Employers Use Your Resume And LinkedIn Profile Differently - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Employers Use Your Resume And LinkedIn Profile Differently - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Many job seekers make the mistake of assuming that their resume and LinkedIn profile are the same thing. theyre not. Job seekers who consider their LinkedIn profile to be equivalent to their resume can miss major opportunities to differentiate themselves resulting in lost job opportunities. You can differentiate yourself much more effectively as a superior candidate than LinkedIn is able to provide. LinkedIn wants you to think their service can even be your online resume, providing an option to automatically convert your profile into a traditional resume format, using the information of your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn also allows you to apply for jobs with many employers just by clicking an apply with your LinkedIn profile button. Dont fall into either trap. Sure these are easy options but these options result in branding yourself as a commodity, And there are three reasons that your resume and LinkedIn profile are not the same: Employers and recruiters view each differently: Employers and recruiters view your LinkedIn profile as a way to search for candidates who havent applied, but your resume as the primary way to apply for a job. LinkedIn recognizes that a resume is viewed differently thats why they offer an option to convert your profile to a resume and an option to attach your resume to your LinkedIn profile. Employers and recruiters use each for different parts of the hiring process: Employers/recruiters use LinkedIn profiles at the beginning of the process, as an introduction and as a passive candidate search mechanism. Human resources departments use LinkedIn as a way to provide social proof to your resume to help screen out resume lies. Most employers and recruiters expect those who apply to provide a resume in the process even those that provide an Apply through LinkedIn button will ask applicants for a resume. Customization and personalization: You can and should customize your resume for an individual reader resume customization gives you the ability to brand yourself as the superior candidate. You cant do the same thing with your LinkedIn profile, because when you change it, everyone sees the changes. You cant control who sees a specific version of your LinkedIn profile, because everyone sees your changes. Its difficult for your LinkedIn profile to brand you as a superior candidate, because you cant individualize it like you can with a resume. When you use your LinkedIn profile to apply for jobs, it will be easier but it wont allow you to show that youre the perfect candidate for that hiring manager, for that company, for that job. Sure, you might create that impression, but it will be through luck you wont be able to stack the odds in your favor. Now that you see your resume and LinkedIn profile arent the same thing, how will you decide which one to use? Ill cover that in an upcoming article Author: Phil Rosenberg is President of http://www.reCareered.com, a leading job search information website and gives complimentary job search webinars at http://ResumeWebinar.com. Phil also runs the Career Central group, one of Linkedin’s largest groups for job seekers and has built one of the 20 largest personal networks on Linkedin globally.