No; you need a resume document that can be forwarded through email.
You can argue about this, but the original poster asked a question, and this is the Real Response to that question. If a prospective employer asks for a resume, send them a resume.
It really depends on the employer. Big orgs that rely on "hrbots" and headhunting agencies might frown on this, but I would definitely consider a linked in profile to be as valid as a resume if someone were to send one to me. But note that I have never had to hire in a big stuffy organization, only in startups or smaller companies, so ymmv.
Among many other reasons, many perfectly sane interview processes involve interviewers taking a paper copy of the resume into the room with them. LinkedIn doesn't print well at all.
I get that this is fun to bicker about, but have you considered also that LinkedIn might not be the best way for jobseekers to present themselves? Why would you want to shoehorn yourself into LinkedIn's format?
The "problem" is that you don't want the job badly enough to submit your resume in the format asked for. And that's only your problem, not theirs.
Businesses are set up to do things a certain way. Often exceptions are fine, equally often, they are not. Since you don't have visibility into exactly why they want it emailed, just follow instructions.
There are many positive ways you can distinguish yourself as a unique snowflake; this is not one of them.
If you know that a forward "function" exists, you just use it, and it'll forward whatever you have (link or document).
If you don't know that, you'll have to resend the email yourself, and in this case, copy/pasting a link is way easier than re-attaching the attached CV.
That people cling to tradition for irrational reasons. Also, one valid reason is that they might want to print your resume. It's a lot easier to print a PDF than a web page.
There's nothing irrational about it. If I ask for a resume, it is because I am looking for a resume, not a pointer to where I can go find a resume.
Perhaps I am collecting all resumes received by email into one mailbox, and I periodically do a batch print of everything there, then take the printouts home to review in comfort on the couch.
Perhaps I'm doing some classification of resumes based on keywords in the body and attachments, and the software that does that does not follow links.
I've dealt with agencies who can't even handle a PDF file because it's unsupported in their internal systems, and yes, it's really 2011. It's basically Word or nothing.
In the end, my view is that smaller companies or startups are probably more receptive to a Linked In profile than larger, more established companies.
Isn't sending resumes to HR doing it wrong, anyway? They can't ever hire you (unless, for some reason, you want to work in the HR department), but they can decline to pass on your resume to those who can. Better to correspond directly with a hiring manager.
What fantasy land do you live in, and can I join you?
Yes, if you're networking your way to a job (the best way to do it), you might be able to do this. I've done it several times successfully, but it is NOT the norm for outside applicants. Through normal, everyday, channels HR gets first crack at it.
I agree 100%. And I send resumes rather than LinkedIn profiles. I've worked in corporates in great teams and HR have been, well, HR (an industry where people generally end up after being unable to do whatever else they wanted to).
But perhaps you don't want to work in an organization where parts of the organization are allowed to suck? Where hiring is considered important enough for resumes to go straight to your manager? There's a not a lot of these places, but they're often the ones with the top talent (and they're likely to find your resume than you have to chase them).
In one sense, it's an indicator that they don't think the way you think.
This could be the kiss of death for a junior job seeker, but for those people who are more senior, experienced and can be choosers as opposed to beggars, it might be an OK screening method.
You can't upload a Linkedin URL into the 'resume' field of Taleo/whatever applicant management system your company is using and have it work properly.
If you're dealing with a small company, you could try it - but clicking a link and opening up Linkedin (vs. reading an attachment) is one more mental step the hiring folks have to take to get from your email to your resume, which could matter in a not-hot economy.
If you're dealing with a large company, its system probably needs a resume it can store in its management system and scan for keywords/indexing - in which case the HR folks would have to copy-paste your Linkedin profile in and fix it up, which they probably won't do. Plus, you're ignoring one of the first things they've asked you to do, which isn't a great start.