Should you advertise your linkedin profile or other social networking url on your resume?

This is a common question I’ve been asked as of late, and the answer is pretty simple.

If your social networking profile (regardless of whether it is on linkedin, myspace, facebook, flickr, hi5, etc.) is professional and comprehensive,  then yes, absolutely post your url on your resume. Stick it right at the top next to your email address, and just below your name. Your professional profile can be a great source of information to a potential employer offering depth to your application.

Recommendations (on LinkedIn) and posted “Answers” will give all prospective employers a window to your insight, and networking savvy…Critical skills in a role that requires any type of human interaction. A well thought out social network profile, regardless of the site, could be the difference between you getting the job, or someone else.

If on the other hand, your social networking profile is like my facebook page, i.e.  has pictures of you doing things you would rather not see your future employer doing (we all know about those pictures of you dancing on tables, or inebriated at your brother’s wedding)…we just don’t want to see them. Keep these sites private where they belong.

Disclaimer: No, I do not admit to having pictures of me inebriated or dancing on tables on my facebook page…but even if I did, with a network closed only to my immediate friends and family…you’ll never know!

For more information on this topic, check out this post by Amy McGeachy.