your resume to determine if you’re qualified for their specific position. Your profile, on the other hand, presents a broader picture of yourself using more informal language and can include other information that wouldn’t be on your resume.

So, while a resume and LinkedIn profile work hand-in-hand to present a wider and more complete picture of what you can bring to the table, employers will still want to see a customized resume, not just your profile.

Two options for uploading

There are two options for adding your resume to LinkedIn: using Easy Apply or uploading your resume to your LinkedIn profile.

Option 1: The Easy Apply process

With this option, job seekers can upload and save numerous resumes to use when applying for specific jobs. This ensures you are able to use versions of your resume that include the required keywords that future employers will be searching for.

Here are the steps for using Easy Apply:

1. In LinkedIn, click the “Jobs” tab in the navigation bar.

2. Search for a job by title or location. Click on a job title to get details, and then press the “Easy Apply” button on any jobs you want to apply for. A note from LinkedIn: “If you see the Apply button instead of the Easy Apply button, you’ll be routed to that company’s website or job board to continue the job application process.”

3. Upload your resume to include it in the job application. LinkedIn will save the last five resumes you uploaded, along with the date you last used each version, so you can easily apply for similar jobs in the future.

A good tip is to vary your resume file names to keep track of which ones are for which jobs so you can easily find them with a search. For example, Richard.Jones.Programmer.doc or Richard.Jones.Data.Analyst.doc.

Remember that a resume on your LinkedIn account should still follow the rules of good resume writing that you’d use for applying on other sites. Be professional, concise, and tailor each resume to the specific position you’re after using your title, summary section, and the keywords from the job description.

Option 2: Upload a general resume to your LinkedIn profile

This option makes a “general” copy of your resume available as a separate document on your LinkedIn profile. We don’t recommend this choice for several very good reasons:

• No Privacy: Unless you’ve taken certain steps to keep your job search private, all of your information will be publicly available from your resume with this process. This is a bad choice if your job search is confidential.

• Lack of Control: When your custom resume is uploaded in this way, anyone can see it, copy it, download it, or use it without your knowledge or consent.

• Prevents Customization: Uploading a “general” resume means it’s not customized for a particular job opening, which means It will be ignored by most hiring managers.

• Poor Knowledge of LinkedIn: Because it’s not a really a regular job board, posting your resume in your profile tells recruiters that you don’t understand how LinkedIn actually works. Don’t substitute your resume for your profile. Focus on creating a detailed profile that works with your resume to give a complete view of your job experience and skills.

If you do choose to use this option, here’s how it works:

1. In your profile, scroll down to your “Featured” section (directly below the About section) and click on the plus sign on the right-hand side to open a drop-down box. 

2. Click on the plus sign in the “Media” section at the bottom of the drop-down box to upload your resume.

3. Click on your resume file to upload it as part of your “Featured” section. Save it as [Your Name] resume so you can locate it quickly if needed.

Summary

A few final notes for when you upload your online resume to LinkedIn.

Remember that recently uploaded resumes posted to LinkedIn can be subject to scanning by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) just as with other online job sites, so make sure your targeted resume is ATS optimized with the appropriate keywords and formatting before you upload.

Attach a customized resume to each LinkedIn job application. This gives you the best chance of standing out to the ATS and recruiters, which can lead to an initial interview.

LinkedIn is a very effective place to find a job, provided you know the best ways to include your resume when you apply for new job applications.

Is your resume document ready to upload to LinkedIn? Check today with a free resume review. 

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