How to use LinkedIn profile to complement resume?

In this post, we’ll highlight:

• Why is your LinkedIn profile not a substitute or a replacement for your resume?
• How to effectively use LinkedIn profile to complement your resume?

LinkedIn Profile is not equal to your (≠) resume

Since the time of the establishment of LinkedIn in the year 2002, several million users have created their LinkedIn accounts. In a little while, it rapidly gained a strong grip as a trusted social media platform for recruitment agents/companies and presents maximum recruiters (approximately 65% to 90%) using it to find and assess candidates for employment. Regrettably, several users think that their profile is merely an online résumé, and they craft it like that as well. Although certain information indeed needs to be referenced both in the LinkedIn profile and resume, however, the style of presenting the fact needs to be different. It is suggested that both active, as well as passive job applicants, upload a resume on their profile as an available document. Nevertheless, if the content and the style of presentation are similar on both, then in that case job seekers might lose an opportunity to showcase their additional professional capabilities.

A few years ago, LinkedIn stopped its service of designing resumes. In its place, users can now export their LinkedIn profile to a PDF or can consider sharing the profile with a link. It appears to be a luring shortcut for designing your resume as users want ease and efficiency. But uncomplicatedness does not always guarantee effectiveness and that is where the problem of exporting or sharing resumes from LinkedIn lies.

It is suggested an innumerable number of times that an effective resume needs to be tailored to particular job applications. At the time of applying for a job, the focus needs to be on influencing the recruiters and assuring them that your skills, competencies, and experience aptly match with the requirements of the job applied for.

Until and unless you plan on updating the content presented on your LinkedIn profile for every job that you apply for, the content exported shall not be in line with the requirements of the recruiters. You will end up sending a list of different experiences, roles that you played in your past responsibilities that might or might not be relevant to the current position.

The main idea is this: A LinkedIn profile should complement your resume, and not become a second copy of it!

How to use your LinkedIn profile to complement your resume?

An improved strategy than simply using your LinkedIn profile as a resume is to use the same as the launching point for a job-specific and tailored resume. LinkedIn allows users infinite space to present the list of all your past roles, together with other accomplishments, certifications, awards, academic qualifications, and skills. Therefore, it is sensible to take advantage of this infinite space, particularly since the resume is relatively constrained. You can try to develop a comprehensive LinkedIn account.

Thereafter, when it comes to sending applications for a particular job, you can draw information from your LinkedIn profile that you consider to be pertinent for the specific position you are applying for. Certainly, it will be important to carry out some modifications and change the style of presentation. Once you finish customizing your resume, make sure to include a link to your Profile on the resume to further persuade or push an employer to find out more about you.

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