Should you post your resume on LinkedIn? ??

LinkedIn made it easy to upload your resume to your public profile. Some people even put it in the “Featured” section so that it’s pinned to the top of their profile.?

Seems like a great idea, right? Make your resume easier to find, which in theory will make it easier for you to get hired, right??

Wrong. It’s a bad idea to upload your resume to your public profile for several reasons:

1) Privacy.?Most of us put our personal email address, phone number, and mailing address on our resume. If you publish that information on LinkedIn, you’re violating your privacy and opening yourself up to scammers. Not only that, I don't recommend listing all of that on your resume anyway ...

• First?of all, NEVER list your full address on your resume. Not only for privacy reasons, but you don’t want hiring managers searching your address and making assumptions based on where you live.?Instead, just list your City + State on your resume.?
• Secondly,?I recommend creating an email address exclusively for your job search. This way all your job search messages are stored in one spot where you can’t miss a message. It protects your privacy too - avoid giving away your private email. Finally, it’s a great branding opportunity - make your email address [Your name] + [Job title]. For example, “[email protected] ” or “[email protected] .”
• I also recommend creating a phone number for your job search.?Click here to read my article ?about protecting your privacy during the job search.?

“OK, Emily,”?you might be thinking,?“I’ll just create a version of my resume without the contact information and upload that to LinkedIn. I’m good now, right?”

Not quite, and that leads me to my next point …

2) Piracy.?This is related to protecting your privacy … Once your resume is out on the web for anyone to see, that means it can be copied, manipulated, and pirated in ways that are out of your control, knowledge, or consent. It’s your professional history - protect it.?

3) Accurate representation.?You should customize your resume for each job you apply to. Depending on the job, you will choose different keywords and skills to highlight.

So … how does that work if your resume is a static page on your LinkedIn profile? There is no way to add keywords and highlight the skills that are specific to each job you want. Then you run the risk of recruiters seeing your resume and deciding you are “not qualified” for a role, just because you aren’t highlighting the right skills or experience.?

4)?It’s out-of-date.?This is related to point #3. Most job seekers I know have several versions of their resume. They are constantly updating and tweaking their resume, depending on the job they’re applying to. So what happens if you upload your resume to LinkedIn and then forget about it? You could be showcasing an outdated version of yourself that is less appealing to hiring managers.?

5) It’s not a good look.?I hesitate to add this bullet point because I am very pro-green banner #OpentoWork on LinkedIn. BUT, it’s worth mentioning that some recruiters have a bias against those who are openly looking for a job. It's an outdated mode of thinking that only the most desirable employees are those who are currently employed. In other words, if you’re “Open to Work,” you’re not a desirable employee.?

Luckily, I've seen this mentality shift quite a bit over the last few years … Because of COVID, mass layoffs, and recession fears, today’s recruiters (or at least the ones I talk to) are more forgiving of those who are unemployed and looking for work. BUT, there are some old-school recruiters and hiring managers who only want to hire people if they are happily employed elsewhere. Thus, your posted resume looks a little desperate to them.?

WHEN TO SHARE YOUR RESUME ON LINKEDIN

Now you know NOT to post your resume on your public LinkedIn profile.?Is there ever a good time to add your resume to your LinkedIn profile??Yes. When you’re applying for jobs.?

When you’re applying for jobs using Easy Apply on LinkedIn, you SHOULD include your resume to make it easier for hiring managers and recruiters. LinkedIn makes it simple to attach your resume to your job application.?

You can also upload up to four different versions of your resume to the Job Application Settings of your LinkedIn account, allowing you to reuse your resume for future job applications.?Click here for more information about uploading your resume on LinkedIn .?

One final note - if you click the above link, you will be brought to a page that includes this:

Be sure you check out those?Job Application Settings, and turn the first two options on, as you’ll see below. It’s especially important to toggle on Option #2, “Share resume data with recruiters.” This makes it easier for recruiters to view your resume, which increases the chances you’ll get called for an interview.?

That wraps up this week's newsletter, I hope I've settled the question about how to handle your resume on your LinkedIn profile. See you next week where I share how to maximize Google for your job search.?

To your success,

- Emily