Social media has fundamentally transformed the way we interact with others. Aside from day-to-day interactions with friends, social media has become a massive hiring tool. Platforms such as LinkedIn, allow you to share your profile – which is a description of your professional skills and experiences – with your connections. This enables employers to find out more about you, which can open the door to new career opportunities .
However, other social media platforms – like Facebook and Instagram – are not fundamentally built for displaying professional qualifications. Hence, you might have to settle for uploading your resume as a PDF. Even LinkedIn has made it easy to upload your resume as a PDF. This means you do not have to build a full profile from scratch. But is this an optimal option? This post explores important things to note about sharing your resume on social media.
Do Not Upload Your Resume as PDF to Social Media
There are many reasons uploading a PDF copy of your resume to social media platforms is not a good idea. Some of which include:
- Privacy concerns
Most of your social media platforms are public – or, at least, semi-public – by default. This means that anything you share becomes available for the world to see. Your resume might contain private information, like your address, email, and phone number. Once you upload your resume as a PDF, this information becomes publicly available. You no longer have control over it, as anyone is free to view, copy, download, pirate, or even distribute it without your consent.
- It screams desperation
When you upload your resume on LinkedIn, it automatically changes your profile to public. It virtually screams to others, “I’m looking for a job”. While it might be good for people in your trusted network to get notified of your employment status, informing the world might not reflect well on you.
Why? Because it subtly indicates you might not be a top candidate. Think about it: top candidates are hardly in “need” of a job, though they are always open to new opportunities. Your LinkedIn should instead showcase your appeal and value. Recruiters like Stafford Technology pick up on that.
- Overly Generic
Every savvy job seeker knows that the key to an effective resume is to tailor it to suit the peculiarities of the role you are applying to. This means that, in general, you should not apply for two roles with the same resume.
When you upload your resume as a PDF to social media platforms, you are forced to make it generic because you have no idea which recruiters or employers are going to view it. Your resume is the best shot of showcasing to employers why you are best suited for the role. Presenting a generic resume can only hurt your chances.
At Stafford Technology, we contact professionals with well-built LinkedIn profiles we are interested in. They can then send in their resume that is perfectly suited for the role.
Optimize Your Resume With Social Media
We have explored reasons uploading your resume as a PDF might not be optimal. However, that does not mean social media is useless for sharing your resume. You need to know the right way to go about it. Let us explore some of them:
- Link your resume to social media
A resume is typically one to two pages long. Hence, you must summarize enough to get potential employers convinced of your suitability. Sometimes however, coming to a conclusion based on your resume can be difficult. By including social media links to your resume, you direct employers to places they can learn more about you. This shows transparency!
That is why it is advisable to include your LinkedIn profile URL at the top of your resume, next to your name and phone number at the top. Other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter may be added if they are relevant to the role you are applying for. But make sure that your social media platforms do not contain incriminating information like hate speech or inappropriate pictures/comments.
- Maintain consistent information
The last thing you want is for employers to see one thing on your resume while seeing something else on your LinkedIn. Therefore, it is important to constantly update your social media platforms that contain professional accounts. Ensure that you fact-check at least once a month.
- Do not copy & paste
What use is including social media links if you have the exact information on both your resume and social media platform (LinkedIn, in particular)? While it is okay to have some overlap, your online professional accounts should contain information that adds flavor to your resume.
But more importantly, your LinkedIn profile must be well-structured to make it easy for recruiters and potential employers to easily understand the most important information.
- Use keywords for SEO
It is no news that an increasing number of recruiters – including Stafford Technology – use Google and Applicant Tracking Systems to peruse social media sites for potential hires. Hence, you must make your LinkedIn professional profile stand out!
One of the best ways to accomplish that is by making use of keywords. Powerful SEO tools can help you identify keywords currently used in your industry. Incorporating those keywords in your online professional media profiles will optimize your account for search.
Wrap Up
The purpose of a resume is to introduce yourself to employers, present your qualifications, and secure an interview. Thanks to social media, you can now easily share your qualifications and work experiences with potential employers. However, it must be done appropriately.
Uploading a PDF copy of your resume on your LinkedIn profile or other social media platforms is NOT optimal for the reasons we have explored. However, by crafting a well-structured professional LinkedIn profile, you make yourself more visible to potential recruiters like Stafford Technology. Furthermore, including relevant social media links to your resume can help employers obtain more information about you.
