Vol. 34 - Linked-IN Before You're Linked-OUT
👋 Welcome to Rebalance The Power
We write for ambitious professionals, especially women, who are done playing small and ready to lead with visibility, confidence, and intention. Every 2 weeks, we share hard-won truths, scripts you can use today, and strategies we wish we had known earlier.
If you're new here, welcome. You belong.
We spoke to Emily (name changed for privacy) recently, who has senior roles, global scope, two kids, parents to support and a calendar that would make most people lie down.
She said to us: “Honestly, I’m tired. When I finally sit down at night, the last thing I want is to ‘work on my LinkedIn’.”
So she didn’t. For years.
Then the email came.
New structure. New boss. New expectations.
You know that feeling in your stomach when you realise: “My job is technically safe… but I’m not safe.”
She opened LinkedIn for the first time in forever.
- Her headline was two promotions old.
- Her profile photo was from a different city and a different life.
- Her About section read like an obituary of who she used to be, not a single signal of who she is now.
“It feels like everyone else is playing this LinkedIn game and I’m not even on the field, and I don’t even know where to start...”
That’s what LinkedOut looks like.
Not fired or rejected. Just not considered when you need it the most.
Meanwhile, recruiters are searching.
Clients are checking profiles before they reply to emails.
Hiring managers are skimming LinkedIn on their phones at 10pm, deciding who “looks right” before they ever open a CV.
Emily wasn’t unqualified, she was un-foundable.
Why visibility is now your first job (whether you like it or not)
The rules moved and no one sent a memo.
- AI screens a huge share of applications before a human ever sees them.
- Recruiters spend seconds, not minutes, on the first scan of a profile.
- Decision‑makers are flooded with “great CVs” and lean on what’s easy to read, easy to recall, and easy to explain to others.
That means:
- You’re no longer competing on who has worked the hardest.
- You’re competing on who is easiest to find and easiest to understand.
LinkedIn is not your “online CV”, it is the front door to your professional life.
If that door is dusty, out of date, or half open, no one will come knocking, because they don’t even realise you’re home.
What most women’s LinkedIn really says (between the lines)
When we look at profiles, this is what we see again and again:
- Job titles that could belong to thousands of people.
- Experience sections full of “responsible for…” and zero proof of what changed because you were there.
- About sections that sound like HR wrote them on your behalf.
- Nothing that answers the real question every recruiter, client, and decision‑maker is holding in their head: “Out of all the people I could choose for this, why you?” Why should we hire you, promote you, put you in front of our clients, trust you with this budget, this stage, this team instead of someone else with the same title?
Your LinkedIn shouldn’t just prove that you can do the job. It should make it obvious what makes you stand out from everyone else who can also do the job
It’s not your fault, You were raised in corporate systems that rewarded being modest, thorough, and “professional” on paper.
So we end up with this painful mismatch:
- Brilliant women delivering outstanding results.
- Recruiters, clients, partners saying “we can’t find good people
The talent exists. The opportunities exist.
The bridge to visibility is missing.
Before you touch your LinkedIn, ask yourself this
Take a breath. Answer honestly. No one is watching.
- If someone searched your name on LinkedIn today, would they meet the current you or a version of you from three roles ago?
- Could a stranger tell, in 30 seconds, what you’re actually good at, not just where you’ve worked?
- Does your profile make it easy for the right people (recruiters, clients, collaborators) to say “Yes, her” or does it make them think … just another profile?
- If your dream opportunity was scanning LinkedIn this week, would they even know to stop on your profile?
If these questions sting a little, good! Let’s work through this starting point together!
Three small but serious fixes you can make this week
No “hacks”. No “post every day”. Just practical moves that change how people perceive you immediately
1. Make your headline do the work your CV can’t
If you’re a senior woman inside a large organisation, your headline has to work for internal promotions and external opportunities.
