Perfecting your ProZ.com presence
Objective: enjoy a relaxing weekend activity while reviewing and enhancing your ProZ.com profile to see it through the eyes of potential clients.
Materials Needed
✓ Your favorite bottle of wine (or any preferred beverage)
✓ Comfortable seating (couch, patio, garden, etc.)
✓ Laptop or tablet
✓ Notebook and pen (or a digital note-taking app)
✓ Snacks (cheese, fruits, etc.)
Activity outline
Step one: preparation
● Choose a cozy spot in your home, like the living room, patio, or garden.
● Set up your laptop or tablet, and make sure you have a good internet connection.
● Pour yourself a glass of wine or your preferred beverage.
● Arrange some snacks nearby for a delightful experience.
Step two: profile viewing session
● Open your laptop and load your preferred browser.
● Go to www.proz.com and click on your name at the top, right corner of the site’s header. You should arrive at your profile page (make sure you are logged into your account first).
● Click on “Force visitor view” at the top of the page to view your profile as a visitor would (you may also visit your profile page after logging out or in an incognito window).
● Start with an overall impression: how does your profile look at first glance?
● Slowly go through each section of your profile: photo, name, bio, tagline, services, feedback, portfolio, etc.
● Jot down any immediate thoughts or areas that could use improvement. Is my profile photo a professional one or more of a Tinder-like pic?
Step three: wine & reflect
● Take sips of your wine and enjoy some snacks as you reflect on what you've seen.
● Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were probably too busy the last time you updated something in your profile, and you couldn’t afford to give it too much thought.
● Think about how a potential client might perceive your profile. Are there any areas that could be more engaging or informative?
Step four: note-taking
● Make detailed notes on what changes or updates you want to implement later.
● Consider any additional information or media that could enhance your profile (e.g., new testimonials, updated portfolio pieces, new credentials).
Step five: relax & reward
● After completing your review, reward yourself by enjoying the rest of your wine and snacks
● Optionally, take a relaxing walk outside to clear your mind and come back with fresh ideas.
● Have a dog? A cat? Go cuddle with them for a while! This always works for me.
Step six: implement changes
● If you are motivated, you can start making the changes immediately, or schedule a time during the week to update your profile based on your notes.
● Feel you can’t do this alone? No worries. We are here for you. Just reach out. It may take us a day or so to reply because, you know, it’s the weekend. But we are here. We’ve always been here since 1999.
This way, you can combine a relaxing, enjoyable weekend activity with productive time spent enhancing your professional online presence.
And if you feel like taking this whole exercise far, really far, I encourage you to check this resource: https://go.proz.com/guidance
How’s that? Ready for that weekend?
