The short answer to the title question is YES! Your LinkedIn profile URL has become a standard item to put in your resume header, along with name, address and phone.

Why?

90% of hiring managers now use social media, with LinkedIn as a primary resource, to research candidates. So your email address and LinkedIn URL have become more important information for employers than your street address! In fact, you can omit your street address from the header and include just city and state, since correspondence happens most often by email. Employers do want to know your location, but not down to your street.

Craft Your Public Profile URL

Before you put your LinkedIn profile address on your resume or business card, make sure choose an address you want. You can edit your “Public Profile URL” through the Edit menu on LinkedIn and get rid of all those distracting letters and numbers at the end of the URL.

www.linkedin.com/in/brendabernstein

looks so much better than

www.linkedin.com/in/brendabernstein/16/b93/429

doesn’t it?  And it takes up a LOT less space on your resume!

To change your URL, go to your profile page and click on the “Edit public profile & URL” button in the upper right:

This will take you to a screen where you can edit your profile address.

Click the pencil icon:

Then enter your new address. Note that your URL cannot contain any special characters and is limited to 30 characters.

Is the name you want unavailable? Try your last name followed by your first name, use an initial or two, or insert dashes or another symbol. Find a solution that works for you!

**Keyword Tip: If you have room to add keywords at the end of your profile URL, you can get search engine optimization (SEO) mileage out of adding your top keyword directly after your name! For instance, johnjonescorporatecounsel or janesmithitdirector. Adding these keywords will not affect your search rankings within LinkedIn itself, but it will provide some leverage in Google searches.

Your LinkedIn Profile URL on Your Resume

Here are some formats you might use when adding your LinkedIn address to your resume:

For more graphic savvy, create a button on your online resume or website that links to your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn no longer provides button images, but they still exist in cyberspace! Here’s what they look like:

Once you’ve saved the image to your computer, insert it in the header of your resume and hyperlink it to your LinkedIn profile! In Word, you’ll find the hyperlink function under the Insert tab, Links section:

Here’s what the final product might look like:

Of course, if anyone prints your resume, this LinkedIn button will not be clickable from the printed document. So always create a version with the hyperlink spelled out for anyone you hand your resume to on paper.

** Tip: If you don’t already own yourname.com for other purposes, such as a blog or other job search marketing materials, this option might be a good one for you. For example, instead of listing your profile at the top of your resume as “https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendabernstein,” you could write “LinkedIn profile: www.brendabernstein.com,” which looks much cleaner and also shows that you are tech-savvy. [I credit this tip to a client who told me he had purchased his name.com domain and then pointed the domain to his LinkedIn page.]

** IMPORTANT! If you have your LinkedIn profile URL on any documents or email signatures and then you change it, update your documents and signatures!

Write an Effective LinkedIn Profile to Accompany Your Resume

If you put your LinkedIn profile URL on your resume, be prepared that someone will click on it! In reality, whether or not you put your LinkedIn URL on your resume, hiring managers will search for you on LinkedIn. It is therefore essential that you have a LinkedIn profile and that it is written to impress. That means it’s not a straight regurgitation of your resume content.

My e-books, How to Write a WINNING Resume, How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume, and How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile will help you craft both a resume and a LinkedIn profile that keeps you in the “Yes” pile when a recruiter or hiring manager is considering your application. The Essay Expert also offers individualized resume reviews and full resume writing packages, plus LinkedIn profile reviews and full LinkedIn profile writing packages.

Contact The Essay Expert if you have questions or are interested in our services.