Could Putting Hyperlinks in Your Resume Backfire?

Long gone are the days when the only documentation a worker or executive possessed regarding his or her career consisted of a printed resume and possibly some copies of performance reviews, recommendation letters, and awards or commendation letters in a file cabinet. In the 21st century, relevant information for employers regarding our credentials and expertise may appear in innumerable online venues, such as articles or interviews published on various websites, research papers or information included on professional associations’ sites, entries on personal or professional blogs, or profiles on sites such as LinkedIn.

Another feature of the new employment landscape is the fact that recruiters and hiring executives increasingly rely on online research to either identify candidates or research those currently under consideration. So we are rightly advised to actively seek to “brand” ourselves online and populate the Web with positive information about ourselves.

This leads to the question of whether it is advisable to feature this information in executive resumes, and if so, how to do it. Some automatic systems may eliminate a document with hyperlinks in it due to legitimate fears of where they could go (e.g., to unsavory or malicious/virus-infected sites). The jury is out on this, but it may be prudent to include the website address, but NOT activate it as a hyperlink.

****