By When I’m on LinkedIn, I often come across a photo where I think… ‘damn, you look like shite”.
And not because the person’s ugly, just because the photo is a crock of crap.
LinkedIn defines itself as…
“Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.”
Do you think photos like that are really the way to manage your professional identify and engage with your professional network?
Hells to the no.
They’re the absolutely wrong way to do it.
I’d love to show an example, and legally I could, but I feel it would be a breach of someones privacy to do that in this email.
So instead, I’m going to use an example of myself. It would be like me using this photo on my LinkedIn profile:
Instead of the one in the header of this email.
Nobody in my professional network wants to see a photo of me at a Rebel Bingo Rave.
Okay, maybe they do, but they shouldn’t be seeing it.
That’s for personal relationships, for folk like you 🙂
Imagine if you’re a business, who would you rather see coming into your office to consult with you, who would you rather introduce to the CEO of your company, who would you rather trust.
The photo above of me at a Rebel Bingo Rave, or the one at the top of every email I send you.
Obviously, it’s the one at the top of every email I send.
It’s clean, professional and still gets across my personality.
If you think I’m going a bit over the top on this, think again. Don’t forget, I used to be an actor, and I’ve auditioned hundreds of people for shows in the past.
So I’ve spent a lot of time staring at photos, and there’s one thing I’ve learnt doing it. Everybody makes a first impression. Your LinkedIn profile is your first impression for potential work, partnerships and joint-ventures. Which means you need to look professional and good.
There are loads of people who can take a professional business headshots. If you’re in the UK, then I can recommend Louise Rose Photography, who took mine.
I’ve known her for years, she’s an excellent photographer and you can check out her website here…
http://louiserosephotography.com/headshots-websites-linkedin-social-media/
You’ll even see me on her website. I am everywhere mwuhahaha.
Check out the headshot you have on your LinkedIn profile and ask yourself… would I want to show this to the CEO of my company?
If the answer is no, get yourself a new photo done.
Michael
P.S. Thank you to everyone who’s filled in my two question survey about your autoresponder. For those of you who haven’t, and I know who you are, you can still do it here:
What do you think?