Pattern to copy:
Role / Level | What part of the business you protect or grow | Where (region / function / industry)
If someone only read that line, they should know:
- how senior you are
- what business lever you own (revenue, risk, people, reputation, operations)
- roughly where you play (market, region, function)
For examples:
“Regional Sales Director | Grow B2B revenue without burning out the team | DACH & Nordics”
“Chief of Staff | I make sure what’s decided in the room actually happens outside the room
“VP Finance | Turn messy numbers into clear decisions for boards and CEOs | Europe & APAC”
2. Rewrite one story in your Experience so we can feel your impact
Pick one role that matters for where you want to go next.
We’re going to turn it into proof, not a job description.
Do this on paper first:
-
Before: “Before I stepped in, the situation was…”
- Was it chaotic? Slow? Political? Expensive?
-
After: “After I did my work, the situation became…”
- Faster? Clearer? Less risky? More humane?
Real‑world style:
- Before: “Nobody wanted that project. Three teams, three agendas, everyone tired and suspicious of ‘another change’.”
- After: “We left with one plan people could actually follow, hit the deadline, and my team got their weekends back.”
Now compress that into one bullet:
“Took over a ‘no one wants this’ regional project, got three teams aligned on one simple plan, delivered on time and protected the team from burnout.”
That bullet tells a story. You can see it.
A recruiter or future boss can imagine you doing that for them.
Do this for 3-4 bullets over time. But start with one. One is already a revolution.
3. Stop hiding in the feed. Show up where decisions are made.
You don’t have to become a “LinkedIn creator”. You do need to stop being invisible.
This week, try this:
-
Make a list of 5 people:
- a recruiter in your field,
- someone 1-2 levels ahead of you,
- a founder or leader you respect,
- one person in your own company whose opinion carries weight,
- one person whose content you genuinely like.
-
Twice this week, leave a meaningful and value-added comment on one of their posts:
- “Here’s what I’ve seen go wrong when companies try this…”
- “We had this issue last year, what finally worked for us was…”
- “I wish more leaders would admit this is happening behind closed doors.”
Not “Love this” or “Great post”.
Think of your comment as a tiny window into how you think and work.
It’s not about chasing “likes”, you are letting the right people realise: “Ah. She sees what I see. She’s at my level.”
Why we care enough to build a whole workshop around this
We did not set out to be “LinkedIn Coaches”
We built careers.
We built teams.
We built companies.
LinkedIn became:
- the place where our work stopped being invisible,
- the place where opportunities found us before we knew how to ask for them,
- the place where we found each other back in 2021
We’ve read countless women’s profiles that broke our hearts. Women leading huge mandates. Holding impossible loads. Quietly holding companies together, And online… Nothing that reflects that power.
At some point we looked at each other and said:
“We can’t keep watching brilliant women stay hidden behind polite profiles.”
👇So we built this.👇
A 90‑minute live working session with us, Uma & Jingjin.
Date: 30 April 2026
Time: 7:30–9:00pm SGT | 1:30–3:00pm CET
Format: Live on Zoom
Investment: USD 59
This is not a “sit back and take notes” webinar. We are literally on Zoom, fixing the parts of your profile that are costing you opportunities.
In 90 minutes, you will:
- Rewrite your About so it sounds like a real kick-ass woman in 2026, not a “Jane Doe” on HR brochure.
- Sharpen your headline and Experience so people can finally see what you actually master.
- Learn a simple way to refresh your profile regularly without it feeling like a second job.
- Get a 30‑day “visibility plan” you can do even with a full life.
You’ll also get:
- the recording,
- our prompts,
- and a practical “post & comment” guide so you can keep showing up without burning out.
👉 If your LinkedIn feels like a museum of your old self, come fix it with us on 30 April.
Save your spot for “Unlock Your LinkedIn 2026”.
(Spots are limited because we actually give live feedback.)
And if LinkedIn is just the symptom…
For some of you, LinkedIn is just the surface.
Underneath it is a deeper pattern:
- You’re the one people rely on when things get complex, but you’re still not the first name that comes up for the next big role.
- You hesitate to speak up in high‑stakes rooms, then watch someone else say a version of your idea and get the credit.
- You’re doing the work, but you’re not building the relationships and visibility that move careers forward.
If you’re a talented professional, especially a woman in a senior role, working hard but going unnoticed, hesitant to speak up, or unsure how to build the right relationships to advance… we built our signature program
FOR YOU!
