For job seekers, students and freelancers who hand out printed resumes

Resume QR Code: Should You Add One?

A QR code on a resume opens your portfolio, LinkedIn profile or online resume when someone scans it. It is useful on paper, where a reader cannot click. The risk is that printed copies stay in circulation for months. If your link changes, the code on every copy points at the old address, unless the code can be repointed.

Which one do you need

  • A link you will keep for good: a free static code does the job.
  • Printed copies out for months, or the link may change: $49 once, no renewal.
Start with a free trialMake a free static code

How to add a QR code to your resume

  1. 1

    Pick one thing to open

    Choose the single page you want a reader to see: your portfolio, your LinkedIn profile or a one-page online version of your resume. One destination is easier to act on than a list.

  2. 2

    Create a code that points to it

    Make a Website URL code and paste that address as the destination.

  3. 3

    Place it on the resume

    Put it in a corner or at the bottom, at least 2 x 2 cm, with a blank margin and a short label such as "Portfolio". Print a copy and scan it with your phone.

  4. 4

    Repoint it when things change

    New portfolio site, new LinkedIn address, new job target. You edit the destination and every printed copy still works.

When a resume code is worth it

A code adds the most when the reader is holding paper and your work is online. It adds little when your resume is only ever read on a screen.

Career fairs and networking

You hand out paper. A code gets the recruiter to your portfolio while you are still talking.

In-person interviews

A printed copy on the table with a code to your work, so the interviewer can see more than one page.

Creative and technical roles

Designers, developers, photographers and writers can send readers straight to samples.

Leave-behind copies

A resume left at a front desk may be read weeks later. The code should still open something current.

Always print the link too

Put a short plain address next to the code. Software that reads your resume sees text, not the image, and a reader whose phone will not scan can still type it in.

Keep the code to one job

Pick one destination and make sure it works signed out and on a phone. A portfolio that asks for a login, or a page that is slow to load on mobile, loses the reader the moment they scan.

Resume QR code questions

It helps on printed copies, where a reader cannot click a link. On a resume that is read on screen, a plain clickable link does the same job. A code is most useful at career fairs, interviews and anywhere you hand over paper.

Related: LinkedIn QR codes and business card QR codes and pricing.

Start with one code

Print one and test it. Your first code is covered by a 30-day refund if you have not put it into use.

Create your resume code →