ATHLETE PROFILE – LINKEDIN MEETS CV

The Counsel tool Athlete CV assists a dual career practitioner to support an athlete with writing of a professional CV and the development of an athlete profile on Linkedin. In this post, we take a closer look at the differences between these 2 formats together with STARTING 11 collaborator Carol Keenan.

Carol is the Player Development Manager Ireland Sevens of Rugby Players Ireland and Careers Adviser of NUI Galway. In STARTING 11, she has temporarily joined the Counsel work group as an external expert to develop the tool Athlete CV.

The main differences

LinkedIn is a social networking platform designed for business professionals. Although the profiles created on LinkedIn are business orientated, content is presented more informally than a CV.

“In a CV, we tend to advise our athletes not to use the personal pronoun and to keep the language formal. Whereas a LinkedIn profile can be more conversational, especially in the “About you” section.“

Carol Keenan

LinkedIn is more interactive as athletes can add media files to their profile such as images, YouTube videos or newspaper articles which can show their achievements and career progression in real time. A LinkedIn profile can be used for job search whether recruiters contact an athlete directly or athletes use their profile to apply for a job. However, unlike a CV it can also be used to expand their network globally.

“An athlete’s LinkedIn Profile URL can be added to their CV to enable potential employers to view. Athletes should always use LinkedIn as a professional by following, sharing and commenting in a professional manner.”

The “In practice” example of the tool Athlete CV provides you with further inspiration regarding this topic.

Key facts

• CV length = 2 pages max. (resume= 1 page) vs. LinkedIn profile= the more relevant content, the better for the algorithm search.
• CV does not require a picture, but it is optional whereas on LinkedIn a profile picture is highly recommended. A profile is 7 times more likely to be viewed if you have a profile picture.
• The CV “profile” is directed specifically at one job description and should be altered for every application. With less space on the CV, the profile is shorter and it is suggested to remove the personal pronoun whereas the LinkedIn’s “About me” section is more informal and longer.

Follow the STARTING 11 page on Linkedin here.