Why reputation matters when you're not present

She was visible in the room but invisible online. A client said to me recently, “In person, people know who I am and what I bring. But online? You’d never know it.” And she was right. In person it was clear she had decades of credibility. She was the person people turned to when decisions needed to be made, things needed to get done, problems solved, or trust established. Her peers knew it. Her clients knew it. Her team knew it. But when someone Googled her, her LinkedIn profile came up, and the message simply didn’t match. 📉 A profile that undersold her expertise. 📉 Inconsistent or non-existent activity. 📉 A digital first impression that didn’t reflect the reputation she’d earned. And here is the challenge with this - people don’t separate offline from online anymore. ✨ The client meeting you tomorrow has already looked you up today. ✨ The board member you’re pitching to has already scanned your profile. ✨ The graduate considering your firm has already checked your team’s presence. ✨ The investor you’re meeting next week has already searched your name. ✨ The client referral you haven’t even met yet has already formed an impression. If your online presence doesn’t reflect your offline reputation, it creates disconnect before you even enter the room. “Are they really the expert?” “If their business is as strong as they say, why can’t I see it here?” You’ve worked too hard to be invisible. The good news? You don’t need constant posting or flashy campaigns to close that gap. What you need are the right foundations: ✔️ A profile that communicates value, not just a job title. ✔️ Consistent, purposeful activity that mirrors how you show up in person. ✔️ A digital presence that builds trust before the first handshake. Because your reputation shouldn’t depend on which version of you people happens to find first. Make sure the person people meet online is the same one they already trust in the room.

Take away your title. Remove the logo next to your name. Forget the perks, the office, the fancy LinkedIn headline. What’s left? That’s your real personal brand. It’s not what you post when you’re trying to impress. It’s what people say about you when you’re not around. It’s the trust you’ve earned quietly, over time. It’s how your name shows up in rooms you’ve never entered. Because one day, your title will change. The company name will disappear. But your name? Your reputation? That’s what travels with you.

I didn’t even send a CV for the role. One DM outran 180 applications. But how? A hiring manager was drowning in 180+ CVs. Each one blurred into the next. Then a LinkedIn message landed: “You should talk to her. She’s one of the best I’ve worked with.” No CV. No cover letter. Just a trusted referral. Within 24 hours, the interview was locked in. The CV was a formality, her reputation had already walked through the door. Meanwhile, 180 CVs were still stuck in the inbox queue. I call it the Invisible Resume. Others might call it reputation, but I think that undersells it. Your invisible resume is the story people tell about you when you’re not in the room. Our tech market is like a small town. News travels fast, and reputation often reaches the hiring manager before your CV does. Some data that brings this to life: LinkedIn study of 20M users → weak ties drove the most job mobility. Jobvite → referrals = 7% of applicants, 40% of hires. Psychology → bad impressions spread faster than good ones. Let's strengthen your Invisible Resume with these 5 steps: #1 → run a 5-5-5 audit List 5 peers, 5 managers, 5 cross-functional partners. Score each (1–5) on reliability, clarity, collaboration. Any 3s or lower = reputation blind spots. #2 → close the loop End every task or email with: “What we shipped / What’s next / By when.” Takes 30 seconds. Builds a reputation for reliability. #3 → Build an Advocate Bench Referrals convert 6x better than cold applications. Identify 3–5 non-obvious allies (ex-PMs, vendors, clients). Stay in touch with small, useful gestures. Over time, they become advocates. #4 → repair reputation debt If you left a role on messy terms, don’t let that story harden. Reach out, acknowledge the gap, offer a small make-good. Reset the narrative before it costs you. #5 → share inclusion-safe visibility Highlight wins on LinkedIn, but rotate the credit. Show impact and generosity, that mix spreads faster than self-promotion. One DM can outrun 180 applications, when your invisible resume is working for you. Hiring managers (or recruiters) often backchannel before they even open a CV. The story colleagues tell about you today may be the reason you get (or don’t get) that call tomorrow. Protect it. Invest in it. Repair it when needed.

Your digital footprint is now more powerful than your résumé. And it often decides whether or not you get a shot. In today's digital world, search engines and social platforms are the new gatekeepers. They decide what surfaces. They decide what matters. They decide who gets seen—and who gets skipped. And it’s not ranking you based on your résumé, your title, or your intentions. It’s ranking you based on EVIDENCE. Not whether you’ve done the work— but whether you’ve made it visible, valuable, and verifiable. Consider this: Google isn’t just indexing content. It’s assembling identity. If you’ve ever seen a Knowledge Panel... that box on the right side of a search page showing who someone is, what they’re known for, and why they’re credible, you’ve seen algorithmic identity in action. But here’s what most professionals miss: You don’t get that panel by accident. You get it by showing your work. AI forms an opinion based on signals from everywhere: Your social media content,  Your press,  Your reviews,  Your employee voices, Even what others say about you online. In a world that organizes people by relevance and authority, silence is mispositioning. This isn’t about branding. It’s reputation infrastructure for an algorithmic world. Because if you're not actively shaping how you're seen, the system will do it for you. And it won’t ask for your permission. So instead of polishing our résumés, we need to start architecting our digital reputation— intentionally, consistently, and across every platform that counts.

