LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. As the leading platform for professionals looking to network, job search, and keep their resumes up to date, a common question asked is: Does LinkedIn have a resume builder?
The short answer is yes, LinkedIn does have a built-in resume builder that members can use to easily create and customize professional resumes. LinkedIn’s resume builder is a useful tool for creating, updating, and formatting resumes directly within your LinkedIn profile.
Benefits of Using LinkedIn’s Resume Builder
Here are some of the key benefits of using the LinkedIn resume builder:
- Easy to use – the tool provides resume templates and pre-filled information from your LinkedIn profile to simplify resume creation.
- Professional formats – templates include standard resume formats like reverse-chronological, functional, and combination.
- Customization – the builder allows you to customize sections, reorder content, and tailor the resume to each job opportunity.
- Integrated with profile – your LinkedIn resume is automatically updated when you update your LinkedIn profile.
- Shareable – the resume builder allows you to easily share or export your resume in PDF or plain text formats.
- Free – the resume builder is free to use for all LinkedIn members.
By providing user-friendly resume creation tools and seamless integration with your LinkedIn profile and network, the LinkedIn resume builder makes it simpler for members to create, manage, and share professional resumes.
How to Access the LinkedIn Resume Builder
Accessing the LinkedIn resume builder is easy. Here are the steps to access the tool:
- Log into your LinkedIn account on the web (the resume builder is not available on LinkedIn’s mobile app).
- Go to your profile and click on the “More” drop down menu near the top of your introductory section.
- Select “Create a resume” from the drop down menu options.
- On the Resume Builder landing page, select “Get Started.”
You will then be taken to the LinkedIn Resume Builder where you can start creating your resume.
Key Sections of the LinkedIn Resume Builder
The LinkedIn Resume Builder allows you to add information across the following key resume sections:
- Profile Section: Includes fields for your name, headline, location, professional photo, etc. Prefilled with information from your LinkedIn profile.
- Work Experience Section: Pulls roles from your LinkedIn work experience section. You can reorder roles and edit role descriptions.
- Education Section: Pulls your academic degrees, courses, and schools from your LinkedIn education section and lists in reverse chronological order.
- Skills Section: Pulls skills you have added to your LinkedIn profile. You can edit which skills are included on your resume.
- Additional sections: Sections for honors & awards, publications, certifications, volunteer work, and more can also be added from profile.
The resume builder gives you editing capability over these sections so you can customize and adapt your LinkedIn information for your resume. You can reorder sections, add new ones, tweak descriptions, and tailor content.
LinkedIn Resume Builder Templates
The LinkedIn Resume Builder provides a range of professional resume templates to get you started. You can select from template options including:
- Classic
- Modern
- Creative
- Professional
- Simple
Within each template, you can further customize the font styles, margin sizes, alignment, colors, and more to suit your preferences. Basic formatting options allow you to bold, italicize, or underline sections of text as needed.
The available templates make it quick and easy for members to create nicely formatted, professional looking resumes within a few clicks.
Sharing and Downloading Your LinkedIn Resume
Once you have created your resume in the LinkedIn Resume Builder, you have a few options for sharing and downloading:
- You can link to your resume from your profile so it is easily accessible to connections visiting your profile.
- The PDF download option allows you to save and download a PDF version of your resume to your computer.
- A plain text version can also be downloaded for applications or systems requiring a text-only document.
- Your resume is also automatically set to be visible to recruiters, making your resume discoverable.
The resume builder makes it simple to quickly share or obtain copies of your resume in just a few clicks.
Editing and Updating Your LinkedIn Resume
A key benefit of the LinkedIn resume builder is that it allows for easy resume updates. Because your resume is integrated with your full LinkedIn profile, any changes made to your profile will automatically be reflected on your LinkedIn resume.
For example, if you add a new position, skill, certification or other profile update, it will automatically integrate into your LinkedIn resume. This ensures your resume is always up to date each time you make profile changes.
In addition, you can make edits directly within the resume builder at any time. You can add or modify any section, reorder content, tweak descriptions, and customize the resume format. Any changes made will automatically save and update the resume associated with your profile.
Having your resume completely integrated with your LinkedIn profile makes keeping it up to date easy and efficient.
Pros and Cons of the LinkedIn Resume Builder
Here is a summary of some of the key pros and cons of using LinkedIn’s resume builder:
Pros:
- Integrates easily with your LinkedIn profile information
- Provides professional pre-designed resume templates
- Allows for customization and formatting flexibility
- Offers the ability to easily share and download your resume
- Automatically updates when you make changes to your LinkedIn profile
- Free to use for all LinkedIn members
Cons:
- Formatting options more limited vs. resume specific tools
- Requires a LinkedIn profile to use – not standalone
- Doesn’t integrate non-LinkedIn information as easily
- Only creates one resume document – difficult to tailor for different applications
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn offers all members a robust resume creation tool fully integrated within their professional profile and network. The LinkedIn resume builder provides convenient access to profile information and easy resume customization.
For job seekers looking for a straightforward resume builder that seamlessly pulls from their industry leading LinkedIn profile, the LinkedIn resume creator delivers a simple, integrated, and professional solution.
