If you have spent time working on your LinkedIn profile and have it at a standard you’re happy with, it’s a really good idea to include a link to it in your CV. There are two main reasons for doing this. The first reason is to do with making the hiring manager/recruiter’s job easy. There are likely to be other people on LinkedIn who share the same name as you, which means that even if the person reading your CV thinks to look you up on LinkedIn, it can be hard for them to work out which profile is yours. The example below shows that if I look up the name ‘Helen Brown’, I’m given 1,404 results. If I was looking at a CV for Helen Brown and wanted to look her up on LinkedIn, I could be forgiven for wanting to give up on working out which profile is hers from these search results.
The second reason for including a link to your LinkedIn profile in your CV is that by including it, your LinkedIn profile is far more likely to be viewed. If your profile looks professional (and especially if it has some good recommendations on it), it will help create a good impression.
The LinkedIn URL explained
Many people don’t realise that LinkedIn each person on its platform their own URL. It’s this URL that can be added to your CV. All LinkedIn URLs are formatted in the same way. They will begin with www.linkedin.com/in. This is then followed by your name and a random assortment of letters and numbers e.g. my original LinkedIn URL would have been similar to this: www.linkedin.com/in/fay-wallis098bbdccdfgg. You can quickly and easily edit the last part of the URL to neaten it up and add it to your CV. See below for an example of what a LinkedIn URL can look like once it has been added to a CV.
How to find your LinkedIn URL, edit it and add it to your CV – video tuturial
The video below shows you how to find your LinkedIn URL, edit it and copy and paste it into your CV. If you prefer written instructions to watching a video, I’ve added step-by-step written instructions beneath the video.
How to find your LinkedIn URL, edit it and add it to your CV – written instructions
If you’d like to have written instructions to print off and follow, you can find these below.
- Log in to LinkedIn.
- Click on the word ‘Me’ (which is underneath your LinkedIn photo) towards the right-hand side of the LinkedIn toolbar.
- Click on ‘view profile’.
- Click on ‘Edit public profile & URL’ on the upper right-hand side of the screen.
- Click on the blue pencil next to your LinkedIn URL (located under the words ‘Personalize the URL for your profile’.
- Edit your LinkedIn URL (the ideal URL will just end with your first name and last name).
- Click ‘Save’.
- Copy your new LinkedIn URL (by highlighting it, pressing right-click on your mouse and selecting ‘copy’).
- Open up your CV in Word, and click where you would like to add your LinkedIn URL (a good place to include it is alongside your other contact details e.g. your email address and phone number). Paste the link into the CV by holding down the right click of your mouse and selecting ‘paste’.
Next steps
To make sure you’ve created a CV that is as effective as possible, why not check out The CV Toolkit – an online CV writing course that teaches you how to create the perfect CV.
Or, if you’re worried your LinkedIn profile isn’t as strong as it could be, the Power Up Your LinkedIn Profile online course could be the perfect solution for you.
