How to Add Your Resume to LinkedIn: 3 Ways Explained

You can add your resume to LinkedIn in three ways: save it in your job application settings for future applications, attach it while you apply with Easy Apply, or add it to the Featured section of your profile so visitors can download it. According to LinkedIn, a resume on your profile can't be used for job applications.

Last updated: October 16, 2026. Menu names, limits and visibility rules come from the LinkedIn Help pages linked in each section, as of October 2026 (checked on October 3, 2026). LinkedIn updates its interface regularly, so a label on your screen may differ slightly.

Which option is right for you?

If you're actively applying, the first option is the most practical: you upload once and reuse the file. The Featured section makes sense if you're openly looking for work and want your resume one click away for everyone.

Upload your resume to LinkedIn

LinkedIn keeps two separate places for resumes: one for job applications and one for your profile. For applications there are two routes (source: Upload your resume to LinkedIn).

Option 1: Save your resume for future job applications

1. Click the “Jobs” tab.
2. Click “Preferences”.
3. In the pop-up, click “Resumes and application data”.
4. Click “Upload resume” and select your file.

You can also open the “Job Application Settings” page and click “Upload” under the resume section. LinkedIn stores your four most recently uploaded resumes, so you can pick one when you apply later.

Option 2: Upload your resume while applying with Easy Apply

1. Search for a job.
2. Click the job title to open the details.
3. Click “Easy Apply”. If you see “Apply” instead, LinkedIn sends you to the company's website or job board to finish the application there.
4. Complete the required fields.
5. Under “Resume (optional)”, select “Upload resume”.
6. Click “Submit application”.

Check the attachment before you submit. According to LinkedIn, you can't reopen an application you've sent without a resume, and you can't reapply to the same job post. If the job poster listed contact details, you can send the resume to them in an InMail instead. If you aren't logged in to LinkedIn, uploading a resume is mandatory.

File format and size

LinkedIn recommends a file size under 2 MB, and the file must be Microsoft Word or PDF (as of October 2026). PDF is usually the safer choice because the layout stays the same on every device. If the upload fails, LinkedIn suggests trying a different browser.

Delete or replace a saved resume

1. Open “Job Application Settings” or “Resumes and application data”.
2. Click the ellipsis (…) next to the resume.
3. Select “Delete”.

Applications you've already submitted aren't affected. To replace a resume, upload the new version and delete the old one.

Show your resume on your profile (Featured section)

The Featured section lets you showcase work samples, including uploaded documents. Visitors can then download your resume from your profile. On desktop:

1. Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage, then “View profile”.
2. Click “Add profile section” in your introduction section.
3. Open the “Recommended” dropdown and click “Add featured”.
4. Click the “Add” icon at the top right of the Featured page.
5. Select uploaded media as the type of work sample, choose your resume file and follow the prompts.
6. Click “Save” or “Done”.

Source: Manage featured samples of your work on your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn notes that a work sample you delete from the Featured section can't be restored, so keep a copy of the file.

Before you publish, remove anything you don't want to share with the whole internet. LinkedIn says a resume posted as a media attachment on your profile or in a post is visible to anyone who views it and may be visible off LinkedIn. Your home address, private phone number and date of birth usually don't belong in a public version.

If you're still employed, keep in mind that a public resume is visible to your current employer too. For a quieter signal to recruiters, see our guide to Open to Work on LinkedIn.

Who can see your uploaded resume?

• Resumes you attach to an application are shared with the hirer of that job.
• Saved resumes are also used by LinkedIn to personalize the platform, for example job recommendations. LinkedIn says saved resume data may help improve its AI models, subject to your settings, where you can opt out (Visibility and usage of your uploaded resume).
• Sharing with recruiters: after you apply for a job on LinkedIn, you're asked whether to share your resume data with all recruiters, and the setting is switched on. Your profile can then appear in recruiter searches that match data from resumes you saved in the past two years. Recruiters don't get the full resume unless you give it to them. LinkedIn says it takes steps to prevent Recruiter users at your current company and related companies from seeing that you shared a resume, but it can't guarantee complete privacy. The feature is available only in English (Share and manage your resumes with recruiters).

To turn sharing off: “Jobs”, “Preferences”, “Resumes and application data”, then switch off “Share resume data with recruiters”.

Export your LinkedIn profile as a PDF resume

No resume yet? You can create one from your profile. LinkedIn names three routes with different results (as of October 2026):

Save your profile as a PDF

1. Click the “Me” icon, then “View profile”.
2. Click “More” or “Resources” in the introduction section.
3. Select “Save to PDF”.

The option currently supports only English characters, so it only works properly if your profile and your language setting are in English. It isn't available in the mobile app, and LinkedIn says it may not be accessible to all members.

The help pages disagree on the monthly limit (as of October 2026): according to the English help page, you can download up to 200 profile PDFs per month, including your own profile. According to the German help page, the cap is 100 PDFs of other members' profiles per month, and your own profile doesn't count. For your own resume this hardly matters. The result is a plain export of your profile, so treat it as a first draft and tailor it to the role.

Resume Builder

LinkedIn's upload help page mentions a Resume Builder that creates a custom resume from your profile, but also says it isn't available to all members. The help page doesn't give separate steps for it, so we don't describe any here.

Download all your profile data

If you need your details as raw data, for example to move them into your own resume template, open “Settings & Privacy”, click “Data Privacy” and, under “How LinkedIn uses your data”, choose “Download your data”. Pick the data you want and click “Request archive”. According to LinkedIn, a specific data category arrives within minutes and the full archive within 24 hours; the download link stays valid for 72 hours (LinkedIn Help: download your data).

Add your LinkedIn URL to your resume

It works the other way around too: your LinkedIn profile belongs on your resume. LinkedIn itself notes that some job applications ask for your public profile URL. Set it up cleanly:

• Placement: in the contact block at the top, next to your email and phone number.
• Format: short and readable, such as linkedin.com/in/your-name without https:// and www. In the PDF, make it a clickable link as well.
• Address: use your custom URL rather than the one LinkedIn assigned. LinkedIn lets you change it up to five times within six months, so settle on it before you send applications.
• Same facts: job titles, employers and dates match on your resume and your profile. A hirer who reads both notices differences right away.

Where to find your URL and how to customize it is covered step by step in Find your LinkedIn URL.

Make your profile and resume easy to find

• The words people search for: recruiters and sales teams filter LinkedIn by job title, skills and location, either by hand or with tools. CompLeadly, for example, builds its target lists from LinkedIn people searches, Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Recruiter searches. Whoever is searching, the terms in your headline, experience and skills sections decide whether you show up.
• Target role in your headline: the free LinkedIn headline generator helps you phrase it, and our LinkedIn headline examples show what works. Open the tool.
• A complete profile: our guide The perfect LinkedIn profile in 6 steps walks through every section. Common pitfalls are collected in 10 common LinkedIn mistakes when job hunting.

Flip the search: job seekers, recruiters and sales teams

Recruiters use these filters to find candidates, and sales teams use them to find buyers. You can use them to find the people who hire: filter the LinkedIn people search by company and job title, for example team leads at the companies on your list, and contact them directly instead of waiting for a job ad. CompLeadly turns such a search into a target list, and the desktop app on your own computer handles the profile visit, connection request, first message and follow-up. In the free version these are basic functions with a daily limit, for example 2 connection requests per day. Separately, the first 10 days after sign-up include every feature.

Recruiters run the same flow to approach candidates, with Recruiter Lite searches, pipelines or saved searches as a source (CompLeadly for recruiters). Sales teams use it to reach decision-makers from a Sales Navigator search (CompLeadly for sales teams).