How to make your LinkedIn profile support your resume

A recruiter who likes your resume may look you up before getting in touch. If your LinkedIn profile tells the same story with more context, that check helps you. If the dates or job titles disagree, it raises questions you would rather not have to answer.

The two should support each other without being identical. Your resume is a focused document for a specific kind of role. Your profile is a broader introduction that stays online between applications.

Keep the facts the same

Start with the details a reader can compare directly:

• Employer names and job titles.
• Start and end dates.
• Degrees and certifications.
• Spelling of your name and key tools.

If you held a role with an unusual internal title, use the accurate title and explain the work in the description. Small differences, such as listing only the year on one and the month on the other, are fine as long as the dates do not conflict.

Let the profile say more

Your resume has to be selective. Your profile has room for useful context that would not fit on a page:

• A fuller account of projects, written in the first person.
• Links to work you are allowed to share.
• Older experience you removed from your resume.
• Recommendations from people who know your work.

The About section is a good place to explain what you do, what you care about, and the kind of work you want next. Write as you would speak to a colleague. A few plain sentences will do more than a list of adjectives.

Write a headline that describes your work

Your headline appears wherever your name does, so make it specific. You do not have to use only your job title. “Payroll specialist supporting multi-site retail teams” tells a reader more than “Hardworking professional.”

If you are changing direction, keep it honest. Describe your current work and the direction you are taking rather than claiming a title you have not held. Our guide to writing a resume for a career change covers the same balance.

Tailor the resume, not the profile

Because a profile reaches many readers at once, you cannot adapt it to every application. Use language that suits the kind of role you want, and leave closer matching to your resume.

When you tailor your resume to a job description, it will naturally become narrower than your profile. That is expected. A reader should simply be able to see that both describe the same career.

Check for common mismatches

Differences usually build up by accident, when one document gets updated and the other does not. Look for these problems:

• An old job still shown as your current role.
• Several promotions at one company shown differently in each place.
• A more impressive title on one version than the other.
• A skill listed on your profile that you removed from your resume for good reason.
• An old email address, location, or website link.

Ask for a useful recommendation

A recommendation gives a reader something your resume cannot: another person’s view of your work. Ask someone who has seen it directly, such as a former manager, a client, or a colleague from a shared project.

You will get a more useful response if you make a specific request. Remind them of the project and mention what you would like them to focus on, such as how you handled a difficult launch. Offer to return the favor where it makes sense.

Review your privacy before you edit

Check your settings before making major changes. LinkedIn can share profile updates with your network, so look at that option first if you would rather keep your job search quiet.

You also do not need to list everything. Leave out your home address, and think carefully about what you make public. Keep confidential figures and client details out of your profile, just as you would on your resume.

Update them together

Whenever you change jobs, finish a major project, or edit your resume, review your profile at the same time. Then view your public profile as a stranger would. If it matches your resume and adds something useful, it is doing its job.