Laura Umfer
Laura Umfer, a psychologist from Tampa, Fla., recently upgraded her LinkedIn photo.
By Eve Tahmincioglu
Do you still have a drawing of an egg as your Twitter profile photo?
It?s the default option if you don?t upload an image yourself. And if you have it on your profile you may be missing out on an opportunity to get more followers on the micro-blogging site.
Turns out, having a photograph may improve your chances of getting noticed on social media sites, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and that may in turn help you land a job, or boost your career.
?People like to see a picture of you,? said Miriam Salpeter, a career coach and author of ?Social Networking for Career Success.?
By adding a photo you make yourself look hip and willing to really engage in social media, she added. Indeed, some statistics suggest that adding a photo to your profile does make a difference, according to Krista Canfield, a spokeswoman for LinkedIn.
?We do know that folks who have a photo are seven times more likely to have their profile viewed in general than folks who don?t have a photo,? Canfield said.
And Dan Zarrella, social media scientist for marketing software firm Hubspot, found that people on Twitter who use a profile photo have more than six times the followers of those who don?t. ?If you?re walking around a cocktail party and you have a brown paper bag on your head some people wouldn?t talk to you,? he joked.
Just having a photo, however, is no guarantee you?ll become a social media darling. A bad photo of you could have the opposite impact, stressed career coach Salpeter:
?I encourage my clients to use a professional photo, in color.?
Less than a year ago, Laura Umfer, a clinical psychologist from Tampa, Fla., decided to change her LinkedIn photo.
?I had a photo that I took myself with a digital camera,? she said. But the image wasn?t professional looking, so Umfer arranged for her picture to be taken by a professional photographer.
Umfer, who refuses to even share the old photo, isn?t sure how the new one has impacted her business, but she has received many compliments on it.
?Looks do make a difference, whether people want to admit it or not, so I?m sure it has an impact at times,? she said. ?People make judgments based on pictures. It?s human nature. Not everyone is willing to look beyond it, and I decided it was worth getting a professional picture knowing this about people.?
Looks can matter when it comes to how hiring managers perceive applicants, according to recent research done by professors at the University of Houston and Rice University.
Things like facial disfigurements, scars, and birthmarks can draw away from an applicant?s true potential, said Juan Madera a professor who focuses on human resource management at the University of Houston and was co-author of the study.
?People have a negative reaction, and that?s human nature,? he maintained.
The research also found that the more people get to know individuals with such facial issues, the more they forget about the imperfections. Unfortunately, he added, if a photo puts off a hiring manager, you won?t have the luxury of having that person get to know who you really are.
But University of Texas at Austin Economist Daniel Hamermesh, who is author of ?Beauty Pays,? notes that it?s now difficult not to include a photo of yourself, given how common profile pictures are becoming on social media sites.
?Who would be the first job-seeker to include his or her picture? Answer:? A gorgeous person,? he explained. ?Then the rest of the job-seekers notice this and think:? ?Aha, if I don?t put my picture on, employers or onlookers will think I?m one of the ugliest without a picture included.??
So the bottom line, he said is ?unless you are incredibly ugly, don?t bypass it if most of the other people are posting photos.?
There could also be legal problems for hiring managers who see the photos of job applicants. Images allow them to see a person?s race, disability, or age, said Rosemary Gousman, managing partner at employment law firm Fisher & Phillips.
Most employers, she continued, don?t discriminate based on an individual?s looks, but there are managers out there who pick candidates not based on qualifications, but on attractiveness. That reality, she added, could pose legal issues for an employer.
?You, as an employer, are better off not knowing,? she stressed.
Steve Langerud -- a workplace consultant who is also the director of professional opportunities at DePauw University -- said there are pros and cons when deciding whether to use a photo.
On the plus side, people remember pictures, he said, noting that the image becomes ?part of your brand.? On the other hand, you could be disqualified because of a photo, he added.
And even if you decide not to include a photo of yourself on a social media site, unless you have intentionally worked to keep your picture out of all electronic searches, any employer can find a picture of you with a simple Internet search, Langerud said.
If you want the best avatar, Salpeter offers the following tips:
- Look friendly and approachable. Sometimes, when taking a ?serious? picture, people forget to smile. The resulting photo lacks personality or the subject appears mean and inaccessible. Look at your picture and ask yourself: ?Would I want to go to lunch with this person??
- Be natural. Your picture should look like you on a good day. When someone sees it, he or she should be able to focus on you, and not your makeup, jewelry, unbuttoned shirt, or loud tie. Choose solid colors, subtle accessories, and clothing appropriate for your industry.
- Consider having a professional photo taken, but at the very least make sure your picture is not blurry or too dark to really make out your features once it is uploaded and sized.
In the end a photo is very subjective, she stressed:
?Some people think they look fabulous when cleavage is showing.?
The key is to find someone who can give you honest feedback before you post that new photo.
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