Do You Really Need a Resume if You Have a LinkedIn Profile?

In theory, your LinkedIn profile acts as a living, breathing resume that showcases your work accomplishments, skills, and more. In reality? Not so much.

You’ve seen the chatter around the importance of personal branding and networking as a part of your job search. LinkedIn plays a huge role in building your professional reputation. It’s not to be neglected.

The professional social platform has become a go-to community for job seekers and recruiters. But for many reasons, it cannot replace your resume. It complements it and provides a great platform for building your brand—but don’t ditch the resume just yet!

Resume vs LinkedIn Profile: Understanding the Difference

First, let’s look at what each of these tools does for you.

LinkedIn is a social media platform for professional networking.

Pros

• Networking: Just about every professional is on LinkedIn, so it’s the best social media platform available for connecting and messaging people in your industry, recruiters, and hiring managers.
• Visibility: Your profile is a marketing tool that helps recruiters find you. 
• Comprehensive: Unlike a resume, your LinkedIn profile can cover your entire career history without worrying about length. It can also feature more of your thought leadership and successes. For example, you can link articles, portfolios, and more!

Cons

• One size fits all: Your LinkedIn profile can’t be customized for different audiences. What you see is what you—and recruiters—get. So if you’re applying to jobs in different industries or different job families, your LinkedIn won’t let you tailor a version of your profile to that role.
• Format limitations: There are a lot more clicks and scrolling to find all the relevant information on a LinkedIn profile compared to a resume. Recruiters don’t like digging. There’s more likely to be irrelevant content in the mix for a recruiter, and that could make it harder for them to match your qualifications to the role. And because you can’t customize the layout, you have less control over what you show them and what’s hidden behind a click. 
• Equitable application processes: Most bigger employers want to ensure they have a fair and equitable application process, and that requires consistency. For some, that could mean ensuring they have a resume for every candidate. Some companies even use a “blind” process where names and other identifying information are hidden which may mean they are unable to use a LinkedIn profile.

Resumes are the standard work history document companies ask for in the job application process.

Pros

• Customization: Resumes can be tailored to highlight the most relevant experiences and skills for a specific job.
• Clarity and brevity: They allow for concise, focused information that can immediately signal your fit for a role. If you don’t want to include a section, you don’t have to.
• Formality: Resumes remain a staple in traditional hiring processes, expected by most employers.

Cons

• Rigidity: Unlike LinkedIn, resumes don't allow for real-time updates or interactions.
• Limited space: The recommendation is one-page resumes for very early career folks and 2 for everyone else (though you are of course free to do a longer resume!) But given that recruiters often spend most of their time on the first page of your resume, you have to be really strategic about condensing your experience down to the most important information. 
• Static: Once sent, a resume doesn't offer the dynamic, public engagement like LinkedIn and other social platforms provide.

Challenges with LinkedIn Easy Apply feature

While LinkedIn’s Easy Apply button offers a convenient one-click application process, this ease can result in a deluge of applicants—raising the competition and diluting the chances of any one candidate standing out. Although some applications allow you to import your LinkedIn profile, this can require significant editing to fit traditional resume formats, and not everyone wants all of their projects and metrics out for the world to see.

But most importantly, most job applications still ask for a resume. Ultimately, LinkedIn is a social platform. While employers may want to also take a look at your profile, they will almost always have preference for your resume.

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‍Why Your LinkedIn Profile Shouldn’t Replace Your Resume

LinkedIn has carved out its niche as a professional networking powerhouse, essential for making connections and getting noticed by recruiters. 

Integrating your LinkedIn profile URL and portfolio links into your resume's header alongside other contact information can bolster your application, offering the best of both worlds. However, LinkedIn's format and social nature mean it cannot fully substitute for a tailored resume. Tools like Teal’s LinkedIn Profile review can help optimize your online presence for professional success.

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You Still Need a Resume in 2024!

The job market is evolving, and so is the way we apply for jobs. But in 2024, most companies are still looking for a resume as part of the job search. It’s easier for recruiters to quickly scan a resume, and standardized practices are also important from an equity perspective.

A resume also gives you more control to tailor your application to the job as opposed to hoping that a recruiter can connect the dots between your LinkedIn profile and your resume. 

This customization is what helps you demonstrate your fit with a specific job in a way that your LinkedIn may not. Teal’s Design Mode—part of their AI Resume Builder—can help you craft visually appealing resumes that highlight your unique qualifications while still ensuring that your resume is digestible for a recruiter and hiring team!

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Bottom line: Use your LinkedIn profile and resume together

Ultimately, the question isn't whether you need a LinkedIn profile or a resume but how best to utilize both in your job search. LinkedIn gives you a platform where you can build your personal brand while networking and marketing yourself to help attract more opportunities. Your resume gives you the opportunity to show how your skills and experiences match the needs of a specific job and company.

And in the tough job market of 2024, you need both!