What the code should point at
The instinct is to link to the same PDF they are holding. Do not — it adds a scan step to reach identical information. The code earns its place by going somewhere paper cannot: a live portfolio with the projects rendered, a code repository, a personal site, or a short video introduction for a role where that matters.
If you send out a lot of paper CVs and get little interest, the problem is rarely the CV. It is that a recruiter has no way to see the work. That is the gap a code fills.
The five decisions
Decide what the code should open
A live portfolio, a code repository, a personal site, or a vCard that saves your details — anything a PDF of the same resume cannot do.
Use a link you control and will keep
A static code cannot be repointed after printing. If your portfolio URL might change in a year, use a short link you control — or accept the reprint. Never point it at anything temporary.
Make it at least 2 cm
On an A4 CV, 2 cm is the floor and 2.5 cm is comfortable. Below that, an office scanner held at an angle under fluorescent light is a realistic failure scenario.
Put it in the header, not the footer
The top of the page is where a recruiter's eye lands and where there is clean space for a code. A code in the footer competes with page numbers and gets scanned last, if at all.
Label it in text
Add three words next to it — "Portfolio, PDF, and code samples". A bare code in a corner reads as an afterthought; a labelled one reads as an invitation.
Sizing and placement on paper
A4 at 2.5 cm gives a code that scans at a normal reading distance in an office. A4 at 3 cm is safe enough that you do not have to think about it. Below 2 cm, the paper texture and the fact that the page is often scanned at an angle start costing you reliability.
Leave a clear margin around it — a code touching a header rule or a column edge fails more often than a small code does. If your CV uses a two-column layout, the header column is usually where the space is.
What not to put in it
Your home address, your personal phone number if you have any reluctance about it appearing on a shelf, or any link that needs a login to view. A code that leads to a password prompt on somebody else's network looks exactly like a credential-phishing attempt, and experienced reviewers skip it without reading.
The static trade-off applies here too. If your portfolio URL changes, every printed CV already in someone's drawer points at a dead link. A short link you control is the only fix, and it means trusting that service with the traffic from your CVs.
A vCard code works well on a resume
If you hand out paper CVs at meetups or conferences, a vCard code lets a contact save your details properly instead of retyping them from paper. Put it on the back page or on a business card attached to the CV. The generator above handles that undervCard QR codes.
Make your code
Type your portfolio URL above, download at 2.5 cm or larger.
Make a contact card instead