4 Things to Include in Your LinkedIn Profile but Not on Your Resume
Posted April 7th, 2017
While both your LinkedIn profile and your resume serve as vehicles to promote yourself as a strong candidate for a position, they aren’t the same thing and shouldn’t be used the same way. Your resume is often an introduction, designed to highlight why you are ideal for a particular job. Your LinkedIn profile is a more capable platform upon which you can build a personal brand, and take things further than a resume would allow.
If your LinkedIn profile is a story, your resume is the CliffNotes. And, with that in mind, here are four things to include on your LinkedIn profile that should be left off of your resume.
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Backstory
A resume serves up snippets about your accomplishments, touting achievements like when you “increased production by 20%” or something similar. LinkedIn gives you a chance to really expand on how made the accomplishment happen, letting you give context that simply won’t fit on a resume. Instead of hitting hiring managers and recruiters with bullet points, you can elaborate to provide greater insight into how you do what you do, and not just want you did.
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General Approaches
The standard advice for a resume is to target it to a position. However, your LinkedIn profile isn’t designed to speak to only one hiring manager at a time. Instead, it has to tell your story in a way that can appeal to multiple recruiters and hiring managers at the same time.
While you do want to make sure the content is focused on the right kind of position or industry, it needs to have a broader base than a resume you would submit. That way you aren’t missing out on opportunities because your profile to too specific to a particular position.
Feel free to add relevant information that appeals to a wider audience too. If you found a particular article about your field interesting, consider posting it. This can actually bring additional readers to your page and demonstrates you keep up with new information in your area of expertise.
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Supporting Documentation
Your LinkedIn profile gives you a chance to show what your resume only tells. You have the opportunity to back up the claims on your resume with concrete proof, so it is wise to take advantage of what the platform can do in this area.
If you have a glowing recommendation from a former employer, a sample of previous work that is appropriate for posting, or a certificate from a completed learning opportunity, add it to your profile. Then, when a hiring manager wants to dig deeper, the documentation is there.
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Casual Language
Resumes are filled with third-person language and formality; LinkedIn allows you to have some personality. Areas like your summary need to read more like how you speak, including the use of a conversational tone and some additional details about who you are as a person. Speak about your inspirations and personal philosophy, as it helps to humanize you to readers. And, if you read it back and it doesn’t feel like you, then give it another go until it does.
While using your resume to help you start a LinkedIn profile is fine, your final profile should show much more than you can fit into a resume. Just examine each section one by one and see which areas could use some backstory or a bit of a human touch. In the end, you’ll have two great resources for hiring managers and recruiters to see what you truly have to offer.
If you are interested in more tips about crafting a resume or LinkedIn profile, or are looking for new employment opportunities, the recruiters at Bayside Solutions have the expertise you need to succeed. Contact us to discuss your career goals today.