Visibility, influence, and self‑advocacy are not personality traits. They are skills. And they can be learned.
What’s inside the programme
This cohort runs over eight weeks with four core pillars (modules drop every other week so you have time to implement):
- Week 1 - Own Your Leadership Identity
Get unshakeable clarity on your unique strengths, values, and leadership presence - what we call your Ownliness (the thing only you lead like this).
- Week 3 - Build Influence Through Strategic Relationships
Map your stakeholders, identify sponsors (not just mentors), and start building relationship currency that actually accelerates your career instead of leaving everything to “hard work will be noticed”.
- Week 5 - Speak Up & Be Seen
Develop executive presence, practise strategic communication, and position yourself as a visible leader, including how you show up on LinkedIn, in meetings, and in the informal conversations that shape decisions.
- Week 7 - Own Your Next Move
Build a concrete 90‑day advancement plan and learn how to self‑advocate with a business case for your next role, promotion, or opportunity, so you’re not waiting to be “tapped on the shoulder” anymore.
Each module comes with assets and workbooks so you can reflect, map your own situation, and turn ideas into actions that fit your reality, not someone else’s template.
How the transformation actually happens
Theory is important. But we both know: reading about visibility doesn’t change your career. Doing so changes it.
That’s why the programme has two practice engines:
- WhatsApp community
Your space between sessions to ask questions, share wins, and get real‑time feedback from us and from other senior women on the same journey. It keeps you accountable and supported on the days when work and life are loud.
- Two live group coaching calls
These are working calls. You bring real situations and challenges - a conversation with your boss, a promotion you want to ask for, a visibility dilemma - and we work through them together. You submit questions in advance so we can get specific and tactical.
The goal is simple: one action per week.
Small, consistent moves that compound into career‑defining shifts.
Hidden Talent to Visible Leader is not about turning you into someone else.
It’s about making sure the world finally sees who you already are.
Check out what the participants in the Janurary cohort said about their experience:
👉 If you’re done being the best‑kept secret in your organisation, this is your next step.
Join the waitlist for the 18 May cohort of From Hidden Talent to Visible Leader.
Waitlist women hear first, and we keep the group intentionally small so we can actually work with each of you.
Let’s Elevate Together
Before you close this tab, ask yourself:
“If someone searched my name on LinkedIn today, would they see who I truly am now and where I’m going next, or just a neat history of where I’ve already been?”
If the answer is “not yet”, you don’t need more “worth”. You already have that.
You need more visibility.
We’d love to help you build it, before you LinkedOut.
🎙A special ELEVATE Podcast series in collaboration with “Raw with Uma”: women who stopped being invisible to themselves
We’re also opening a special series featuring our 6 founding members
Episode 1: Amy - pain, perfectionism, and putting the armour down
What if the pain you were told was “in your head” for 30 years was actually silently taking over your body, and you still kept outperforming everyone in the room?
In this conversation, we sat down with Amy Kunrojpanya, a global executive who has led teams across more than ten countries, navigated 20 years of infertility, had three children in four years after 40, and travelled more than 300 days a year while doing it.
If you’ve ever felt like your body, your ambition, and your organisation were pulling you in three different directions, this one is for you.
What if you were the most qualified person in the room, but you were the only one who didn’t know it?
In this episode, we talk with Sapna Chadha, a senior leader at Google overseeing Southeast Asia and beyond, who has spent two decades moving across consulting, marketing, operations, and general management, all while navigating the invisible forces that talk women out of raising their hand.
👉 If these stories feel uncomfortably familiar, overworking, under‑asking, being told you’re “not quite ready yet”, listen in. And if you want to know which visibility stage you’re actually on for 2026, take our free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment here: Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage
WANT TO WORK WITH US?
Whether you're looking to spark new thinking, support your team’s growth, or elevate leadership across your organisation - we’re here for it.
Book us to speak. Host a workshop. Feature us on your podcast. Dive into coaching.
It all starts with one step: reply to this email or reach us at hello@elevateasia.org
United in purpose,
Jingjin & Uma
P.S. Hungry for more? You’ll find a whole spread of other toolkits and resources here.