How to ensure your visibility when considering a career move - here is a handy guide

Check out this handy guide what happens when you get your visibility right, what happens when it goes wrong and what you need to do to make your online presence really work for you

Getting noticed by potential employers, the top tier headhunters, industry peers, and influencers who can open doors to new opportunities. Visibility can be a powerful tool whilst considering a career move! 

However, it's essential to approach visibility strategically, to avoid common pitfalls that can hinder rather than help your career aspirations. In today’s fast-paced business world, being visible is crucial but how do you ensure that your efforts to be seen don’t just turn into background noise?

Let’s dive into the importance of visibility and how to avoid the pitfalls that can make your efforts go unnoticed and also meet two people who were trying to do this right…

The key Power of Visibility in Career Moves – when done right…

Increased Opportunities:

Visibility, when done right, puts you on the radar of recruiters and hiring managers. The more people see you showcasing your skills and expertise, the higher the chances of being approached for exciting job opportunities

Networking:

Being visible helps you build and maintain a professional network. Engaging with industry peers and thought leaders can lead to referrals and insider information about job openings

Personal Branding:

Visibility allows you to craft and communicate your personal brand. It showcases your unique strengths, experiences, and professional values, making you stand out in a crowded job market

Staying Top-of-Mind:

Regularly sharing your achievements and insights keeps you top-of-mind for colleagues and industry connections, ensuring they think of you when opportunities arise

What Not to Do: Avoiding Common Pitfalls, 
when best intentions go wrong…

Overloading Your Audience:

Bombarding your connections with too much content, especially if it's not high-quality, can lead to disengagement. Focus on sharing thoughtful, relevant posts rather than overwhelming your audience with frequency

Self-Promotion Overload:

Constantly promoting yourself can come across as self-centred and insincere. Be mindful of balancing self-promotion with sharing industry insights, celebrating others' achievements, and participating in meaningful discussions

Irrelevant Content:

Sharing content that doesn't align with your career goals or audience's interests can dilute your personal brand. Ensure your posts are relevant to your field and demonstrate your expertise

Ignoring Engagement:

Failing to interact with your audience by not responding to comments or engaging in conversations can make your visibility one-sided. Remember to engage actively to build genuine relationships and show you value others' input

Being Inauthentic:

Authenticity is crucial, which I think that we can all agree on. Posting content that feels forced or doesn't reflect your true self can be off-putting to those you are trying to be visible with. Again here, reread what you are going to post, does your communications ring true to you, it will really help to build trust and your credibility

An example of when Visibility Goes Wrong,
meet Peter and Jane…

Meet Peter:

Peter, who is an IFA aiming for a management role, was eager to get noticed. He started posting daily on LinkedIn about his achievements and thoughts on leadership. However, his approach backfired… 

So, what went wrong? 

• Overposting: Pete’s daily updates became overwhelming for his connections, who started tuning out his posts due to the sheer volume – it became white noise instead of standing out to people
• Self-Centric Content: His posts mainly highlighted his successes without offering value to others, making him appear self-absorbed. This was not Peter’s intention and made him feel frustrated that he was not feeling heard!
• Lack of Engagement: Pete rarely responded to comments or engaged with his audience, which made his efforts seem more about broadcasting than building relationships
• Generic Messages: His posts were often generic and lacked depth, so Peter missed out in showcasing his unique perspective or skills effectively

As a result, Peter’s visibility efforts made him blend into the background rather than stand out – which is a real shame, as he was aiming to be noticed, for all the right reasons!

Meet Jane:

Jane, on the other hand, was a manager in financial services who decided to enhance her personal brand on LinkedIn. Passionate about her field, Jane started posting daily about leadership principles, ethical business practices, and the importance of integrity. However, without her noticing, her posts soon took on a preachy tone, filled with moral imperatives and high-minded exhortations Here's where Jane went wrong: 

• Preachy Tone: Jane’s posts often sounded like sermons. Instead of sharing practical advice or relatable stories, she focused on telling people what they should and shouldn’t do, which felt condescending. Again, this was not who Jane is, nor at all what she intended!
• Lack of Practicality: While her messages were well-intentioned, they lacked actionable insights. Jane’s audience found it hard to apply her lofty ideals to their everyday challenges
• No Personal Connection: Jane rarely shared personal experiences or stories that connected her principles to real-life scenarios. This made her content feel impersonal and abstract
• Infrequent Engagement: Jane didn’t engage much with her audience’s feedback. She posted her thoughts but rarely responded to comments or participated in discussions, which made her seem unapproachable

As a result, Jane’s efforts to be visible backfired. Her audience felt talked at, rather than engaged with, and her posts were often scrolled past as a result

So, how can you do better?

Here are some strategies for effective visibility

Quality Over Quantity:

Focus on delivering high-quality content that provides real value. Thoughtful, well-crafted messages resonate more than frequent, shallow posts. Share high-quality, valuable content that resonates with your audience. As you can imagine, thoughtful, insightful posts are more likely to engage and impress. Bombarding your audience with too much content, especially if it lacks substance, can lead to disengagement. We have all been there… when you see too many posts without significant value, you may start ignoring these updates. When posting you don’t want to blend into the background, you so want to stand out. Quality over quantity is crucial!

Balance Self-Promotion with Value:

While it's important to highlight your achievements, constantly promoting yourself can come across as self-centered and insincere. If your visibility strategy revolves solely around self-promotion, remember you risk alienating your audience. Balance self-promotion with sharing industry insights, celebrating others' achievements, and participating in meaningful discussions to maintain credibility and relatability 

Engage Actively:

Engage! Engage! Engage! Engage! Respond to comments, participate in discussions, and engage with others' posts. Building relationships is key to effective visibility and requires active engagement

Be Relevant:

Ensure your content aligns with your career goals and audience's interests. This strengthens your personal brand and keeps your audience engaged and they start to feel like they know you

Stay Authentic:

Authenticity is crucial. Posting content that feels forced or doesn't reflect your true self can be off-putting. Audiences are savvy and can detect inauthenticity quickly. Be genuine in your communications to build trust and credibility, ensuring that your visibility enhances rather than detracts from your personal brand

Visibility is crucial when considering a career move and must be managed thoughtfully. By focusing on quality, relevance, and engagement, you can ensure your visibility efforts are effective and help you stand out in a competitive job market. Keep your audience and career goals in mind, and your visibility will pave the way for exciting opportunities

Stand out for the right reasons
and create great content instead of white noise…! 

P.S. Remember to add your hashtags to post! #visibility #hiring

P.P.S. Remember, once you are visible, advocacy matters! Check out our blog about why advocacy is important and can truly make the difference to your career progression: https://www.truestarlegacy.co.uk/blog/why-does-advocacy-matter