Xing, LinkedIn and the like are by now a constant part of business life. For many, those networks a plainly tools to stay in touch with colleagues and business partners.

On the other hand, the profiles on those networks are always also a personal presentation, which headhunter and HR professionals like to use to identify suitable candidates.

Anyone who is considering  changing  jobs in the near future, or just simply might want to stay open to anything coming their way, would be well-advised to keep the profile updated and meaningful.

Now, what is important to include if you want your profile to be interesting to potential future employers?

First of all, you have to remember that the more information there is, the more information you can be found by. A company or consultant looking for specific words or phrases will only be able to find your profile if those phrases are actually found there. Keeping the profile up-to-date of course is a must.

The most important thing is to use expressions that are as specific and meaningful as possible, and to describe both, the field of expertise, the current job and industry as clearly as possible. For example, “Project Manager” by itself does not tell the reader much. “Project manager doing IT projects for logistics applications on the other hand gives a very clear picture of what you were doing.

Another thing that helps is a short note about your current level of interest in job offers. Reputable Consultants will honor a sentence like “no job offers, please”, and will leave you alone. You shouldn’t forget to take out that note, though, once you are open for new challenges again.

It’s also possible to specifically point out your desire to change jobs with a separate note like “job offers welcome”. However, in this case you should consider the possibility of your current boss reading that, too, and how they might react to that.

And whether you are already working in the field or not – don’t forget to mention what kind of job you would like to do or what field of business your might be interested in. The rule that anything not explicitly stated can be found does apply.

Hence, putting in a little more effort next time you update your profile is definitely worth the time. First decide what your current goals are, and then adjust the entries and texts accordingly. It will pay off!