With remote work becoming increasingly common, many professionals are unsure of what to list as their job location on LinkedIn when they work remotely. Selecting an accurate job location is important for networking, discovering relevant opportunities, and presenting your professional brand on LinkedIn.
Why Job Location Matters on LinkedIn
Your job location serves several purposes on LinkedIn:
- It helps determine the LinkedIn feed you see, including news, events, jobs, and connections relevant to that geographic area.
- Recruiters and hiring managers often search for candidates by location, so listing an accurate location makes you easier to find.
- The location fills out your professional profile and helps viewers understand where you’re based and the geographic scope you work in.
In summary, your LinkedIn location helps direct networking and career opportunities your way based on geography. It also provides context about you to your professional network.
How to Select a LinkedIn Location for Remote Work
When selecting your location on LinkedIn as a remote worker, follow these best practices:
- List your actual city of residence. Since LinkedIn uses location for networking and opportunity matching, your current city is the most accurate choice. Even if you work for companies in other places, list where you truly live and work from.
- Select wider metro areas rather than small towns. If you live in a small town, use the nearest major metro instead (e.g. New York City metro rather than an outlying suburb). This gives you better access to job prospects and connections.
- Use the headquarters location of the company you work for if desired. Having the company HQ location on your profile signals to viewers where your employer is based. You can list this in addition to your city of residence.
- Leave location off entirely if your work is truly nationwide or global. If your role is 100% remote across countries, list no location and instead indicate the remote nature of the work in your headline and description.
As a remote worker, resist the urge to falsify or exaggerate your location to seem affiliated with major industry hubs. While tempting, inauthentic locations will backfire in terms of irrelevant opportunities coming your way.
Listing Multiple Locations on LinkedIn
Rather than choosing only one location on LinkedIn, you do have options to showcase multiple relevant locations. Strategies include:
- Using your headline. For example: “Boston-based Remote Project Manager at XYZ Company (HQ: San Francisco)”
- Listing cities in your profile summary. You can mention past and present locations in your professional summary text.
- Including all office locations of employers in your experience section. If you work remotely for a company with multiple offices, list them.
- Adding other relevant locations as “Places Lived” on your profile.
By incorporating other locations where you have lived, worked, or have affiliations, you can still represent your geographic flexibility and mobility as a remote employee. Just be sure your current residence is always primary.
Should My LinkedIn Location Match My Resume?
To keep things simple, your LinkedIn location should match what’s on your resume. Since recruiters often view both profiles side by side when evaluating candidates, inconsistent locations will raise questions.
The one exception is if your resume location reflects where you last worked in-office pre-pandemic rather than your newest remote work city. Your LinkedIn should be updated to where you live now rather than your past on-site job location.
I Work in One State but Live in Another – What Should My Location Be?
If you live in one state but work remotely for a company based elsewhere, always list your actual home base where you live and work from on LinkedIn. Commuting remotely across state lines is common now. Just be sure to mention the non-local job in your headline or description so your cross-state remote work situation is clear.
Can I Just Say “Remote” as My LinkedIn Location?
Simply putting “Remote” or “Remote Work” as your job location on LinkedIn is vague and not recommended in most cases. It’s better to actually list your geographic home base, like “Remote in Austin, TX” or “Remote from Denver, CO.” This gives the location clarity remote roles need.
The exception is if you truly travel and live on the road with no fixed address. In that case, “Remote” or “Remote Worker” makes sense. But the majority of remote professionals have a home city they operate from.
Should I Input a Fake Location to Get Local Jobs?
It’s always unwise to falsify your location or misrepresent where you genuinely live and work from on LinkedIn. Listing a fake location just to get matched with jobs in places you wish you lived in or want to relocate to will not work as you intend.
Opportunities based on a false location lead nowhere when you are unable to interview or work locally. Instead of faking a location, input your real location but set your LinkedIn job search preferences to also show openings in your desired cities. You can also indicate your interest to relocate in your profile summary.
What If I Move Locations While Working Remotely?
One advantage of remote work is the ability to move around! Updating your LinkedIn location is recommended if you relocate while keeping your job. Keeping an outdated location will disconnect you from local opportunities and networks where you now reside and operate from.
To prevent confusion, also update your resume location and notify your manager and HR department about your move. Remote workers changing locations should follow standard company policies on address changes.
Should I List a PO Box or Virtual Mailbox on LinkedIn?
Physical mailing addresses should be avoided on LinkedIn profiles. Listing a PO box or virtual mailbox location can come across as strange or confusing since it is not your actual geographic work base.
The exception would be if using a mailing address is customary for your particular line of work, such as having a P.O. Box to receive client payments. In most cases, your LinkedIn location should be where you truly live and do business.
I Work from Multiple Cities – How Should I List This?
Some digital nomads and remote workers split their time between multiple cities throughout the year. In this situation, pick the location where you spend most of your working hours and refer to it as your “home base.” You can also mention regularly alternating between cities in your profile summary.
Unless you truly split your time 50/50, pick the primary city you work from. Avoid constantly changing your location; pick one main base for consistency on your profile and resume even if you move around.
Should I Put My Address on LinkedIn?
Listing your full street address on your LinkedIn profile is highly discouraged for privacy and safety reasons. Your current city and metro area are sufficient without providing an exact street address.
Physical addresses are also becoming less relevant given how common remote work has become. Stick to your city and region rather than street details.
Can I Choose a Warmer Location Even If I Don’t Live There?
It’s best not to select an aspirational warm weather location on LinkedIn if you don’t actually reside there. Career contacts may ask to meet up in that location and be confused when you’re unable to.
The best practice is keeping your LinkedIn profile location accurate to where you currently live and work the majority of the time. You can always change it later if you relocate.
What If I’m Relocating Soon?
If you’re 100% certain you are relocating in the very near future, go ahead and update your location on LinkedIn in advance of your move. This helps get you connected to the right people and opportunities in your upcoming destination.
Just be sure to follow through with the relocation since contacts will expect you to be living and working from your new listed location. Avoid prematurely listing locations you are only considering moving to.
What If I Work for Companies in Multiple Countries?
When working remotely for employers in global locations, list your actual city and country of residence on LinkedIn as your main job location. However, you can also mention the countries your employers are based in within the job details and descriptions. This clarifies the multinational nature of your work.
Should I Include Time Zones?
Listing your time zone can be helpful on LinkedIn as a remote worker, such as “Eastern Time (Remote)” or “PT (Virtual)”. This gives added context about your work hours and availability to connect with contacts worldwide.
Just be sure to update your time zone if you relocate or travel frequently. Outdated time zones lose relevance.
Conclusion
Your job location on LinkedIn as a remote worker should always match your actual city or metro area of residence. While listing multiple relevant locations is encouraged, pick your current home base as the primary location. This provides the right visibility and opportunities based on where you live and work.
Remote work gives pros flexibility, but resist the urge to falsify or inflate your LinkedIn location. Instead, focus on accurately representing your geographic work situation while highlighting the ability to work from anywhere. With a precise and honest location and thoughtful profile details, you can thrive in finding the right remote jobs and connections.