Even though the pandemic and the economic uncertainty tied to it put a big question mark on the prospects of jobs and businesses; the ensuing great resignation could seem like a real thing, but people’s search for work has not died down.
In the last couple of years, professionals are employing novel and practical ways to cut down the waiting or idle time between application and call back. One effective way is video resumes where professionals record videos highlighting necessary information succinctly and effectively.
Still, the days of good, old-fashioned resumes and LinkedIn profiles are not over. This fact is evident from the constant rise of the number of users on the platforms as well as booming resume writing heads on the same professional networking site.
In this article, we will take a deep hard look into the differences between a LinkedIn profile and a resume and then dissect the tips on how to hire the best resume writers on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Profile Vs Resume
One thing that is similar between the two is that they are still very much functional and effective job-search tools. Although, they serve different purposes and one is limited in its scope and reach, still, they both allow professionals to paint themselves in certain light and color.
Before we move on to the tips on how to hire a solid resume writer off of LinkedIn, it is best to go through the differences between a LinkedIn profile and a resume.
Scope for Customization
LinkedIn profiles are static as such as they are not devised to serve a specific purpose other than giving a specific persona to a professional. The site is designed to have the necessary information about a person and then displayed on the platform based on their settings and privacy scope.
Even though the profiles are not created with specific roles and future positions in mind, they should be flexible and broad in their take to accommodate future connections and prospects.
As for the resume, ideally, they are designed and tweaked for a specific position by relying heavily on professional experience and the requirements laid out in the job description. It means redundant information that does not correspond with the job requirements must go.
Details & Volume
LinkedIn offers immense space and volume to write a full novel of professional life. There are many tools and novel ways to put that into perspective. Anyone can show his passion for his field and vigor to proceed further. These options are not just limited to profile creation as LinkedIn offers posting and blogging services to further the interests and share them with the community.
Compared to this, a resume will always struggle with the lack of space, no matter how much space one is ready to occupy over left-out details. There is hardly room for long descriptions and going in-depth. Resumes often rely on facts and figures and that’s a big part of what these are – a document that can be scanned in a matter of seconds to decide the suitability of a person against a position.
Supplementary Attachments
LinkedIn offers more than one way to show evidence for your claims. There are videos, presentations, blogs, PDFs, and so on. All of these compound on the fact that a professional has and showed necessary evidence to prove his claims.
In resumes, there is little room to add a description for your claims, let alone back them with quantifiable proof and attachments.
Privacy & Public Reach
LinkedIn is a public, community-based platform. Depending on who is in someone’s connections and the privacy settings of their profiles, anyone can see what someone is up to.
Resumes do not have that kind of impact and reach. They are primarily document-based and are only available to those who receive them directly from the owners or other side channels.
Multimedia & Infographics
LinkedIn is not considered complete without a photograph, necessary details about professionals, and even a dab of personal life. It allows users to employ different options to build their persona online and then connect with others, for collaboration, jobs, startups, and more.
Best resume practices forbid professionals to add their photographs to the resume for voluntary and involuntary bias. Another thing that may be considered dull about a resume is that it should have clear and concise formatting so that it could be read by screening software. Anything fancy in there and there are chances that it will be dropped off in the screening phase.
How to Hire LinkedIn Resume Writers
Many professionals can do their jobs very well but they are not good at showing it off to others, especially recruiters and future employers. They could either be stuck with their bad representation of world-class skills or they can up their game by hiring professional resume writers from LinkedIn.
Since the platform is a go-to place for recruiters and job seekers to hire and get hired, respectively, it is only natural that anyone can find exceptional resume writers over there.
Instead of hiring the first professional on your way in, it is best to go through these tips on how to hire a resume writer and convey to him what you want to show in your resume.
Clear Purpose & Direction
Aspirants who are on the lookout for a job need to have a clear direction. Depending on their academic qualifications, experience, and skills, they must have a sense of where they want to be and how the new shiny resume will take them there.
Resumes can be written for the sake of writing, without any clear purpose and direction. But they will always be limited in scope and reach. The best thing is to have a clear purpose and direction and then it should be transferred to the resume writer.
Asking Right Questions
On LinkedIn, every professional resume writer claims to be at the top of their games. They would come with assurances and guarantees to get callbacks and offers within the fortnight of the resume overhaul.
They may sound over the top but they have some merit to them. Many resume writers are in direct contact with recruiters and do not shy away from recommending candidates when they are extremely suitable for the open positions.
But it all starts and ends with asking the right questions!
Strengths & Overestimation
Resumes are written to highlight the strengths and merits of a professional for a certain position. When this is done in true light and intentions, it allows them to improve their odds of getting hired.
LinkedIn is rife with people with empty claims and terms associated with their profiles. Of course, there is no harm in that, painting exaggerated pictures can land people in trouble during the interview phase or just have them dropped from the race.
Optimization for Humans & Bots
While hiring a resume writer from LinkedIn, it is necessary to make sure they can compose and optimize resumes for both humans and bots. As many are well aware of the fact that recruiters use screening tools to shortlist candidates for a position.
So, it should be a big requirement on the buyer’s end to have an optimized resume that can do the job well done in both manual and automated scenarios.
Opinions & Reviews
After getting the first draft of the resume from a LinkedIn resume writer, it is best to show it to other professionals and even post it to the profile so that others can see and share their reviews and opinions on it.
Apart from self-practice, it is great to see how it will do in real-world scenarios.
Colors, Borders, Graphs
Even though the resume format has come to a circular halt, from eye-catching and flashy to simple and somber, there is always room for colors, borders, and graphs.
One of the best practices in resume writing that are still valid today is the use of facts and figures over description.
Ask your chosen resume writer to smartly incorporate infographics to your resume that not only makes it attractive but also add value to it.
Specific Over General
Recruiters are always looking for specific persons for specific positions. General resumes with a bland description of who the person is and what he has accomplished in his life do not do very well.
Instead, resume writers should conjure up specific instances and examples where the professional shined through the roof.
Value Addition
Behind every heading and every statement in the resume, the rationale should be value addition. This is a persona game but professionals should look at the resume as if they were the recruiters and how much value the candidate can add to their company.
Related : Download Auditing Resume
This is the ultimate test for the relevance, merits, and scope of a resume.
Closing Remarks
Hiring a resume writer from LinkedIn can be a tough nut to crack. There are so many variables and professionals can feel overwhelmed by the fact that anything can go wrong. This article was written to show the differences between a LinkedIn profile and a professional resume. We have also shared key insights that can help while hiring or working with a professional resume writer from LinkedIn.
So, it is best to follow the tips and make the best of the money and time by following this article.
