Sharing your LinkedIn profile link with someone is easy and an important way to network professionally. Your LinkedIn profile serves as an online resume and portfolio that allows you to showcase your background, skills, accomplishments, recommendations and more to connections and prospective employers or clients. There are a few simple ways to easily provide your LinkedIn profile link to someone, depending on how you want to share it.
Copy and Paste Your Profile Link
The most straightforward way to share your LinkedIn profile link is to simply copy and paste it. To find your profile link, go to your LinkedIn profile page and copy the URL from your browser’s address bar. It will be in a format like https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname.
Once you’ve copied your profile link, you can paste it into an email, text message, social media message or other communication to send to someone. When pasting your link, you may want to accompany it with a message like “Here’s a link to my LinkedIn profile” or “I wanted to share my LinkedIn with you – please feel free to connect!”. This provides some context around why you are sending your link.
Pros
- Simple and fast way to share your profile
- Allows you to include a custom message with the link
- Works for both desktop and mobile
Cons
- Requires manually copying and pasting each time
- No custom text associated with the link itself
Send Your Profile Link via Email
Another easy way to share your LinkedIn profile is by sending it in an email. Simply paste your profile link into the body of an email message. If you want the link to appear as clickable text, you can highlight the link and click the link icon in your email platform.
For example, you may send an email that says “It was great meeting you today! Here is a link to my LinkedIn profile so we can connect: [Your LinkedIn link]”.
Pros:
- Lets you provide context around sending your link
- Link appears clickable if formatted properly
- Easy way to share if you already have someone’s email
Cons:
- Requires having the recipient’s email address
- Only recipient will see the message/link unless they forward your email to others
Include Your Link in Your Email Signature
Adding your LinkedIn profile link to your email signature is a great way to share your profile with anyone you email. Your email signature appears at the bottom of every email you send, so it will automatically display your LinkedIn link anytime you communicate with someone via email.
To add your link to your signature, first copy your profile link. Next, open your email account settings and edit your signature. Paste your link, making sure to highlight and format it as a hyperlink. For example:
John Smith
Account Executive, ABC Company
Pros:
- Shares your profile automatically without extra effort
- Formatted as clickable link
- Visible every time you send an email
Cons:
- Only visible if recipient views your full email signature
- Doesn’t allow for custom messages
- Some email clients block link functionality in signatures by default
Send Your Profile Link via LinkedIn Message
If you want to share your LinkedIn profile link directly with one of your LinkedIn connections, you can easily send it to them via LinkedIn message. From your LinkedIn inbox, start a new message with the desired connection.
Paste your profile link into the message body and hit send. You may want to accompany it with some text like “Hi [name], here is a link to my LinkedIn profile so you can learn more about my background. I’d love to connect further!”.
Pros:
- Easy way to share if already connected on LinkedIn
- Lets you include custom message with link
- Takes advantage of existing LinkedIn connection
Cons:
- Only viewable by recipient
- Requires existing LinkedIn connection
- Doesn’t work well for sharing with those not on LinkedIn
Include Your Profile Link in Your LinkedIn Summary
You can feature your LinkedIn profile link prominently by adding it to your LinkedIn summary. Your summary is one of the first sections people see on your profile, so this ensures your link is highly visible.
To add your link to your summary, copy the profile link and paste it anywhere you like in your summary text. Make sure to highlight the link and click the link icon to format it appropriately. For example:
“Check out my LinkedIn profile here: [Your LinkedIn profile link] to see my work history, skills, education and recommendations.”
Pros:
- Makes your profile link clearly visible on your profile
- Formatted as clickable link
- No extra effort – always included on your profile
Cons:
- Only viewable to those visiting your LinkedIn profile
- Can disrupt your summary text flow
- Doesn’t allow for custom messages
Share Your Profile Link on Other Social Media
In addition to sharing your LinkedIn profile link directly in messaging or emails, you can also post your link on other social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Simply copy and paste your profile link into a new post or social message.
For example, you may tweet “Looking to grow my professional network! Connect with me on LinkedIn here: [Your LinkedIn link]”.
Pros:
- Broadens visibility beyond only your connections
- Allows you to customize messaging
- Takes advantage of your other social platforms
Cons:
- Link may get buried over time as other posts accumulate
- Requires proactively posting frequently
- Not everyone you want to connect with may follow you on that social platform
Send Your Profile Link When Requesting to Connect
When sending a connection request to someone via LinkedIn, you have the option to include a note with the request. This is the perfect opportunity to share your profile link.
