The rise of social media recruitment and LinkedIn networking has set a new standard for hiring procedures. Candidates all across industries invest time and effort in maintaining their LinkedIn profiles to attract potential job offers. Recruiters worldwide also refer to a candidate’s LinkedIn profile to quickly check credentials and gain a gist of their professional history.

Such an increase in the popularity of LinkedIn raises a reasonable question – have LinkedIn profiles replaced resumes? Although many might disagree with it, the answer to this question is no. There are obvious similarities between LinkedIn profiles and resumes; however, they are still significantly different from each other. In this article, we will talk about how resumes and LinkedIn profiles are different and if LinkedIn is eclipsing the modern resume or not. Let’s begin.

HOW DO RESUMES AND LINKEDIN PROFILES DIFFER?

Both LinkedIn profiles and resumes aim at different goals, especially from a strategic perspective. Some significant differences between the two are:

  1. Purpose 
  • LinkedIn Profile: It is a passive tool that makes a candidate’s professional information available to potential employers and increases visibility among recruiters. It brings opportunities that the candidate may not be actively looking for but be interested in, nevertheless.
  • Resume: It is an active tool that provides all necessary information in accordance with a particular employer for a specific job role. 
  1. Language and Tone
  • LinkedIn Profile: It has a more informal tone and language, with flexibility in what one can voice out.
  • Resume: A formal tone and language are required, primarily written in the first or third person. 
  1. Information
  • LinkedIn Profile: Information is structured more systematically and high-end, not necessarily detailed.  
  • Resume: It includes more detailed information with granular details on all accomplishments or responsibilities.
  1. Digital Optimization
  • LinkedIn Profile: As LinkedIn has high site credibility and SEO, a candidate’s profile appears in the first few entries when someone searches for their name on a search engine like Google. So, LinkedIn profiles should be regularly tweaked to ensure the availability of relevant and exclusive job offers.
  • Resume: It must be optimized with keywords relevant to the job role and rich language for ATS compliance.
  1. Audience
  • LinkedIn Profile: It caters to a broader audience.
  • Resume: It is tailored to specific job roles and employers. 
  1. Length
  • LinkedIn Profile:There is no specific length required. It can be precise or detailed, depending on how colorfully one describes everything.
  • Resume:It is expected to be wrapped up within two to three pages.

WHY ARE RESUMES STILL NEEDED?

It is clear that resumes are significantly different from LinkedIn profiles. We still need them today because:

  • A strong resume offers the gateway to an interview.
  • It is catered to specific job roles, making it easier to convey why you’re fit for the said role.
  • It helps you prepare well for the interviews.
  • It brings your attention to areas where you can improve or add more qualifications.
  • When actively applying for a job, resumes are necessary to give employers details about your skills and relevant certifications.
  • It serves as a professional memory.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF LINKEDIN?

LinkedIn profiles serve a bigger purpose than just acting as digital resumes. Sure, resume building is a part of LinkedIn, but it also serves as an exceptional platform to widen your network professionally and gauge what your peers are doing.

LinkedIn is a collection of qualifications, colleague testimonials, client and employer recommendations, professional memory, finding ways to increase relevant skills in a particular field of work, and a network of peers from similar backgrounds.

It makes maintenance of resumes easier but does not replace them in any way.

HOW DO LINKEDIN PROFILES COMPLEMENT RESUMES?

Candidates can leverage the power of LinkedIn profiles to complement their well-structured resumes by:

  • Posting information not included in the resume.
  • Defining focus, aims, and goals in detail.
  • Summarizing personal values, skills, and accomplishments with rich language.
  • Providing up-to-date information about location, job roles, employers, education, etc.
  • Giving complete details about different certifications, volunteer work, and educational achievements.
  • Requesting recommendations from the present as well as previous colleagues to diversify the network.

CONCLUSION

Today, several people worldwide believe that LinkedIn is eclipsing the modern resume. Especially as our dependence on social media connections and digitalization increases, the idea of LinkedIn replacing resumes becomes more and more believable. However, the ground realities differ.

LinkedIn and resumes do have several similarities, especially as they both serve as professional memories and provide essential background information about a candidate. But they also significantly differ in terms of the audiences they serve and the purposes they accomplish. While resumes act as tools required explicitly for actively hunting jobs, a LinkedIn profile is more than that. Resume building may be a part of LinkedIn, but it serves greater purposes than just job hunting. It is a valuable tool for networking, serves broader audiences, and brings opportunities that you may not be actively looking for but still be interested in, nonetheless. It also allows confidential job search, something which is not possible with resumes. In the end, though, one’s resume and LinkedIn profile must convey a consistent idea or message about values, skills, and experiences.