Use Your Existing LinkedIn Profile to Build Printable Resumes

Q: I spent a considerable amount of time updating my LinkedIn profile with past work experiences and my education. Is there a way to take all of that and build traditional ink-on-paper resumes for distribution?

A: Visit the LinkedIn homepage, log in and you won't find the word resume anywhere. Navigate to your own personal profile and the only place it appears is on the right-hand sidebar where you might be prompted to import an existing resume to make your profile as complete as possible. But this is the digital age. It makes more sense -- doesn't it? -- to build your digital resume, your portfolio and list of both past and current projects, online and then turn it into a printable document, rather than the other way around.

Turns out, you can do just that. And most users of LinkedIn -- and there are now more than 90 million of them in over 200 countries and territories -- have already added their complete work history, contact information and more on the site. That is, after all, the kind of information that LinkedIn was built to showcase.

Over at LinkedIn Labs, an experimental offshoot that the company runs to showcase small projects and new features built by LinkedIn employees, a Resume Builder allows you to transform the data you've already entered on your profile into a printable page. "Turn your LinkedIn Profile into a beautiful resume in seconds," the Resume Builder's page reads. "No more messing around with multiple Word and PDF documents scattered all over the computer. Pick a resume template, customize the content, and print and share the result to your heart's content."

It's simple. Visit the Resume Builder, sign in with your LinkedIn account, and choose from more than ten different templates. The builder does a good job of transferring your content over and making it presentable. If you have to make a few tweaks to the page before printing it and presenting to potential employers, the builder is

Tools mentioned in this entry:

• LINKEDIN
• LINKEDIN RESUME BUILDER

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