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In my resume, I am including some of my online identities.

As some online identities, such as stackexchnage sites, have a long URL I wanted to include the shortened URL by including sub-domain redirects.

For e.g. in my resume I would replace:

StackOverflow : https://stackoverflow.com/users/755533/ajduke

with:

StackOverflow : http://so.ajduke.in

Should I be doing this for all the sites I link to?

What potential issues can arise from doing so?

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my question is good to include the above for other sites too.

You are better served by always using the full URL, rather than a shortened one.

Remember, some people will be reading your resume from a piece of paper. The longer URL gives the reader more visual clues as to its contents. The shorter URL does not.

Similarly, even when viewing your resume online, many readers won't click every link you include to find the target site. Always either describe the target fully, or include the full URL.

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  • At the same time, the longer URL is more annoying to type. Wouldn't the better choice be to describe the link, and then offer the shorter one? This gives you the best of both worlds, with ease of use and full information.
    – acolyte
    Jul 22, 2013 at 15:53
  • But, keeping your target audience in mind should be fairly high. If, as you say, your resume is handled in paper-form, would something that says "My Stack Overflow profile may be found at the following (shortened) URL: blargh.blargh.co" not be easier to handle than an extremely descriptive, but long URL?
    – acolyte
    Jul 22, 2013 at 16:02
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    The shortened URL might be shorter to type, but if I'm already a SO user, auto-fill will manage that for me. A shortened URL often expires after a given length of time, and you never know how long that a given instance of your resume will exist in someone's file. Recruiters and hiring managers know how to use the web, they can manage the typing of the URL (or simply your name into a search engine).
    – nadyne
    Jul 22, 2013 at 18:34
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I think a better solution is to buy a short and easy to remember domain name and link all your official identities from there. This also gives you better control in how your name appear in search engine results. But make sure you include your full name on your home page and in your linked social pages. It might also help if your social pages links back to your homepage.

Having your own page is also useful for tracking visitors with Google Analytics or similar. You might think it is not necessary for a small homepage with low traffic. But it's interesting to watch new data coming in after handing in a resume. Some employers will access your address directly, other will find you trough search engines. If there are no visitors, you know the employer hasn't bothered investigating your online references. How that is interpreted is up to you. In my experience, employers rarely care to dive very deep into the links you provide them. If they do dive deep, perhaps they call your references next.

I believe what employers care about is first impression. A good looking domain name is better than shortened URL to a free social site.

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