What the code should open
- Your portfolio or personal site
- Your LinkedIn profile
- A specific project, case study or writing sample that fits the job
Use a website QR code and link to one place. Make sure that place looks good on a phone, because a phone is where it opens. A portfolio that's slow or broken on mobile works against you.
A contact card code is tempting, but your contact details are already on the page. The code should add something the page can't. For a designer, that's the portfolio. For a developer, it might be a GitHub profile or a live project. For a writer, a page of published clips.
Put the URL in plain text too
Many resumes are never printed. They're read as a PDF on a laptop, where nobody will hold a phone up to the screen. Many are also read first by an applicant tracking system, which pulls out the text and generally ignores images. A QR code is an image, so the ATS won't see it.
Always write the web address as text next to the code, like yourname.com/work, and make it a clickable link in the PDF. The code serves the printed copy someone holds in an interview. The text serves everyone else.
Size and placement
Keep the code small, about 2 cm (0.8 in) square. Put it in the header or contact block, beside your email and phone number, where a reader looks for how to find out more. A short label like Portfolio, set in the same type as your contact details, tells people what it opens.
- Keep it out of the experience section, where it pushes content around.
- Don't make it bigger to get attention. A large code on a one-page resume costs lines you need.
- Leave a few millimeters of white space around it so it scans and doesn't look crammed.
Keep it understated
Match the resume's look: black or your accent color on white, square or rounded dots, no frame. A logo in the center is usually too much at this size. Short links make simpler patterns, which matters at 2 cm, so link to yourname.com rather than a long URL full of tracking parameters. The size and printing guide explains why.
Check it before you send
Print the resume at actual size and scan the code with your phone. Open the link on mobile data to make sure the page loads quickly, then click the text link in the PDF. Do this every time you update the file, because a broken link is exactly the detail a careful reader notices. Once both work, send it.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put a QR code on my resume?
It can help on printed copies, especially if you have a portfolio. Keep it small, put it in the header, and always include the same link as text.
Can applicant tracking systems read QR codes?
Generally not. An ATS extracts text, so a QR code is invisible to it. Write the URL out in plain text as well.
What should a resume QR code link to?
Your portfolio, personal site or LinkedIn profile. Pick the one that best shows the work you want to be hired for.
How big should a QR code be on a resume?
About 2 cm (0.8 in) square. Big enough to scan from a printed page, small enough not to crowd the content.