LinkedIn vs Resume: Express Yourself Without Creating a Clone

Are your LinkedIn profile copy-pasted from a resume?

Well, I bet by now you’ve got already that this “super trick” doesn’t work anymore.

The diversity of information we absorb from social platforms like Youtube, Instagram, Facebook generates new trends and requirements in professional spheres as well. LinkedIn has become the top social network for businesses, professionals, freelancers, and especially job seekers.

Just imagine, as of April 2019, 70% of recruiters go to LinkedIn to investigate job candidates. And roughly 20,000 companies use LinkedIn to find and recruit talent in the US.

With LinkedIn playing such a huge role in job searches, you need a dynamic and engaging profile. It’s difficult to surprise hiring managers now, but instead of writing how cool you are, it’s better to share some of your fabulous accomplishments.

But before we start to give you practical advice with examples, let’s consider what’s the difference between a LinkedIn profile and resume?

Your profile and resume act as separate entities that each promote distinct purposes. They function differently in terms of scope, style and audience

1. ScopeLinkedIn profile presents a full picture of you and your career. Resume offers a narrower version designed to match a specific job position. 2. Writing style For LinkedIn profile casual tone without wordiness is acceptable. Resume has a formal style with a clearly professional tone. 3. Audience LinkedIn profile content should appeal to people in your industry and related areas. LinkedIn presence could cultivate networking connections that expand your career potential. Resume has a restricted audience of one or maybe a handful of people at a specific organization.

To get the most benefits from the platform, you need to take advantage of the difference between LinkedIn and resume. Together they can form a powerful team that takes your career to higher levels.

LinkedIn Summary vs Resume Summary

LinkedIn grants you 2,000 character spaces for your summary. This exceeds the space normally allowed on a resume. Use the LinkedIn summary space to highlight your best accomplishments and current professional projects.

Pro Tip: LinkedIn reveals to users the first 363 characters of a summary. Craft a powerful opening for your summary within these initial 363 characters. Choose an accomplishment that you feel illustrates your best qualities. After writing the opening, ask yourself if you think it would entice someone to expand the summary and keep reading.

View your summary as a space to communicate your personal brand. Your personality should shine through. Describe your characteristics that create value for your employers and colleagues. Include personal details about your motivations. For example, explain how an accomplishment inspired you to pursue special training.

Be mindful to back up your claims with facts.

  • Your LinkedIn profile needs to be the place where a recruiter can confirm details about your work history and skills. An effective summary provides proof in ways that a resume cannot.
  • The resume summary constrains how much you can say due to its smaller size. Your summary statement on a resume also targets the single goal of applying for a specific job. Like all things on a resume, it needs to be tailored to the job application.

For example, a resume summary might have a short statement like: “I want to apply my 12 years of experience as an IRS auditor to the public administration goals of your municipal finance department.”

Your summary at LinkedIn, by comparison, would speak in broader terms about auditing and accounting experience. It could mention details and background not necessarily relevant to an individual job application.

Pro Tip:Your summary could drive more eyeballs to other places on your profile, like experience or articles. Use a call to action like “See more details about my time as an international public relations specialist in my experience section.”

Related:

Should You Put LinkedIn on Resume

How to Print Resume from LinkedIn

LinkedIn Experience Section vs Resume

Resume

The experience section of a resume vs LinkedIn profile draws out the stark differences between the two formats. Ideally, you’ll adjust your resume for every job application. When you do this, you’ll frame your experience around the requirements of the job.

Space limitations will probably force you to promote the most relevant elements of your experience. Less relevant parts of your work history might need to be left off of the resume.

LinkedIn profile

Your profile will lack this level of tailoring. Your experience section can take an in-depth look at your work duties and accomplishments.

At LinkedIn, you can tell the story behind the short statements of facts on your resume:

  • describe the circumstances that led to a promotion
  • mention the senior professional who mentored you
  • explain how you came up with the strategy that set your employer above the competition.

Media Enhancements

Make your experience section on LinkedIn much more visually compelling. You could embed pictures and videos in each work history section. Photos of you working in the field, accepting an award, or attending a seminar enhance the story of your career.

Check Out How to Optimize LinkedIn Profile for Recruiters

Documents can also be included in the experience section. These could be reports that you authored, brochures that you designed, and so forth.

Always confirm that any media that you share can be exposed publicly.
The information on your resume provides seeds for growing your LinkedIn profile. The facts will be the same on both, but the profile should have significantly more personality and proof of credentials.

Looking for a job does not mean a battle between LinkedIn vs resume. They’re both on the same team but play different positions.

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Karen Hampton

Hi! I’m a Professional LinkedIn Writer and Career Coach on LPWS. I’m a goal-oriented professional, who knows everything about career exposure on LinkedIn.

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