Amayzine

Woman in Business

Anoek Eckhardt

At Woman in Business, you see the successful woman behind a brand, shop, or business, because she deserves a stage of one hundred square meters. This time we catch up with Anoek Eckhardt from LinkedIn, who finally reveals to us which photo actually works on your business profile.

Name: Anoek Eckhardt
Age: 36 years
Place of birth: Boxmeer
In a relationship/single/kids: Lives with her boyfriend Christiaan, daughter Faye who is 2, and son Nathan who is 7 months old
Study: Communication and Information Sciences at VU
Job: Head of Corporate Communications Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America at LinkedIn
Income: A nice salary
Hours per week: In practice 40 to 50 hours, but with flexible hours and certainly not from 9 to 5

Anoek, what exactly do you do and why is this the job that makes you happy?

“With my job, I can truly have an impact on people's lives, and I derive satisfaction from that. In my previous job with a similar role at Google, I had that too, but at LinkedIn even more. Our mission is to connect people in the business world, and I experience that up close. I regularly train refugees, young students, starters, and people starting their own businesses on how to use LinkedIn as effectively as possible. Just recently, I received a message from a guy who took a training with me. He implemented my tips on his profile and now has internships to choose from. He chose an internship with a large design supplier in Sweden, and he sent me: While I type this, I look out the window of my office and have a beautiful view over the land of a thousand lakes. I was convinced that LinkedIn could open many doors, but I certainly did not expect it to go so quickly for me.”

And what does your day actually look like?

“I usually get up around half past six, it depends a bit on how long my children sleep. My son gets the bottle, we all get dressed, and then we go downstairs to have breakfast together. After that, the nanny comes, or my children go to daycare. I go to the office, that's where I prefer to be. I don't work from nine to five, because with teams in Dubai and the LinkedIn headquarters in America, I have contact at different times. That sometimes means I have to do some work in the evening, but it also means I have the flexibility to be at my daughter's Sinterklaas party the next day. My day is versatile, a large part consists of meetings with colleagues and teams from all over the world. I always try to take the time to have lunch and go outside in the afternoon. LinkedIn is located in the Rembrandt Tower in Amsterdam, so there are plenty of nice places around. And if I'm not traveling, I try to be home on time so I can spend an hour with the kids before we eat. If possible, I go for a run in the evening a few times a week. That's really an outlet for me. The weekend is for social things.’

Do you have a vacation policy?

“I don't work on vacation. I am only reachable for emergencies via my phone, but I don't check my email in between. If I'm sick, it does cause stress to let go, because you get so involved. On a vacation, you can prepare, hand things over, or plan it so that it can be done again when you return. I have a whole team of capable colleagues, and I absolutely don't think I'm indispensable. I just had six months of maternity leave, and together with my boyfriend, I rented a house by the sea near Barcelona for two months. We had a fantastic time there with the four of us, and I can still live off that for a while.”

Do you prefer to work with men or women?

“With both. I believe in a mix; diverse teams yield the most success. A man complements a woman and vice versa.”

What was your very first job?

“At Hema in Cuijk, in the pastry and bread department. That was my very first job. I got my first glimpse into the real world of work there and saw what it was like to deal with customers and their wishes. I had to respond to that, and I think that's also the core of every job. Whatever you do, whether you sell cakes, teach children, are a writer, or manage a team, you have to serve the target audience as well as possible and respond to their wishes. I learned that for the first time at Hema.”

And did you get the job at LinkedIn through LinkedIn?

“Yes, an old colleague from Google introduced me to my current boss via LinkedIn InMail.”

What is the biggest mistake you can make on LinkedIn?

“Having an incomplete profile, but the nice thing is that you have control over that yourself. If this is well put together, it will come up as one of the first search results and not the result of your tennis competition or an interview you are not happy with at all. By the way, almost everyone in the Netherlands has a profile; of the 8.5 million working people, 7 million have LinkedIn. The highest density in the world for LinkedIn, almost everyone you know is on the platform. It is so much more than an online CV; you can blog, add new media, videos... It's actually a missed opportunity if you don't do it.”

Another secret tip for using LinkedIn?

“Two things. Make sure you have an original headline next to your photo. This doesn't have to be your job title, quite the opposite. In a search by a recruiter or client, there are still 99 other account managers, but not that sales tiger that you are. Also, make use of the summary; tell what you are passionate about; that CV can come later. If you are in sales but want to move to PR, make sure that is also stated, because then you will also be found for that PR job.”

And once and for all: what is the perfect photo for LinkedIn?

“Make sure you look straight into the camera and that it is a photo where you are the only one in it. It doesn't have to be professional; a mobile phone is good enough. Look friendly, but above all, look like yourself.”

Oh, and do you check the profile before you meet someone?

“Always.”

FUN LINKEDIN FACTS:

  • LinkedIn has over 500 million members worldwide, five-hun-dred million, that's a lot.
  • If you are looking for a job: there are still 11 million open positions on LinkedIn. Seize your chance.
  • LinkedIn processes 14 million applications per week.
  • There are over 18 million employers active on LinkedIn. Just in case you thought they weren't present there.
  • More than 45,000 companies and recruiters are searching for new talent on LinkedIn.
  • The Dutch are ranked number 2 worldwide for having the most connections. We networkers.
  • If you sign up for Open Candidates, you are twice as likely to be approached by a recruiter.