How to Add Your Resume to LinkedIn

You can upload your resume to your LinkedIn profile to share with your network, upload it to LinkedIn while applying for a job, and save it to use with future applications or create a specific LinkedIn post featuring your resume. You may discover many time-saving and networking benefits when you know how to add your resume to LinkedIn. Explore your options for highlighting your resume on LinkedIn.

Choose a method of uploading your 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 Media section. 

In the featured media 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 section.” 

3. Expand the section labeled “Featured.” 

4. Click on “Media.” 

5. 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.

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Apply simply with Easy Apply. 

LinkedIn’s data reveals that more than 9,000 members apply for a posted job every minute [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 that looks like a note.

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.

Read more: How to Use LinkedIn: A Guide to Online Networking 

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 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 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:

1. 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. 

2. 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 this is a professional platform. 

3. 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. 

4. 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.

Get noticed 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 you appearing in searches made by recruiters. Titles, location, and skills weigh heavy 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 USA 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 rockstar and guru.

Use resume optimization tools. 

Many candidates submit job applications online, where a person does not read the application. Among Fortune 500 companies, 99 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 reach an actual human's hands (or inbox).

Some services exist solely to help you optimize your resume keywords—Jobscan and Skill Syncer, 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.

Read more: 150 Resume Action Words to Impress Employers

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. 

Prepare to add your resume to LinkedIn.

If you do not yet have a resume built, you can use resources that offer free resume templates. Canva is a great place to create an attractive resume. Google Docs also has a free template gallery. Both of these websites are user-friendly.

After you’ve perfected your resume and learned how to add a resume to LinkedIn, it’s time to start networking and applying.

To learn how to write a winning resume, take this course from the University of Maryland: