How to Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn the Right Way

It’s surprisingly easy to upload your resume to LinkedIn, and it’s a crucial part of applying for a job. However, you shouldn’t use your profile as a way to promote your resume alone.

There are three ways to upload your resume to LinkedIn: on job listings, in your settings, and on your profile. You’ll need to upload your resume when applying for jobs, but you probably shouldn’t put your resume on your profile.

In this article, we outline the different ways to upload your resume to LinkedIn, as well as explain the taboo behind putting your resume on your profile.

How to Upload Your Resume on LinkedIn’s Job Listings

If you use LinkedIn for job hunting, you’ll need to know how to upload your resume in order to apply. Before you start applying for jobs, you should check out these resume sites for preparing your CV. When you’re ready, use these simple steps to upload a resume to LinkedIn:

To get started, click on a job you’d like to apply for. Just note that the job listings that read Easy Apply will allow you to upload your resume directly to LinkedIn’s site. Any listing that just says Apply, will have you upload your resume through a third-party website.

Click on Easy Apply. You’ll either see a pop-up that lets you quickly apply for the job, or you’ll get redirected to a more detailed application page on LinkedIn.
Fill out the first portion of the application, and scroll down the page until you find a button that reads Upload Resume.

Select your resume file on your computer, and click Open to upload your resume.
From here, you can keep editing your application, and click Submit Application when you finish.

LinkedIn will keep your resume on file if you want to use it for another job listing. In other words, you won’t have to go through the uploading process every time you apply for a job.

How to Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn’s Job Application Settings

Alternatively, you can upload your resume to LinkedIn without applying for a job or displaying it on your profile. Uploading your resume to LinkedIn’s Job Application Settings is a great way to store your resume for future use. Follow these steps to upload your resume using this method:

Select on your user icon at the top of the main menu bar, and you’ll see a dropdown menu.

Click on Settings & Privacy.
Navigate to the Job seeking preferences item on the menu to the left of your screen.
Select Job application settings.

After LinkedIn redirects you to the Job application settings page, scroll down to find a heading that reads Resume.

You can then click Upload to locate the file on your computer and upload it to the website.

When you apply to a job later on, you can select your pre-uploaded resume to use in your applications. Your resume will automatically upload as your “default resume,” allowing you to quickly locate your resume and apply for jobs even faster.

How to Add a Resume to a LinkedIn Profile

Although uploading your resume to your profile isn’t ideal, there’s still a way to do it. The most tasteful way to add your resume to your profile is by incorporating it into your About section. Use these steps to upload your resume straight to your profile:

Select your profile icon at the top of LinkedIn’s main menu bar.
Choose View Profile under your icon on the dropdown menu.

When you get to your profile, scroll down to your profile section titled About. You’ll see a pencil in the top-right corner of this box. Click on that pencil.
A pop-up will show your profile summary, and will also give you an option to add media to your profile.

To incorporate a resume, select Upload and choose your resume file.
You can then change the title of your resume and add a brief description. Click Apply once you’re finished.
Finally, hit Save to finalize the process.

When you view your profile, you should now see a link to your resume file underneath your About section.

Why You Shouldn’t Upload Your Resume to Your LinkedIn Profile

If you know how to write an amazing LinkedIn headline, have filled in your experience, and created a powerful personal summary, you shouldn’t have to upload a resume to your profile. It just doesn’t make sense to upload a resume that basically contains the same information as your LinkedIn profile.

Your LinkedIn profile should have a much more detailed portrait of yourself; you shouldn’t need a resume to supplement that. Besides, your LinkedIn profile already acts like a resume on its own. One of the lesser-known LinkedIn features

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even gives you the option to save a PDF version of your profile in a resume-like format. Adding your actual resume into the mix is overkill.

You should also stray away from uploading your resume to your LinkedIn profile as a substitute for having no content on your profile. You shouldn’t use a resume to fill in your profile’s information—that’s a huge turnoff for any recruiter.

Another downside of uploading a resume to your profile has to do with privacy. Since you’ve probably put your address and personal phone number on your resume, uploading it to your profile means that anyone can see it.

Lastly, when you upload a resume to your profile, you can’t tailor it to specific job openings. During the job application process, you should always customize your resume to fit the needs of that specific role. Having a generic resume posted on your profile could actually harm your chances of landing your dream job.

After taking all of this into account, you should really ask yourself whether you want to upload a resume to your profile. In a nutshell, it may do more harm than good.

How to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn can help you form new connections and even land a job. It has a huge library of available openings, which makes it super important to know how to upload your resume to LinkedIn the right way.

If you want to increase your chances of landing a job on LinkedIn, check out the essential LinkedIn profile tips

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which can help guarantee success.