How to Add Your Resume to LinkedIn

Key takeaways

Adding your resume to your LinkedIn profile can help you network with recruiters and apply for jobs.

• LinkedIn’s data reveals that approximately 82,000 job applications are submitted on the site every minute [1].

• LinkedIn offers options to add your resume to your profile, create a post that includes your resume, or use your resume to quickly apply for jobs with Easy Apply.

• You can treat your LinkedIn profile like a resume, listing your work experience, educational background, and skills for recruiters to view.

Explore your options for highlighting your resume on LinkedIn. If you’re ready to start building your resume writing skills, consider the Interviewing and Resume Writing in English Specialization from the University of Maryland. In this five-course series, you can develop the communication and resume writing strategies you need to help advance your career. Upon completion, you’ll earn a shareable certificate to display on your resume or LinkedIn profile.

How to add resume to LinkedIn

Once you’ve created your LinkedIn account, you can use it in various ways to enhance your professional career. Along with networking with others in your industry, you can upload your resume for recruiters to view and apply for jobs on LinkedIn. 

Upload your resume to the Featured section. 

In the Featured section, you can upload or add items to your main profile page. You can use it to showcase your work, such as articles you’ve written and presentations you’ve given. It also allows you to provide external links to portfolios, resumes, and other content. Uploading your resume to this section is simple:

1. Go to your LinkedIn profile page.

2. Next, click “Add profile section.”

3. Expand the section labeled “Recommended.”

4. Click on “Add featured.” 

5. Click the plus symbol to the far right of the word “Featured.”

6. Click “Add media.”

7. Search your files for the resume you want to feature and upload it from your computer or device.

If you choose this method, remove any contact information from your resume, as it will be publicly available. Don’t worry about being reachable. If someone sees your resume and thinks you may be a good fit for a job, they can message you on LinkedIn.

Apply simply with Easy Apply. 

LinkedIn’s data reveals that about 82,000 job applications are submitted every minute on the site [1]. LinkedIn’s Easy Apply option will come in handy when you find a job you want to apply for. Note that if the job posting only has an “Apply” option, you’ll visit an external site to fill out an application directly with the company. 

Check out how to add your resume to a job posted on LinkedIn when the Easy Apply option is available:

1. Pull up the job listing for which you’d like to apply.

2. If the job poster has allowed Easy Apply, you’ll click the blue button that says “Easy Apply.”

3. A window will pop up that asks for some information. Ensure you’ve filled this out correctly, then click “Next.”

4. Use the “Upload Resume” button to find your resume file from your computer or device, upload it, and click next.

5. You will see a few additional prompt slides asking you for more information.

6. The last prompt allows you to review your application. Make sure all information is correct, then click “Submit Application.”

Create a post for your resume.

Having your resume available is good for employers and recruiters who come across your profile. A more proactive way to get it in front of more eyes is to make your resume a LinkedIn post that will appear in your connections’ home page feeds. All you have to do is:

1. Click the “Start a Post” button at the top of your LinkedIn feed.

2. Click the + icon to view more options, and then click on the icon that looks like a note to add your document.

3. Click “Choose File” and upload your resume.

4. Once those steps are complete, click “Done” at the bottom right of the window.

With this method, people can download your resume directly from the post. Again, remove any contact information you don’t want to share publicly from your resume. Since this is a feed post, consider adding a few simple sentences about your career goals and aspirations.

Treat your profile like a resume

You can also add all the information on your resume to your LinkedIn profile page. This is one of the most common ways people use LinkedIn. Profiles are a great way to showcase work experience, educational background, and other skills typically found on a resume. 

Profile pro tip

Putting your resume information front and center allows your profile to show up in search results when hiring managers or recruiters are looking for new hires. It also gives you a place to send potential employers or clients to see your credentials. Many job application systems on company sites will include a field for your LinkedIn profile URL, which is why it’s also essential to know how to add LinkedIn to your resume.

How do you add your resume to your LinkedIn profile? It’s simple:

1. First, it will ask for a few sentences about you in the “About” section.

2. Next, add your complete job history under the “Experience” section.

3. After that, you’ll fill out the “Education,” “Volunteering,” “Skills,” and “Honors and Awards” sections. Add relevant experiences to each section.

Take advantage of having a resume on LinkedIn

Having a resume on LinkedIn offers many advantages. Uploading to Easy Apply simplifies the application process. Having your resume on LinkedIn also helps you gain exposure, letting recruiters and connections alike know you are job searching.

Once uploaded, LinkedIn also uses your resume to recommend jobs, help grow your network, and personalize your feed. The following list suggests a few other things to do to get the most out of LinkedIn:

• Download the LinkedIn app: Treat it like any other social media app. Check it often, engage with others, follow potential employers to stay current on their happenings, and share articles that you think are interesting.

• Have a current and professional profile picture: According to LinkedIn, users with profile pictures have 14 times more views than those without pictures [2]. When choosing a photo, keep in mind that this is a professional platform.

• Make connections that matter: Seek out the accounts of coworkers and professional contacts in your industry. Think of your LinkedIn connections as quality over quantity.

• Contribute more content: Sharing content is an easy way to make sure you’re being seen. It’s also a way to showcase your knowledge and impress future employers.

Highlight your resume on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a networking platform with more than 1 billion users [3]. It’s an excellent place to make connections and grow your network. You can make sure your profile stands out among the digital crowd in several ways, including the following:

Include relevant keywords. 

Having good keywords in both your profile and resume plays a big part in appearing in searches made by recruiters. Titles, location, and skills weigh heavily here—although location-based keywords may become wider in range as remote work continues to grow in popularity. For example, it may not matter that you live in San Francisco, so the US will suffice. 

One good way to choose keywords is to look at job listings that fit what you’re looking for and use the keywords from those listings in your profile. Many of the keywords you see in postings will also be what recruiters use when searching for candidates. Be wary of fluff or buzzwords that sound interesting but are not good keywords. Examples of these would be words like “rock star” and “guru.”

Use resume optimization tools. 

Many candidates submit job applications online, where a person does not read the application. Among Fortune 500 companies, 98.4 percent use AI-based applicant tracking systems to sort out the best, most qualified candidates, according to Jobscan [4].

Thankfully, just as technology tracks applications, you can also use technology to optimize your resume and hopefully have it reach an actual human’s hands (or inbox).

Some services exist solely to help you optimize your resume keywords, such as Jobscan and SkillSyncer, to name two. These tools compare your resume to the job description you’re applying for. It calculates how well you match the job description and recommends keywords to add to your resume.

Taking advantage of these technologies will boost your application over hundreds of other applications that did not optimize their resumes.

Align industry and location.

When applying for jobs, you must ensure your location and industry align with the jobs you’re applying for. This means ensuring your listed location aligns with where you’re hoping to find a job and not where you currently live or work. The same recommendation applies to the industry. It can be good to list the industry you’re aiming to work in rather than those you’ve previously worked in.

Read more: 16 Top Resume Tips to Help You Land a Job 

How do I remove a resume from LinkedIn?

To remove a resume from your profile, visit the “Job Application Settings” or “Resumes and application data” page. Click the ellipsis (...) next to the resume and select “Delete.” It’s worth noting that this won’t impact any applications you’ve already submitted.

Learn more about what to include in a resume

Subscribe to our Career Chat newsletter on LinkedIn to receive career insights, resume-building skills, and job search tips right to your inbox. Then check out these other free resources:

• Watch on YouTube: Find the Best Resume Format for Your Career

• Take a quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

• Find a resume template: 3 Resume Templates & How to Pick the Right One for You

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