In a world whose future cannot be assured, not being informed about what is happening in other companies, industries or other parts of the globe, puts you in a risky position.

By Sandra Roșu, Talent Advisor & Marketing Lead @Amrop Romania

The continuous learning capacity also involves building your personal brand, not just the company’s one. This way, you can better monitor your own progress and decide the next step in your career.

This applies regardless of your current career phase. Usually, you analyze your own professional reputation only when you update your resume. But what do we do with all the platforms, applications and tools which, if wisely used with a professional purpose, can help us advance in our careers?

LinkedIn, for example, is one of the most accessible and important platforms for finding professional opportunities anywhere in the world. It should not be used on a the short term, such as when you are looking for a new job, instead it can help you position yourself favorably in the global labor market on a long term, only through a constant communication effort.

For Executive Search companies, the search strategy for middle and top management candidates takes place online and involves, among others, LinkedIn.

Here is a list of recommendations for positioning yourself online and optimizing your own LinkedIn profile:

Create your Linkedin profile as a portfolio. It will be your online business card.
Tick the box for “Open to job opportunities” option, if you are looking for a new role. The option can only be viewed by recruiters, specifying the roles you are interested in.
Write a catchy title to appear under your name (headline). Example: Your role Industry | Area of expertise | Unique value

Set up your location (city and country).
Set up your industry in which you operate.
Complete the “About” section. The text must be concise because you have a character limit of 320 words, out of which only the first 3 lines are displayed. Therefore, make sure that the most important information about your current role, your skills and your successful projects are appearing in these 3 lines. Make them attractive enough to make your profile visitor read the rest of the text as well. Do not forget to present the context of your role, such as the industry, no. of the team members that you coordinated or belong to. Avoid using common words like “motivated, passionate, highly creative”, otherwise you will be harder to find on LinkedIn because almost everyone already uses them.
Fill in the “Featured” section displaying your projects in which you have been involved, videos, presentations, articles you have written, relevant posts of yours, images, your own creations and anything else that is relevant to your professional activity of which you are proud.
Customize your URL address and make your profile public (if you want) following these steps:
List your professional experience. Under each role, it is recommended to write down a short description of the company (max. 3 lines), 3 main responsibilities and focus the main text on numbers and accomplishments.
List your educational experience. Specify the type of studies (bachelor studies, master studies, doctorate etc.) and their specific years.
Ask for recommendations from colleagues, managers and subordinates about your collaboration and your professional skills.
Skills endorsements. List and rearrange your most relevant skills based on which others can recommend you further.
Add your spoken foreign languages and various certifications you have acquired over time in general because some roles require certain certifications.
List your volunteering experience to reflect your openness in supporting future causes / projects.
Join groups that offer the best networking opportunities, because you can write directly to members of that group without having to connect with them beforehand. Also, if you are in the same group with a recruiter, you will appear more often in their searches, which is another advantage.
Publish articles from your own LinkedIn profile. Share your experience with your LinkedIn audience. If you know that your article will give tips & tricks in a certain field and will help other people, then do not hesitate to do it. It will matter a lot for you and for many and maybe you will be recommended further for different collaborations.
Be proactive. Interact with recruiters, Regional Managers in the desired department, Regional HR Managers, local managers or local General Managers. Connect with old and current colleagues, former employers, people in the industry, neighbors, family members, friends and former colleagues from your years of study.

Expectations? Don’t expect immediate results. It can take days, weeks and even months. Reputation is built over time. Define the purpose of your online presence and refine your ability to anticipate needs, to develop and implement successful strategies, to adapt and especially to evolve.

So, what do you want your online business profile to reflect?