Having a strong LinkedIn profile and resume is crucial for finding jobs and advancing your career in today’s digital world. LinkedIn premium offers additional features to help you create an optimized resume directly on LinkedIn that stands out to recruiters and hiring managers.
What is LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features beyond the free basic account. The premium service includes benefits like:
- InMail messages to contact anyone on LinkedIn without needing to connect first
- Profile highlights to showcase your skills and achievements
- Expanded search filters to find the right jobs and people
- Insights about who has viewed your profile
- Learning courses and professional development opportunities
One of the most useful premium features for your job search is the ability to create an enhanced resume on LinkedIn that taps into the platform’s network of over 740 million professionals.
Benefits of Creating a Resume Directly on LinkedIn
Building your resume directly on LinkedIn as a premium member has several advantages compared to just uploading a standard Word or PDF resume:
- Optimized for applicant tracking systems (ATS) – Most companies use ATS technology to scan resumes, so a LinkedIn resume can be formatted to be picked up by these systems.
- Easy customization for different roles – You can slightly tweak your LinkedIn resume for each application to match the job description.
- Enhanced with metrics and media – Include data for projects, links to your work, presentations, publications, courses, volunteer work, and recommendations.
- Shareable profile link – Rather than attachments, you can provide employers a link to your continuously updated resume on LinkedIn.
Having your resume hosted on LinkedIn makes it simple to keep it up-to-date and optimized to help you land more interviews.
How to Create a Resume on LinkedIn
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your resume through LinkedIn Premium:
1. Upgrade to a Premium Account
To access the resume builder tool, you need a Premium account. Visit your LinkedIn settings and upgrade to a paid monthly Premium subscription. Premium plans start at $29.99 per month for the basic Premium Career tier.
2. Add Experience to Your Profile
Make sure your LinkedIn profile includes a detailed work experience section with all your previous roles and accomplishments. This will provide the content for your resume. For each position include:
- Company name
- Job title
- Employment dates
- Location (city, country)
- Detailed description of your responsibilities and achievements
Quantify your achievements with numbers and data to demonstrate your impact in each role.
3. Fill Out Additional Profile Sections
Flesh out other parts of your profile that will appear on your resume like:
- Skills: Add your top skills along with endorsements from colleagues.
- Education: Schools, degrees, graduation dates, grades, honors.
- Licenses & Certifications: List any professional credentials.
- Courses: Online and offline training and classes.
- Projects: Side projects, academic work, portfolio samples.
- Honors & Awards: Special recognition and achievement highlights.
- Volunteer Experience: Unpaid work for organizations.
4. Launch the Resume Assistant
Go to the LinkedIn Jobs home page and click on the Resume Assistant option next to the My Jobs icon. This will launch the resume builder.
5. Select the Resume Template You Want
LinkedIn provides a variety of professional resume layouts and designs. Browse the template options and select one that you like and fits your needs. Consider choices like:
- Chronological resume organizing your experience by date
- Functional resume focusing on skills
- Combination resume with highlights section
- Simple and clean vs. infographic visual designs
Use the preview feature to see how your profile information will appear in the template.
6. Customize Sections
After picking your resume template, you can customize the sections that appear and how your profile information is featured. Options include:
- Profile summary section – Short bio section introducing yourself.
- Work experience section – Roles, companies, dates, locations, descriptions.
- Skills section – List your top skills and areas of expertise.
- Education section – Schools, degrees, graduation dates.
- Projects section – Examples of relevant academic or professional projects.
- Honors & awards section – Certifications, special achievements.
- Additional sections – Licenses, languages, personal interests.
Choose the sections to include and order that best highlight your background and fit the job you want.
7. Re-Order Sections
After adding your sections, you can reorder them by clicking the three-line icon next to each section title and dragging it to the position you want. Generally you will want to lead with strengths like your Summary or Work Experience.
8. Preview and Adjust Formatting
Use the preview button to see how your LinkedIn resume will look. Make any tweaks to the content, formatting, design, font sizes, colors, and spacing. The What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get editor makes it simple to adjust the styling.
9. Download Resume
When your resume is complete, use the download button to save a PDF version to your computer and mobile device. You can also print physical copies.
10. Add Resume to Profile
To display your resume on your LinkedIn profile, click Add Profile Section and select your resume file. This will now showcase your resume at the top of your profile for recruiters and connections to see.
Tips for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Resume
Follow these best practices to create a stellar resume through LinkedIn:
- Choose a professional template that is clean, simple, and easy to quickly scan.
- Tailor your resume slightly for each job application by highlighting different skills and achievements relevant to that role.
- Keep descriptions concise using bullet points and quantified metrics rather than paragraphs.
- Only include your most recent 10-15 years of work experience.
- Use common resume keywords matched to the job posting like “budget management”, “client relations”, etc.
- Thoroughly spell check and proofread your resume.
- Ask a friend or career coach to review your resume before finalizing.
- Update your resume regularly as you gain new skills and experience.
Using Your LinkedIn Resume
Here are tips on putting your LinkedIn resume to work as part of an effective job search:
- Include the link to your LinkedIn profile with resume on applications.
- Paste the link in the website field when applying through online job boards and company portals.
- Attach a PDF version along with your application if needed.
- Set your profile to “public” so your resume will appear in search engines.
- Join relevant LinkedIn Groups to increase networking opportunities.
- Follow companies you are interested in working for.
- Watch LinkedIn Learning courses related to your target role to keep gaining relevant skills.
Conclusion
Creating an optimized resume directly on LinkedIn is a valuable feature of Premium accounts. Developing your resume through LinkedIn provides advantages like ATS optimization, easy customization, built-in metrics, and profile integration. Follow the steps in LinkedIn’s resume builder to create a strong resume that will help you stand out in the hiring process and land your next position. Keep your resume updated and paired with an engaging LinkedIn presence to showcase your qualifications and career growth.