Why you need a good professional business headshot
Professional Business Headshots
how we want the world to see us
With the vast array of online profiles we have to juggle these days, it goes without saying that we all need a headshot to show the world who we are. But how many of us have yet to properly engage with the process and invest the time and money into deciding how we want the world to see us.
having a good professional business headshot…
- shows you to be professional
- shows you care about your personal brand
- helps build confidence, trust and engagement with your contacts
Hands up if you have ever shot a quick selfie or cropped in on a big group photo when updating your social accounts or responding to a request for a profile picture? You think, “that’ll do for the time being. I’ll sort something out when I have more time.” Then six months later you realise it’s still there representing you to the business world.
Whether you’re a recent graduate, an entrepreneur or a creative, having a good professional business headshot that communicates who you are is crucial in today’s marketplace. It will show your potential clients or employers that you are a serious professional and you care about your personal brand.
Business is all about developing relationships and building trust. Your business headshot plays a very important role in the early stages of that journey as the people you meet check out your LinkedIn profile or the About page on your website.
We form snap judgements about people based on our first impressions and this is heavily influenced by how we look. The Ladders recruitment consultancy caused a stir a few years ago when it published research which showed that recruiters spend about 6 seconds on a CV before they make the initial “fit/no fit” decision. And they showed that recruiters spend 19% of their time on your online profile looking at your picture. That’s more than the time spent looking at your skills or past work experience. Therefore, your picture plays a huge role in the success or failure of your application and whether you’re able to interest a recruiter enough to take the next step.
And the biggest mistake is to have no photo at all. The old Twitter egg avatar said everything that needed to be said on that front. It’s now hatched into a little bird but still no better for self expression!