LinkedIn URLs on a Resume

Assuming your LinkedIn profile is completely error-free, always professional, and in line with your current job pursuits, then I suggest including it on the resume. It shows you’re a proactive job-seeker, you’re technically adept, that you know people, and (if you’ve taken the initiative to get some recommendations) that at least some people like you.

I can think of at least 3 things your LinkedIn website offers that a resume does not:

1. Who you know. At even a glance, hiring managers can see how engaged you are in the community, what type of people you commiserate with, and what industries your circles touch. Remember, your next employer is hoping to benefit from not just you, but your professional network as well.
2. Who knows you (and likes you). Recommendations on LinkedIn are invaluable because they are unable to be edited by the “flatteree.” Also, recommendations often touch on soft skills rather than specific accomplishments. As a resume writer, I often look at my clients’ recommendations to get a feel for their personality. Even over inflated recs start from truth.
3. Questions & Answers. One way to show further expertise, as many of us have done on this thread, is by asking and answering questions. An intelligent and insightful comment goes a long way. Why do you think so many people respond to these things?

For those hiring managers that are unaware of what LinkedIn is, they’ll most likely be intrigued or intimidated, but not disgusted. Is a little ol’ link really going to turn someone off completely?

Nonetheless, your LinkedIn website should only seek to complement your resume. Never leave something off the resume with a link saying “click here for more info….”

I suggest including your LinkedIn web link at the bottom of the resume (instead of in the header). It can be used as a sort of new-wave “References available upon requests.” Use the entire last line of a resume to be specific about what the reader will find at the other end of the link. Say something like “Professional recommendations, industry-specific advice, and extended list of affiliations available at ….” This way, the reader knows whether it’s worth their time to take a peek.

And this question is really all about respecting the readers’ time isn’t it?