What's More Important? LinkedIn Profile or Resume?

I was working with a client last week who was wanted to know where they should put their focus-- LinkedIn profile or Resume. "What's more important?" she asked.

It's actually a great question, and an important answer to know. The answer is both- but for different reasons.

The Reasons

When you are searching and applying for jobs, you are also likely sending out resumes. However, while you are out there look for opportunities, there are people (such as me) who are out there looking for you.

Resumes

Your resume is important because it's the beginning of a deeper conversation about you. 

It should be concise, succinct, and specific, without narrative. (For those of you executives who must put narrative to your bullet points-- go easy. The rules are the same: be concise, succinct, and specific.) Using bullet points get right to the meat of things.

LinkedIn Profile

Typically, when someone receives your resume, they will hop online to look at your profile.

Why? Recruiters and hiring managers (and people beyond that) go to LinkedIn to find additional information that will (hopefully) complement what they find on your resume.

(Wouldn't you want to know more about someone if you were going to network with or hire them? 'zackly.) Combined with your resume, your profile will allow your networking contact or interviewer to start with a deeper discussion of your background. This saves a lot amount of time and effort because things are, well, concise, succinct, and specific.

Note: specific does not mean more words! It means specific words that give the same meaning to long narrative. This allows you to be concise. Word choice matters.

The alternative to being concise and specific in your profile and resume: You end up using all your interview / networking time reinterpreting what's on your the page. (Imagine who is going to get out front: you who has all the specifics in place allowing for more of a discussion about how you fit, or he who spends his time reinterpreting what's on the page. Prolly you, right?)

On the hiring / recruitment side, it (typically) goes thusly:

• Your resume gets read -->
• ----You fit (or we wonder if you fit) -->
• We go to your LinkedIn profile to find out.
• ----We skip to the bullets. (The summary is soooo long for all the other recruitment work piling up). Is there more there that wasn't on the resume? Or is it at least different (which tells me more)? Does it complement what I saw on the resume? Do I get a more complete picture...? If so... -->
• -----We skip back to Summary field, where it hopefully all pulls together. If so... -->
• We give you a call if, overall, you fit the job spec.

Bottom line: Use your resume and profile in tandem with one another. Your resume should be completed first, and your LinkedIn profile should only be an echo of your resume. Remember: complement your resume with your LinkedIn profile. This does not mean you won't have repeated information in there. It means that you will have additional information in there. That's what people are looking for in the first place. Give the people what they want!