Assistants, you won’t find this in your job description, but it can absolutely shape your career. Not your title. Not your resume. Not even your skillset. Your REPUTATION. Because while you’re doing the work, people are also watching how you work. 📌 Are you dependable when no one’s checking behind you? 📌 Do you protect confidence, or do you carry gossip? 📌 Do you solve problems or just pass them off? 📌 Do people associate your name with calm, clarity, and execution? I have seen this first hand. You can be the most talented assistant in the building, but if your name doesn’t carry trust, respect, and professionalism with it? You. Will. Get. Overlooked. Every time. Now let’s add a layer to this: Your personal brand is what you say about yourself. Your reputation is what others say about you when you’re not in the room. 🔵 Personal Brand = What you project 🟣 Reputation = What you’ve earned And trust me, it’s your reputation that gets brought up in rooms you haven’t even entered yet. In closed-door meetings. In hiring decisions. In promotion conversations. So yes, polish your brand and do so with intention. But more importantly? Build a reputation that backs it up. ✅ Show up consistently ✅ Communicate clearly ✅ Deliver with excellence ✅ Protect your executive’s trust ✅ Lead with integrity even when no one’s watching Because when your brand matches your reputation? That’s when people trust you. Refer you. Promote you. So assistants, let me ask you: ❔ What do you want your reputation to say about you? ❔ Better yet, what is it already saying? #evolvedassistant #administrativeassistant #executivesupport #administrativeprofessional #executiveassistant

Four years. Four companies. Zero applications. Every role came through someone who remembered me, not for being perfect, but for showing up fully. Maildrip? My manager reached out. SmartFi? A stranger whose sneakers I complimented in a coffee shop. We talked tech, built trust, and he later recommended me for a project with his US client. Komodo? The CTO from SmartFi kept my name in the back of his mind. Here's what I've learned: Good work compounds in ways you'll never see coming. This isn't about being the most talented person in the room. I wasn't. It's about being someone others want to work with again. When you break something (and you will), own it early. When you finish a task, ask if there's anything else that needs attention. When a teammate is stuck, offer to pair program even if it's not your problem (Without burning out). These moments matter more than your GitHub stars. The market is brutal right now. Doing excellent work won't guarantee you the next job; that's not the point. The point is building the muscle of caring about your craft and the people around you. Some of my best opportunities came from former teammates who remembered how I handled the messy Tuesday afternoon when everything was on fire, not the polished demo I gave on Friday. You never know who's watching. You never know who will mention your name six months from now when someone asks, "Do you know anyone who...?" Do work you can stand behind. Be curious beyond your job description. Communicate like the adults you're working with deserve clear, honest updates. Most importantly: be easy to work with. In a world optimized for the bare minimum, there's still room for people who give just a little bit more. Not because they have to, but because they choose to. Your reputation isn't built in the moments when everyone's watching; it's built in all the small moments when they're not.

It’s true that people talk about you when you’re not around, but you know who else is talking about you behind your back?   Your reputation.   Your reputation precedes you. It follows you. It’s like your personal PR agent. So, what do you think it says about you before you arrive? And more importantly, what would you like it say after you leave?   Apparently, Abraham Lincoln said something along the lines of “Character is the tree. Reputation is the shadow.” Or in other words, reputation is the public perception of your character.   There are two things worth noting here. First, perceptions may be inaccurate evaluations of what is true, but they are the lenses through which people view the world, interpret what they see, and evaluate/judge.   Second, you have a good deal of control in helping to shape those evaluations. Think about a person admire (or your arch nemesis). What comes to mind? Are they are always on time (or late)? Do they do what they say they’re going to do (or equivocate and never follow up)? Are they kind to people no matter their status in their community (or they punch down and kiss up)? Are genuinely helpful (or just transactional)?   People suggest that reputations are made in moments, but I don’t think that’s true. Your reputation is built upon, in part, your pattern of behavior—by the way you show up over and over again.   Reputations are like bank accounts. If you build a reputation around your authentic self, then a blip here or there won’t hurt you or your relationships. A blip might lead you to cash out a little, but you can fill up your account again through consistent follow ups.   Again, consider that person with the sterling reputation. If they are typically on time, in the rare times they are late, you give them the benefit of the doubt. No harm, no foul.   You don’t have to be perfect to develop a high-quality reputation. But striving to consistently show that you prioritize integrity, professionalism, kindness, care, transparency, and [fill in the blank with your values], you’ll be spoken of well behind your back by others….and that personal PR agent of yours.

