How to Upload Your Resume to LinkedIn (and Who Can See It)

Where a resume can go on LinkedIn

There is more than one place to upload your resume to LinkedIn, and each one has a different audience. LinkedIn's help page on uploading resumes describes three:

• In your job application settings, LinkedIn saves the file so you can pick it when you apply with Easy Apply. It is not posted on your profile for your network to download.
• If you upload it during an Easy Apply application, the file goes to the hirer for that job, and LinkedIn also saves a copy for later applications.
• A copy in the Featured section of your profile can be downloaded by people who view your profile. LinkedIn says you cannot use this copy for job applications.

Most people searching for a job only need the first two. The profile copy is for when you want your network to be able to download your resume without you sending it. You can also attach a resume to a LinkedIn post (see the FAQ).

How to save a resume for job applications

Saving a resume ahead of time means it is ready to select the next time you click Easy Apply. LinkedIn documents two ways to get there on the website.

From the Job Application Settings page:

1. Open the Job Application Settings page while logged in to LinkedIn.
2. Find the Resume section.
3. Click Upload.
4. Choose your resume file.

From the Jobs page, per LinkedIn's guide to managing resumes:

1. Click the Jobs icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click Preferences.
3. In the pop-up, click Resumes and application data.
4. Click Upload resume.
5. Choose your resume file.

LinkedIn stores your four most recently uploaded resumes. When you apply, it pre-selects the one you used most recently, and you can switch to another one before you submit. If you keep a version for each type of role, give each file a clear name before you upload it.

How to upload a resume while applying with Easy Apply

You can also add a resume during an application, on the website or in the LinkedIn app. The steps, from LinkedIn's help pages on searching for jobs and uploading resumes:

1. Click or tap the Jobs icon. On the website, it is at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Search for a job.
3. Click or tap the job title to see the details.
4. Click or tap the Easy Apply button.
5. Fill in the required fields.
6. Under Resume, select Upload resume, or pick one of your recent resumes.
7. Click or tap Submit application.

A few rules from LinkedIn's help page on uploading resumes:

• The file must be a Microsoft Word or PDF file. LinkedIn recommends keeping it under 2MB. It does not state a hard limit.
• The resume field is marked optional, so it is easy to skip. Check that the file is attached before you submit. Once an application is sent without a resume, you cannot reopen it to add one or apply to the same post again. If the job poster listed contact information in the posting, LinkedIn suggests sending your resume to them with an InMail message.
• If the file will not attach, LinkedIn suggests trying a different browser.

If the job shows Apply instead of Easy Apply, you are sent to the company's website or a job board, and your saved LinkedIn resumes cannot be used there. LinkedIn Easy Apply vs. applying directly covers the differences between the two routes.

How to add your resume to your LinkedIn profile

To show your resume on your profile, you add it to the Featured section as a document. LinkedIn's Featured section guide lists documents among the media you can upload. On the website:

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click View Profile.
3. In your introduction section, click the Add profile section button.
4. Click the Recommended dropdown.
5. Click Add Featured.
6. Click the Add icon on the upper right of the Featured page.
7. Select the type of work sample you want to feature. LinkedIn lists documents under media you can upload.
8. Follow the prompts to pick your resume file.
9. Click Save or Done.

In the LinkedIn app:

1. Tap your profile photo.
2. Tap View profile.
3. Tap Add section.
4. Tap Recommended.
5. Select Add featured.
6. Select the type of work sample you want to feature and follow the prompts.
7. Tap Save or Done.

The profile copy is separate from your application resumes, so for Easy Apply you still need to upload one in your job application settings or during the application. It is also visible to people who view your profile, which may include your current coworkers and manager. If you are searching quietly, the application settings route does not put a downloadable copy on your profile, and you should also check the resume sharing setting described in the next section.

Who can see your resume and what LinkedIn does with it

LinkedIn's page on the visibility and usage of your uploaded resume and its resume sharing guide explain what happens after the upload:

• A resume you upload while applying is shared with that hirer. If the job was posted by a recruiting agency, LinkedIn says your application may be shared with other clients of that agency if your profile matches other roles. LinkedIn also sends your primary email address and your full LinkedIn profile with every application you send on LinkedIn, per its page on how it uses your job application information.
• LinkedIn says saved resumes are not automatically shared with employers, and you can change the selection before you submit.
• After you apply for a job on LinkedIn, it shows a prompt to share your resume data with all recruiters, and the Share resume data with recruiters toggle is turned on. With it on, your profile can appear when recruiters search for skills, experience, education, and accomplishments that match resumes you saved over the past 2 years. Recruiters do not get your full resume unless you give it to them, for example by applying.
• LinkedIn may use saved resumes for job recommendations and its AI features (more in the FAQ).
• Viewers can download a resume in your Featured section, and who can see it follows the visibility settings on your profile.

LinkedIn's resume sharing guide calls this setting "Share resume data with recruiters," while its visibility page calls it "Share resume data with hirers," so look for either label.

To turn resume sharing off on the website:

1. Click the Jobs icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click Preferences.
3. In the pop-up, click Resumes and application data.
4. Switch the Share resume data with recruiters toggle off.

You can also switch it off on the prompt that appears after you apply, or on the Job Application Settings page. LinkedIn notes that the resume sharing feature is available only in English.

How to update or delete a resume on LinkedIn

LinkedIn's resume help pages describe uploading and deleting resumes, not editing them. To update yours, upload the new version with the steps above and select it the next time you apply. To remove an old one from the Job Application Settings page:

1. Open the Job Application Settings page.
2. Click the ellipsis (...) to the right of the resume.
3. Select Delete.

LinkedIn says previously submitted applications are not affected. The same delete option is on the Resumes and application data page under Preferences.

To replace the resume on your profile:

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click View profile.
3. Scroll down to the Featured section.
4. Click the Edit icon on the right.
5. Under the old resume, click Delete and confirm.
6. Click Save or Done.
7. Add the new file with the Featured steps above.

LinkedIn says Delete permanently removes the item, so keep your own copy of the file.