# How to add a QR code to a resume

> Link the code to your portfolio or LinkedIn (one URL, not a vCard-plus-links bundle) place it in the header or corner at 1.8–2 cm, and keep the printed text intact. Be clear-eyed about who it serves: applicant tracking systems ignore images entirely, so the code is purely for human readers of the printed or PDF page.

Source: https://useqr.app/docs/how-to/how-to-add-a-qr-code-to-a-resume · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, no signup.

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## First, the honest part

**Applicant tracking systems do not read QR codes.** ATS parsers extract text; images are
ignored wholesale, so nothing encoded in the code enters your application record, and no
parsing robot follows it. The code serves exactly one audience: **a human holding the
printed page or viewing the PDF** who wants to reach your work without typing a URL. At a
careers fair or an interview, that is a real audience; inside a pure upload-and-parse
pipeline, the code is decoration. Whether it belongs on yours at all (by industry and
situation) is the [resumes surface page](/qr-codes-on/resumes); this page is the how.

## 1. Choose one destination

| Destination | When |
|---|---|
| **Portfolio / personal site** | Design, engineering, writing: anywhere work can be shown. The strongest choice |
| **LinkedIn profile** | Corporate roles where LinkedIn is the expected dossier |
| **vCard** | Careers-fair variant, scanning saves your contact details on the spot |

One code, one destination. Two codes on a resume read as gimmick, and the
URL should be short, `yourname.com`, not a
600-character tracking link. Use your own domain or a clean LinkedIn URL
(`linkedin.com/in/yourname`), and print the URL as text near the code so the destination
is transparent and reachable even without scanning.

## 2. Place and size it

- **Position**: top-right of the header, beside your contact block, is conventional and
  keeps the reading flow intact. Footer works for minimalist layouts.
- **Size**: **1.8–2 cm** printed. The page is read at 30–40 cm, but a hand-held scan
  happens at 15–20 cm, and the [10:1 rule](/docs/print/qr-code-size-for-print) puts the
  floor at about 2 cm. Smaller looks tidier and stops scanning reliably.
- **Quiet zone**: keep the code's white margin
  (4 modules minimum) clear of rules, borders and the header
  block's background tint.
- **Colour**: plain black on white. A resume is the wrong venue for
  styled codes: restraint reads as judgement.

Insert the image in your resume tool: [Word](/docs/how-to/how-to-make-a-qr-code-in-word),
Google Docs, Figma, LaTeX, and
export to PDF; the [PDF placement rules](/docs/how-to/how-to-add-a-qr-code-to-a-pdf)
apply, including the zoom test for sharpness.

## 3. Make the destination worth arriving at

The scan takes a recruiter to a phone browser. Before shipping the resume:

- The portfolio must be **fast and mobile-presentable**. It will be judged in the three
  seconds after the scan.
- The URL must be **stable for the lifetime of the resume**. A static code encodes the
  destination permanently; if you rotate domains, encode a URL you control and redirect
  it. (Static codes never expire, but dead domains do.)
- No login walls, no PDFs-of-PDFs.

## 4. Verify before you send a single copy

Scan the final exported PDF on screen and a printed copy at 100% scale, with more than
one phone. Run the export through the [validator](/validate) to confirm the URL decodes
character-perfect: a resume with a typo'd code quietly fails for every reader who tries
it, and nobody tells you.

## Gotchas

- **Version drift**: you will revise the resume; the code's destination should not need
  revising. Encode the stable root (`yourname.com`), not a deep link to a page you might
  rename.
- **Printed in black and white**: fine: the code is already monochrome. But office
  printers at draft quality feather edges; check one copy.
- **Alt text** in the PDF ("QR code linking to portfolio at yourname.com") keeps the
  document accessible, same logic as
  [alt text for QR codes generally](/docs/design/qr-code-alt-text-and-screen-readers).

Generate it now: [a URL code for your portfolio](/url?data=https://example.com) or a
[vCard code](/vcard) for the careers-fair copy.

## FAQ

### Should I put a QR code on my resume?
Only for human readers of the printed or PDF page, a portfolio link at a careers fair or interview. ATS software ignores images completely, so the code adds nothing to automated screening.

### What should a resume QR code link to?
One destination: your portfolio or LinkedIn. Print the short URL as text beside it, keep it stable for the resume's lifetime, and make sure the destination looks good on a phone.

### How big should the QR code on a resume be?
About 1.8–2 cm printed, with its white margin intact. That scans reliably at hand distance; anything smaller trades reliability for tidiness and usually loses.

### Do recruiters actually scan resume QR codes?
Some do, at fairs and interviews where paper changes hands; few do during online screening. Treat it as a low-cost extra for in-person contexts, never a substitute for the written URL.

## Try it

- https://useqr.app/url
- https://useqr.app/vcard
- https://useqr.app/validate