5 Reasons Your Headshot is Critical to Your Career

Make A Great First Impression

It takes less than half a second for a first impression to be made. The first impression you make will be fairly permanent and follow you throughout the rest of your interactions.

Showing up early to your interview or first appointment. Showing up well groomed and well dressed. Driving nice cars and buying fancy watches. These are just some of things we do to make positive first impressions.

Large companies do it too. They spend more to get trophy office space in a affluent city on a well known street or neighborhood. They want to look successful and make a good first impression.

In today's digital world your first impression starts online. Facebook. Linkedin. Your own business website. Before they ever see your office, your nice suit, or whether you show up on time they are going to see your headshot online first.

A modern professional headshot will help you make a great first impression. A professional headshot will help you stand out and show you take your career seriously while looking like the professional you actually are.

Stand Out

Washington DC is a competitive area. Just Over 50% of the DC area population over the age of 25 has a college degree which is 1.5x higher than the national average.

Half of those with a college degree also have post graduate degrees - 2x higher than the national average.

Many people in the DC area went to top schools. So does simply having a degree in this kind of market really make you stand out?

If you were a recruiter, hiring manager, or maybe a potential client looking for someone with your education and background which of the following profiles stands out?

If you're busy and your time is limited, which candidate do you call first? Which second? Which one might you skip completely? If you live in the Washington DC area you need a Modern Professional Headshot to really standout.

A picture is worth 1000 words

Marketers rank images as the most important content type, ahead of text and video. Adding photos to blocks of texts get you at least 20% more views on average than just a text description.

67% of consumers say that the quality of a product image is “very important” in selecting and purchasing the product - ranked higher than any other product quality. On a business networking site like Linkedin - you are the product.

LinkedIn users with profile photos get 11x more views than profiles with no photo. Headshots are consistently ranked in the top two most important qualities of your linkedin profile along with the headline by recruiters and hiring managers.

As you looked at the three candidates above all three had the same description - same education and same experience. Only one probably stood out as looking like a high quality professional. One maybe looked 'good enough'. One likely left no impression at all. Which quality do you want to be associated with? Professional. 'Good enough'. Forgotten.

Both of these were shot with professional cameras. But one image just says 'Good enough'. While the other says 'High-Quality Professional'.

Show You Take Your Career Seriously

You wouldn't want typos on your website, your LinkedIn profile or your resume. It's not the end of the world but it reflects poorly on you. It makes you look sloppy, lazy and inattentive to details. Not exactly professional qualities that make employers or clients excited to pick you. Even worse they will view your resume, credentials and references with a more skeptical and critical eye.

When you use no headshot or a cheap headshot on your profile you are sending the same kind of message - you are inattentive or don't care. You do only the bare minimum and maybe you carry that same attitude with all your day to day work.

There is the saying that the extra mile is rarely traveled. When you go that extra mile with your headshot you will get more attention from peers and potential employers and they will assume you go the extra mile in all your work.

Look the Part

Every industry and career has a different role to play in our economy. Our society has a lot of different norms and expectations for different business and the roles people play.

As a new age tech giant CEO, Mark Zuckerberg can get away with having most of his photos in a hoodie. Most of us though are not billionaire CEOs of a tech company. So you need to consider your industries norms. A realtor headshot is likely to warm and inviting. It is more likely to be an outdoor headshot with a recently sold home as the backdrop.

A divorce lawyer, or a 'I sue people's pants off!' lawyer however probably doesn't want a happy go lucky headshot. They are likely to want something a bit more serious that fits the mood and qualities of their customer or client. 

Similarly Acting and Modeling headshots tend to have a very different look than your typical Linkedin profile. I always make sure my clients have a headshot that fits the look and mood of their industry.

Stop letting embarrassingly bad headshots hurt your career opportunities.

Jared Wolfe is a professional headshot photographer based in Alexandria VA where for 5 years he has been providing headshots for businesses, companies, entrepreneurs and career motivated individuals. He serves all the Washington DC area including Maryland and Virginia.

Tired of your embarrassingly bad headshot? Ready for a modern headshot that will get you ahead? Click here to see my headshot pricing, details and availability.

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