5 Key Differences Between a LinkedIn Profile and a Resume

By: John Garcia | Date Posted: January 21, 2022

The way you present yourself is the key aspect of whether you’re going to land a job or not. But before that, you need to present your working experience to land an interview.

And there are several ways to present your working experience nowadays. The most popular way to present yourself to an applicant tracking system is via a CV or resume.

Still, there are crucial differences between the CV and resume that you need to know to get employed. Certain positions require one form of your work experience, while others will require a tailor-made CV. To know what’s what, you can check the list of differences below:

Resume

  • emphasis on key skills and experiences;
  • usually is no longer than two pages;
  • used to apply for industry jobs.

CV

  • emphasis on academic accomplishments;
  • the length depends on the experience;
  • used for applying for grants and fellowships;

Now, knowing all that, you can think about the ways to craft a winning resume or CV, depending on where you would like to apply. But that’s not the only way to get more interviews. Another way for recruiters to find you is through LinkedIn. So, you should consider working on your LinkedIn profile as well.

So, what’s the big deal, you may ask? You can simply copy and paste all your resumes to your LinkedIn profile for employers to find you. Right? Well, it’s not that simple. While you can get professional help from a LinkedIn resume service (https://skillhub.com/linkedin-resume), you can also work on your profile on your own in order to get employed.

To create a LinkedIn profile that will help you pass through the applicant tracking process, you need to know the main differences between the bot-beating resume and the profile that can catch the attention of a hiring manager. So, let’s check those differences and learn why LinkedIn is so popular among employers and job seekers, without any further ado.

LinkedIn Profiles tell a Bigger Story

LinkedIn profiles tend to be more informal than resumes. The applicant would provide brief information on their occupations and experience. You can get more detail about each of your working experiences when it comes to a LinkedIn profile. Moreover, you can take a more creative approach in describing your career path.

Also, the traditional way to write a resume is from a third-person perspective. When it comes to a LinkedIn profile, you should write from the first-person perspective. Another great thing is that you can add your portfolio of projects, which may include video presentations.

Summary

Both LinkedIn profiles and resumes have summaries. Yet, the resume summary is structured and written differently. Generally, it is presented in a professional manner. It must be brief, ranging in length between fifty and one hundred words. In just a few sentences, it should convey the selling point: why the recruit is an ideal candidate.

The summaries of the LinkedIn profiles can be long and detailed. Their character limit tends to be longer than 300 words. While the applicant isn’t required to write exactly 300+ words, they have more space to present themselves to catch a recruiter’s eye. Moreover, you can always use a touch of humor and creative writing to make a summary more interesting.

Profile Picture

Profile Picture

Adding your photo to your resume or CV is not necessary. While everything depends on the job you’re applying to (in the US, the UK, and the Commonwealth countries), it is not expected for the resume to have a photo of a prospective employee. Thus, your appearance has no impact on the hiring process before the interview.

When it comes to LinkedIn, it is important to have a profile picture. While it depends on the position you’d like to occupy, generally, you should have a professional headshot as your profile picture. You should have a light smile and be confident. It is also important to avoid unprofessional backgrounds, such as nightclubs.

Keywords Optimization

Keywords Optimization

If you want to pop up in the ATS and make it easier for the recruiters to find you, you should use keyword optimization in your resume. The more appropriate keywords you use in your resume, the higher rank it has in the applicant’s tracking systems. Most recruiting firms utilize resume-scanning software to pick up candidates with the necessary qualifications for hire.

When it comes to the LinkedIn profile, things work a bit differently. CVs and resumes are crawled by ATS, while LinkedIn is crawled by search engines. You can start by analyzing the jobs you want to apply for. Identify the main keywords in their descriptions, and add them to your profile. They should be included in the headline and scattered across your summary.

You should also include the list of specialties at the end of your profile summary. List there all the relevant skills that include the keywords. You should also make sure that you’ve added all the necessary job titles that you had. This will help your profile to rank higher in the search engines.

Interactive Media

Interactive Media

While it was already mentioned briefly, let’s expand on it here. CVs and resumes don’t have the capacity to include any interactive media. You can also check the websites for the cv template. When it comes to LinkedIn, you can easily upload images, videos, and other media that showcase your skills and experiences in the best way possible. It can easily display you as an ideal candidate for your dream job.

Resume or LinkedIn Profile?

Resume or LinkedIn Profile

After learning everything above, you may start wondering whether you should use a resume or a LinkedIn profile for the applications. You can definitely seek a career advice expert like on job hero review to make a final decision, but if you want to invest in your career in the best way, you should use both. As you can see, resumes and LinkedIn profiles work differently.

They can engage a recruiter in different ways. While everything depends on the career field, the laws of the job market show that being armed with both ways of presenting yourself provides you with more chances to land the position that you want. The resume gives a brief description of your work experiences, while your LinkedIn profile serves as a more clear presentation of your personality and work attitude.

Thank you for reading!

John
 

John is the founder and chief editor of Homienjoy. With over 15 years of experience in the home improvement industry, John is passionate about helping homeowners confidently tackle their projects. Holding a civil engineering degree and working as a contractor, project manager, and consultant, John brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Homienjoy community.

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