Over the past decade, LinkedIn has become an essential personal branding tool. It has never been more important to build and maintain a stellar LinkedIn profile.

​The virtual professional network has morphed from an online resume and networking site to a comprehensive personal branding resource. 

If you're ready to jump-start your job search, follow the tailored advice from our expert sources, which will help you land interviews and impress hiring managers.

Regardless of your current career level, you can follow these tips to make yourself stand out to potential employers.

Creating a professional online presence is a must for businesses these days. But many business professionals are wondering how they can be online without sacrificing personal privacy or appearing less than business or Internet savvy.

The following strategies can help you feel more comfortable and make sure you build your online presence in a professional manner that will help get you clients, customers and business.

Before an interview, you've done your research on a company. But it's also important to research what they might have found out about you online too.

What are recruiters looking for when they conduct online searches on individuals before deciding whether to offer them interviews?
 So, what will employers want to find, and what will put them off?

Begin with Character and Integrity.

We, as individuals, must look within ourselves and follow leaders with a proven track record and either pattern ourselves after them or build our own ethical blueprint -- one that becomes clearly evident by our own actions, by the reputation we build over time, and by the questions we ask and those we answer truthfully, as well as our own experiences and how we represent or share them.