Ever been on your smartphone and wished you had a current version of your resume at your fingertips? There’s a good chance you already have access to a recent version of your resume–but you might not even realize it! LinkedIn has a little-known option to download up to four versions of your resume straight from the mobile app.
LinkedIn already offers a few options to create or access a resume document. The most common way to download your resume from LinkedIn is to navigate to your profile and save it as a PDF.
Where is the PDF resume in LinkedIn?
Go to your profile page and click on your profile picture or name.
Next, click on the “More” button, which will bring up a dropdown menu.
Select the “Save to PDF” option in order to download a PDF version of your resume.
Your resume will then be available as a PDF file at the bottom of your browser window or in your Downloads folder.
Now, all you have to do is open it and print it or save it to your computer.
Once you save it to your computer, you can share it with yourself so that it will appear on your mobile device.
However, there are three limitations:
You can only do this from a desktop computer
The PDF is likely to be much longer than a resume should be. A resume should be one or two pages, while a comprehensive LinkedIn profile can easily be four or five pages
You can’t edit the PDF, which is a key part of finding a job fast
You also can’t download a featured resume from your LinkedIn. You can view it or take a screenshot, but you can't download, edit, or export your resume from LinkedIn this way.
Another option is “Easy Apply”
If you can't download your LinkedIn profile or save your featured resume from a mobile device, what are you meant to do? The answer is connected to LinkedIn’s Easy Apply feature.
Whether you’re applying for jobs from your desktop or mobile device, you’ve likely taken advantage of LinkedIn’s Easy Apply option. After all, you can apply for a job in just a few clicks.
Warning: this isn’t the best job search strategy...but it can't hurt if it's part of a balanced job hunt.
It doesn't matter if you apply from your phone or your computer; LinkedIn will automatically save your most recent resume submissions. With a little bit of know-how, you can quickly download your resume from LinkedIn’s mobile app. This guide will walk you through it in just a few easy steps.
Step 1: access your Easy Apply resume submissions
Once you’ve applied for a job using LinkedIn’s Easy Apply, you’ll automatically be able to access the resume you uploaded to LinkedIn next time.
To access your recent resumes from the LinkedIn app, find a job on LinkedIn with the Easy Apply option.
Tap on the Easy Apply button as if you’re going to apply for the job. Sometimes you have to hit “Next” to get to the screen with your resume on it.
Your four most recent resumes will appear with the dates you last used them.
Step 2: save your resume to your phone
Tap on the resume file you want to save. It should open on your phone.
Now, tap on your phone’s share icon. The picture and location will vary by phone type, but here are some common icons to look for:
Source: Fast Company
There’ll be several options here, including saving your resume, emailing it, sending it as a text, and so on. If you have a word processor on your phone, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, you should also be able to send it there.
What can you do with a resume once it’s on your phone?
1. Send your resume as a direct message
You probably wanted access to your resume so you could send it to an employer or someone in your network when you’re away from your computer. Now, you can send your resume directly as an email or as a text attachment.
2. Apply for jobs from your phone
You can also use your resume across other popular job-searching apps without opening your laptop. Just save your resume to your phone and upload it to any job board.
Pro tip: tailor your resume from your phone
At ZipJob, we recommend using a Word doc to apply for jobs online as opposed to a PDF.
Here are the two main reasons why:
A .doc or .docx file is compatible with more Applicant Tracking Systems
Hiring managers tend to prefer simple resume formats over “creative” formats
Now, there's a third reason:
When you download your resume from LinkedIn, you can edit it from your favorite word processor app!
This is best for quick edits, like switching some keywords on your resume to better align with a job description or updating your resume's professional summary. The better your job aligns with a job description, the better your chances are of securing a callback.
3. Check your resume for ATS compatibility
Keen to know if your resume sets you up for success? ZipJob has a free resume review tool that shows you how an Applicant Tracking System will parse your resume. Unlike automated tools, our review also offers actionable advice from our resume experts, delivered to your inbox within 48 hours.
Check it out at Free Resume Review By the Professionals at ZipJob.
Summary
Now you have a simple way to download your resume from LinkedIn to your phone. Since so many job search activities happen on our mobile devices nowadays, this trick can come in handy in a variety of situations.
Good luck with downloading your resume from LinkedIn and with your job search.
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Written by
Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer, Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer
Elizabeth Openshaw is an Elite CV Consultant with over 12 years of experience based in Brighton, UK, with an English degree and an addiction to Wordle! She is a former Journalist of 17 years with the claim to fame that she interviewed three times Grand Slam winner and former World No.1 tennis player, Andy Murray, when he was just 14 years old. You can connect with her at Elizabeth Openshaw | LinkedIn.
