LinkedIn has more than 500 million users in over 200 countries and territories. That’s a lot of potential contacts! It’s also a great resource for finding jobs, with over 17 million open positions listed. And if you’re looking for clients, LinkedIn can help there too. Over 90% of B2B buyers are active on LinkedIn, so it’s the perfect place to connect with potential customers.
You don’t have to be looking for a job, you can be looking for clients. In fact, one of my early strategies when building my business was applying for marketing jobs. I figured, if the job was right I’d take it, if it wasn’t good as a job, I’d pitch them marketing services.
No matter your reasons, it’s a great idea to take advantage of this LinkedIn feature for any job posting that you want to take advantage of.
How to Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn
LinkedIn makes it super easy to either upload your existing resume or create a resume from your profile. The process is virtually the same. All you need is a LinkedIn account and a filled out profile.
1. Go to your profile
This process will go a lot faster with a complete LinkedIn profile. But if your LinkedIn profile isn’t complete, then pull out a resume — this is the perfect time to update both your resume and your LinkedIn profile.
2. Click on More
You may not have noticed, but there are a lot of goodies hiding behind that “More” button.
3. Click on Build a resume
At this point you can either upload your resume file, or you can build your resume from your existing LinkedIn profile.
Having an online resume on LinkedIn will make any job application process go much faster.
3.1. To upload your existing resume file:
If you have an existing resume as a Word Document, you can upload it here. Just click on “Upload resume”
Once you upload your resume, you’ll notice that it will be placed in the same format as when you create a resume from your LinkedIn profile.
You can also upload multiple resumes for different jobs or skills that you want to feature.
3.2. To create a resume from profile
You can also add a resume to LinkedIn by converting your profile to a resume. In this case, just click on “create from profile” and Linkedin will automatically convert your summary and job experience into a LinkedIn resume.
This is the only difference between uploading a resume and creating a resume from a profile.
4. Enter your job title
5. Click on the job title you entered
6. Click on Apply
7. Click on Resume Insights
This is where you’re going to see the suggested keywords for that job description from LinkedIn. The relevant keywords for that job title will have green check marks and then LinkedIn will give you suggested keywords below that.
8. Click on Learn more about suggested keywords
You can then take those suggested keywords and add them to your resume summary.
10. Click on Edit resume summary
11. Click on summary again to edit.
Then add the keywords from the suggested keywords sections. Note that the edits you make here will NOT change the summary section.
12. Click on Create from profile
13. Download the PDF
Next, you’ll want to download the PDF and save it to your computer. So you can upload it whenever you apply for a job.
14. Edit, Delete, and Make a Copy
You can also edit, delete and make a copy of your resume — just click on “make a resume” in your profile.
FAQs about how to add a resume on LinkedIn
Are you supposed to put your resume on LinkedIn — even if you’re a freelancer or solopreneur?
Yes. Even if you’re a solopreneur or freelancer you should put your resume on LinkedIn. If a business is looking for a full time employee, and your freelancer resume pops up, you might be the better choice because you can hit the ground running.
Can I cut and paste my resume on LinkedIn?
You can cut and paste your resume section by section, but not all at once. Instead, you should use the “Build a Resume” feature on LinkedIn and convert your existing profile into a downloadable resume.
How can recruiters or potential clients find my resume on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has a feature called Recruiter. It’s an essential tool for employers who want to hire the best possible candidate. It allows recruiters and hiring managers access into thousands of potential employees’ resumes, giving them a wider range from which they can choose their next successful employee!
Conclusion
This is a super-easy way to convert your existing profile into a resume whether you’re looking for a full time marketing job or new clients. Not only that, but it will force you into updating that summary you’ve been ignoring.