Getting a direct link to your LinkedIn CV is a great way to easily share your professional profile with potential employers and contacts. LinkedIn makes it simple to generate a CV link, which you can paste into job applications, emails, and anywhere else you want to showcase your background and qualifications.
Why Share a LinkedIn CV Link?
Having a LinkedIn CV link enables you to directly send people to your LinkedIn profile summary and experience section – basically a customized online resume. This gives you a professional way to share your credentials without needing to attach a Word or PDF document.
Some key advantages of sharing your LinkedIn CV link include:
- Lets you provide an up-to-date overview of your background
- Shows your profile details, work history, skills, and endorsements
- Displays your profile photo and header image for a visual representation
- Enables contacts to also view your connections, interests, accomplishments, and recommendations
- Allows you to control what aspects people can see based on your profile privacy settings
Having a LinkedIn CV link also gives you metrics and insights into who has viewed your profile from the shared link, helping you gauge engagement and interest.
How to Find Your LinkedIn CV Link
Locating the unique URL for your LinkedIn CV is quick and easy. Here are step-by-step instructions:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page and click on the “Me” icon at the top of your profile feed.
- From the dropdown menu, select “View profile.” This will bring you to your public profile view.
- In the profile URL at the top of your browser, copy everything after the domain name. For example: linkedin.com/in/yourname.
- The unique part after “in/” is your custom LinkedIn CV link.
Once you’ve copied your profile link, you can paste it anywhere you’d normally provide a resume. Instead of attaching a CV file, simply include your LinkedIn URL.
Customizing Your LinkedIn CV
To optimize your LinkedIn CV link, customize your profile to highlight the most relevant sections for the positions you are targeting. Consider the following tips:
- Prioritize your most recent and applicable work experiences at the top of your experience section.
- Emphasize transferable skills that align with jobs you are applying to.
- Use Rich Media sections to showcase examples of your work, presentations, and projects.
- Edit your profile summary to focus on accomplishments tailored to your professional goals.
- Curate your featured sections to display items you want viewers to see.
- Showcase certifications, volunteer work, courses, and other details specific to your industry.
- Remove or collapse older, irrelevant positions to focus on experience most pertinent to opportunities.
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile in this way will help make your CV link as effective as possible. You can continue updating it over time as you gain new skills and experience.
Options for Sharing Your LinkedIn CV Link
Once you’ve generated your LinkedIn CV link, you have various options for sharing it professionally. Here are some suggestions:
- Include the link in the contact or website section of your resume or CV document.
- Paste your LinkedIn profile link into the main body or cover letter of a job application email.
- Add your LinkedIn CV link to your email signature for easy access.
- Share the link directly when asked for a resume in a job interview or networking meeting.
- Post your profile link on your website or blog as part of an online portfolio.
- Embed or attach the link in professional correspondence where a summary of your background is relevant.
The key is to leverage your LinkedIn CV link anywhere that highlighting your career experience and skills could be beneficial.
Sharing Settings
When sharing your LinkedIn CV link publicly, double check your profile visibility settings. You can manage this under Settings & Privacy > How others see your profile in the LinkedIn mobile or desktop app.
Options include:
- Public: Everyone can see your full profile.
- Connections only: Limits visibility to just your 1st-degree network.
- Invite-only: Restricts access unless someone is connected to you.
- Private: Makes your profile hidden from search engines and public viewing.
In most cases, you’ll want to have your profile visibility set to public or connections-only when sharing your CV link professionally. However, you can tailor the settings as needed for your specific situation.
Customizing Public View
To further customize what people see when you share your public CV link, go to Settings & Privacy > Customize your public profile. From here, you can:
- Rearrange sections like experience, education, skills, and others.
- Show or hide different profile sections.
- Expand or collapse details under each section.
- Add or remove optional richer sections like publications or projects.
Adjusting these settings lets you showcase the most important aspects of your professional background that you want the public to immediately see from your CV link. Hide any sections you don’t want to emphasize.
Measuring Profile Views
One benefit of sharing your LinkedIn profile link is the ability to see data on how people engage with your content. To access profile viewing metrics:
- Go to your profile and click on the View profile views dropdown arrow in the top bar.
- Select All profile views to see an overview of view activity.
- Toggle between the Weekly and Monthly charts to analyze trends.
- Scroll down to analyze the Who’s viewed your profile section for details on individual viewers.
Monitoring profile views enables you to see who is looking at your CV link and when. You can leverage this data to gauge your online networking and job search efforts over time.
Do’s and Don’ts
Here are some best practices when sharing your LinkedIn CV link:
Do | Don’t |
---|---|
Customize your profile for the specific positions or opportunities you are targeting | Leave irrelevant or outdated information in your profile |
Highlight transferable skills applicable to the roles you want | Use industry jargon or buzzwords that are not easily understandable |
Keep your employment history, education, and sections succinct and skimmable | Overwhelm viewers with too much text in dense paragraphs |
Use an updated professional profile photo and customized header image | Use casual photos or images unrelated to your professional brand |
Make sure you have a customized public URL and not just your member ID | Leave your public profile visibility set to “Private” if sharing publicly |
Include your LinkedIn CV link directly in applications and emails | Wait for viewers to ask for your CV link instead of proactively providing it |
Check your grammar, spelling, titles, and other details for accuracy | Include statements that could be seen as controversial or polarizing |
Leverage multimedia like embedded images, videos, and presentations | Leave your summary statement generic or vague about your experience |
Conclusion
Having a customized LinkedIn CV link enables you to easily share an online version of your resume with contacts, networking connections, recruiters, and hiring managers. Just make sure to keep your profile polished, up-to-date, and tailored to present your professional capabilities in the best possible light. With a strong LinkedIn presence and CV link, you can maximize your career opportunities and reach.