Study: A comprehensive LinkedIn profile increases job opportunities

Published on: April 1, 2019 / Updated on: April 1, 2019 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Study: A comprehensive LinkedIn profile increases job opportunities – @shutterstock | Stanislau Palaukou

LinkedIn and similar professional networks have become increasingly important for modern job seekers. Just how important has LinkedIn become? A new study by CV and ResumeGo sought to find out. The study revealed that applicants with a comprehensive LinkedIn profile were 71 percent more likely to receive a callback for an interview than applicants without a LinkedIn profile. The field study was conducted between October 2018 and March 2019 and involved 24,750 fictitious resumes submitted to job postings on a range of job search sites, including Indeed and Glassdoor.

While one-third of the resumes did not include a link to the applicant's LinkedIn profile, another third linked to a bare-bones profile, and the final third had a comprehensive profile. The latter received a callback rate of 13.5 percent, which is 71 percent higher than the 7.9 percent callback rate for applicants without a LinkedIn profile. The study categorized the jobs into entry-level, mid-level, and management positions. It found that callback rates decreased with increasing employment level, suggesting that the importance of the LinkedIn profile diminished.

LinkedIn and similar professional networks have become increasingly important for modern-day job seekers. Just how important has LinkedIn become today? A new study by CV and resume writing service ResumeGo attempted to find out. The research found that job applicants with an extensive LinkedIn profile were 71 percent more likely to get a callback for a job interview than candidates without any LinkedIn profile. The field experiment was undertaken between October 2018 and March 2019 and involved 24,750 fictitious resumes being submitted to job openings on a range of job search websites like Indeed and Glassdoor.

While a third of the resumes did not contain a link to the applicant's LinkedIn profile, another third linked to a “bare-bones” profile with the final third having a comprehensive profile. The latter received a callback rate of 13.5 percent which is 71 percent higher than the callback rate of 7.9 percent for applicants without any LinkedIn profile. The study categorized jobs as entry-level, mid-level or managerial level. It found that as the job level increased, the callback rates fell, suggesting that the importance of the LinkedIn profile fell.

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