70% of career-defining decisions about you happen when you're not even in the room. Are you certain your name is being spoken in these pivotal conversations? Promotions, high-profile assignments, strategic projects—all these critical decisions often unfold behind closed doors. The harsh truth: Your career depends on advocacy, not just performance. Stats that’ll jolt you awake: -A recent Harvard Business Review study confirms promotions depend 65% on reputation and only 35% on actual performance. -LinkedIn research reveals 92% of senior executives consider advocacy crucial for career advancement. -According to Forbes, employees with powerful internal advocates are 23% more likely to receive high-profile assignments and promotions. Here’s exactly how you ensure your name echoes loudly in critical rooms: ✅ Advocacy starts with genuine connections. Identify influential stakeholders and nurture relationships. It’s not about forced networking—it's about creating authentic trust. ✅ Advocates can’t champion your strengths if they’re unclear about them. Make your contributions visible and quantifiable. Clearly articulate your impact and ensure others can easily repeat your narrative. ✅When you advocate for others, you model leadership. Reciprocity is powerful. Speak up for your team’s talent, celebrate peers, and they’ll naturally amplify your voice too. ✅ Strategically Position Your Brand Consistently align your actions with the future role you desire. People advocate for leaders who clearly fit into opportunities that emerge—be that obvious fit. ✅ Create a Legacy of Reliability and Trust Your word and reputation are your biggest assets. If you consistently deliver excellence and integrity, people feel confident representing you even when you're not there. Your career won’t flourish from performance alone. It grows exponentially when powerful advocates champion you in spaces you don’t occupy. Want to cultivate advocacy, amplify your influence, and ensure your name gets mentioned positively and frequently? If you’re committed to being influential—even in the rooms you're not in—let’s have a conversation. 📩 Message me directly to explore an exclusive executive coaching partnership. ps: Infographic by Justin Wright #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerAdvice #PersonalBranding #Leadership #Influence

The most important decisions about your career are made in a room you are not in. Let that sink in. The hiring committee decides to hire you… or not. The promo committee decides to promote you… or not. Managers in calibration meetings decide what performance rating you get, which directly affects your compensation and your career trajectory. The list goes on. And you are not in the room. So how can you influence those key career decisions? The answer is simple, but not easy to execute: you have to get yourself on everyone’s radar. If all those people in those rooms talking about you know all the great stuff you’ve done, they’ll be more inclined to make a decision in your favor. But here’s the catch: those people rarely have visibility over your work, unless you made extra effort to raise their awareness. You have to go the extra mile to build your reputation. That’s why it’s a good idea to grab any opportunity you can think of to meet and be visible to colleagues in your wider circle. Think skip level, peers of your skip level, VP of the org, influential peers. The more the better.  Here are some ways to increase your visibility: ⭐ Offer to help ⭐ Solve problems ⭐ Invite folks to coffee chat ⭐ Present at All Hands meetings ⭐ Get a mentor and mentor others ⭐ Be ready for a quick pitch in the elevator ⭐ Join internal communities, like product circles  ⭐ Seek collaboration with a large number of teams Remember: while you may not be in every room where decisions are made, you can influence those decisions through your work, relationships, and reputation built over time. ⏭️ What's one thing you'll do this week to increase your visibility? Share in the comments 👇 #Career #Influence #NetworkNetWorth #Reputation #CareerAdvice #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerGrowth

The invisible asset that’s always visible Ever walked into a room & felt the temperature drop because of your #reputation? No? Well, that’s probably a good sign. The thing about being a leader is that your reputation isn’t just about you anymore. It’s your most valuable currency, buying trust, loyalty, & opportunities—unless your reputation is in the gutter. Then, it just buys you dirty looks & swift exits from boardrooms. Here’s the thing about reputation—it’s always at work, even when you aren’t. It’s like a credit score for your character, & if you haven’t checked it in a while, well… let’s just say the next leadership crisis might not go in your favor. HBR found that companies led by CEOs with strong reputations enjoyed significantly higher profitability, often up to 20% more than those whose leaders lacked this crucial asset. Why? Because reputation is essentially a leader’s insurance policy. People trust those with a good one, & trust makes everything easier—from winning contracts to persuading employees to go above & beyond. Picture this: You’re a leader with a stellar reputation. You walk into a room, & people are already nodding, “Yes.” You haven’t opened your mouth yet, but your reputation has set the tone. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Now, imagine the opposite. You walk in, people fidget, avoid eye contact, & suddenly, the Wi-Fi connection seems more interesting than anything you say. It’s all downhill from there. As a leader, your actions are under the world’s most powerful microscope—public perception. In a survey of 1,700 executives by Weber Shandwick, 45% attributed half of their company’s market value to the CEO’s reputation. That means if you screw up, the market takes it personally. But hey, no pressure. Reputation today is like a tweet—it travels fast. One small misstep, & suddenly, it's trending, accompanied by hashtags that make you cringe. A Deloitte report found that 87% of executives rated reputational risk as more important than other strategic risks. So, how do you build & protect it? The same way you’d protect your assets: by being mindful of every decision, every word, & every handshake. Much like fine china, your reputation can be chipped & cracked by carelessness—but it can also be polished into something priceless. Your reputation is what people will remember long after your tenure is over. So, whether you aim to be remembered as the benevolent leader who inspired greatness or the ruthless dictator who instilled fear—just know that people are already talking. So yes, it’s great to see that your reputation holds weight. Just make sure it’s the weight that won’t sink your career like a rock tied to your ankles. After all, in the immortal words of Oscar Wilde: “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, & that is not being talked about.” & let’s face it—for better or worse, as a leader, you will always be talked about. The question is: What will they be saying? #Leadership