When sending your request, paste your link into the note field. You can say something like “Hi [name], I’d love to connect with you on LinkedIn. Here’s a link to my profile so you can learn a bit more about me: [Your LinkedIn link]. Looking forward to connecting!”.
Pros:
- Shares your profile as part of requesting a connection
- Lets you provide context on why you want to connect
- Directly encourages the recipient to visit your profile
Cons:
- Only viewable by recipient of your request
- Doesn’t work if trying to share more broadly
- Note field has limited space for your message
Include Your Link in Your Email or Phone Contact Info
In addition to your email signature, you can list your LinkedIn profile in your regular email or phone contact information that you share with people. Simply add your LinkedIn link along with your email address, phone number, Twitter handle etc. as standard contact details.
For example, your contact section may look like:
John Smith
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 123-456-7890
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname
Pros:
- Makes your LinkedIn profile a standard contact point
- No extra effort – always included in your contact info
- Allows people to easily click to access your profile
Cons:
- People may not notice or use your LinkedIn link when contacting you
- Not as customizable as directly sending your link
- Contact info may not always be prominently displayed
Share Your Profile Link on Printed Business Collateral
Printed business cards, resumes, portfolios or other professional collateral present another opportunity to display your LinkedIn profile link. Include your link along with your other key contact information on any printed materials.
For example, you may include a link on your business card like:
John Smith
Account Executive – XYZ Inc.
[email protected]
linkedin.com/in/yourname
Pros:
- Makes your LinkedIn profile easily accessible from your offline materials
- No additional effort – link is always present anytime you share your collateral
- Standalone link allows recipient to click and access your profile at any time
Cons:
- Requires reprinting updated materials if you change your profile link
- Recipients may not notice link on printed collateral
- Limits customization of messaging around your link
Use a Shortened Profile Link
If you want to share your LinkedIn profile link in print materials, on social media or in other space-limited areas, you can shorten your link using a URL shortener tool.
Copy your full profile link and paste it into a website like bitly.com or tinyurl.com. This will convert your long link to a much shorter one that redirects to your profile. For example, it may shorten your link from:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/verylongprofilename
To:
https://bit.ly/2mV3Xg
You can then share this shortened profile link anywhere a long link may not format well or where you need to conserve space.
Pros:
- Makes link much shorter and simpler to share
- Easy to do with URL shortener tools
- Redirects to your full profile link
Cons:
- Security and privacy risks from using third-party shorteners
- Can’t accompany link with custom messaging
- Recipient may not know where shortened link points to
Share Link to Your Profile’s Public View
LinkedIn gives you the option to generate a public view link for your profile. This gives anyone access to a read-only version of your profile, even if they aren’t logged into LinkedIn.
To find this public view link, go to your profile and click “More” in the top right. Select “View profile as…”. Copy the URL for the public view version of your profile.
You can then share this public view link with anyone you want to see your profile. One benefit of the public view link is that it allows recipients to access your full profile without needing a LinkedIn account.
Pros:
- Provides view-only access without logging into LinkedIn
- Can share profile with non-LinkedIn users
- Full profile view from public link
Cons:
- Public view lacks personalization like recommendations
- Recipient can’t connect or interact via public link
- Need to disable public view to revoke access
Export Your Profile as a PDF
You can export and share your LinkedIn profile as a PDF document. Under your profile photo, click “More” and choose the option to save to PDF. Your full profile will download as a PDF that you can then share via email, messaging platforms, cloud storage or hard copies.
Emailing your profile PDF is a great way to apply for jobs or share your professional details during an interview process. The PDF allows recipients to view and print your full profile at any time without needing access to LinkedIn.
Pros:
- Shares complete profile overview in packaged document
- Allows recipient to save/print your profile
- Easy one-click export process
Cons:
- Static copy of your profile, not live version
- Can be more difficult to search/navigate a PDF
- Profile details not clickable links
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Copy and paste link | Simple and fast to share link | Requires manually copying each time |
| Email link | Lets you customize message | Need recipient’s email address |
| Link in email signature | Automatically includes with all emails | Link may get buried over time |
Key Takeaways
Sharing your LinkedIn profile link provides an easy way for you to showcase your professional brand and connect with others. Key tips include:
- Copy and paste your profile link into emails, messages and social media posts
- Include your link in your email signature and contact information
- Share your profile when requesting to connect on LinkedIn
- Post your link prominently in your LinkedIn summary
- Use public profile view and PDF export options
- Shorten your link for space-limited sharing
With many options to choose from, you can tailor your approach based on how you want to share your profile and who you want to share it with. Maintaining an updated LinkedIn presence and proactively sharing your profile link are critical to building your professional network and opportunities.
