LinkedIn Profile Pictures

TheLadders Eye Tracking Study

How important can a LinkedIn profile picture be?  A recent study by TheLadders used eye tracking technology to study the factors employers focus on when reviewing a LinkedIn profile.  TheLadders found that employers spend 19% of the time they look at a profile examining the profile picture.  Maybe there is truth to the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words."  Here are a few tips to help you communicate the right message to future employers with a professional profile picture. 

Do

-Dress for the Job. Your attire and appearance for a professional profile picture should also be appropriate for a job interview.

-Consider the Background. A plain or muted background will encourage others to look at you and not at what's behind you.

-Use a Headshot. Your profile picture should capture you from the top of your head to just below the shoulders.

-Be Yourself. This is not the time to try a new hairstyle. Just be yourself and offer a pleasant smile.

 

Don't

-Crop a photo from a recent vacation or photographed event. Avoid beach pictures and wedding photographs.

-Include others. Make it easy for employers to recognize you by only including yourself in your profile picture. 

-Take a self-portrait. Mirror shots are unprofessional. Ask a friend to use a camera or use a tripod and a timer to take your headshot.

-Use an outdated photo. Profile pictures should represent how you currently look, not how you looked ten years ago.

 

Need some helping making your profile picture professional?  During the month of November, the Career Services Office will be taking LinkedIn Profile Pictures during drop-in hours (Monday-Friday, 10am-2pm).  Stop by the office (KT109), take a quick photo, receive an electronic copy of your image, and improve your LinkedIn profile!

Get Off Facebook and Get an Internship!

A lot of articles are now stating that employers are going to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media outlets to search for viable talent. So, does that mean that all you have to do is set a status message that you're looking for a job and then add your resume to your profile? NO! Believe it or not employers are not going to be banging down your door if you're a passive job hunter like that.

Internships are still the way to go if you want to get noticed. Internships not only help you to gain relevant experience, but also allow you to network in an industry that may be otherwise impenetrable. Check out this article on MSNBC that talks about a student success who gained employment right out of college but it had nothing to do with social media. Actually, she never had social media accounts until after college!

The article does go on to mention how social media sites are still viable ways to job search because many people use that as a networking tool to find good candidates. This is one way to get inside the "hidden job market" and learn about jobs that aren't otherwise posted. We usually recommend using LinkedIn and subscribing to some industry-specific groups. A lot of times the members of these groups will also post job openings!

Unlock Your Potential

I was introduced to a new webpage today: Experience.com

This is an excellent site with resources for students, alumni, employers, and schools.

Features for students:

• Discover opportunities - what's out there and where you fit in
• Be introduced to alumni, career experts and industry insiders
• Learn more about industries, mentors and career resources
• Present your Experience and stand out to employers

Features for alumni:

• Search exclusive jobs posted by fellow alumni
• Get timely industry content and career-focused guidance
• Be introduced to alumni, career experts and industry insiders
• Package and present your personal brand to employers

Features for employers:

• Largest Network of College Students and Recent Grads - Over 4 million high-quality candidates from our exclusive partnerships with university career centers, alumni associations, and honor societies.
• Focused. Cost-effective. Easy. - Target your job to precisely the candidates that you want. Proactively outreach to pre-qualified students and grads.

Features for schools:

• A Single University-Wide System - Leverage our scalable solution for career management, career fairs, alumni mentoring and engagement with your corporate partners
• 100,000+ Employers - Give your students and alumni access to exclusive opportunities from top employers throughout the Experience Network
• The Industry Leader - Join the largest network of universities, alumni associations, honor societies and organizations providing lifelong career services

There are even more features for these groups, like a career dashboard, blog, tweets, latest news, recruiting solutions, and conferences/webinars.

LinkedIn and Upcoming Career Fair Information

So I was in a webinar this week about Career Services offices using LinkedIn to connect with students, and as a tool for students to do networking with university alumni and potential employers, and it got me to thinking. I was thinking about how the group of Resident Assistants to whom a coworker and I presented last week about online social networking all gave me a blank look when I started talking about LinkedIn, and only one knew the basics of what it is: "It's more professional than Facebook."

And, because my mind tends to wander during webinars, I started thinking about how online social networking can work out really well for us introverts. I have coworkers that are extraverts, and I have to be honest: I envy them and how easily they network with people they don't even know. But maybe online social networking can be the introverts' answer to doing networking when your best mode of communicating is not face-to-face in the moment. I wonder if the "In" in LinkedIn could stand for "introverts"--as in LinkedIn(troverts). (I wonder if I should trademark that....) Regardless, I suggest you all check out LinkedIn--you can join groups of interest to you, find graduates of your university and see what they're doing with their degrees, and start to build a positive professional presence online.

On another note, the 6th Annual IPFW Career & Internship Fair is just around the corner. We have over 30 employers currently registered, which is admittedly less than last year's 70 (although we still have 4 weeks until the actual event, and many employers like to wait to register for the fair), but we're still excited about that. I think the perception out there is that no one is hiring, and it's definitely not true. What I would suggest, though, is that you prepare exceptionally well for this fair--you have a lot of competition, so you need to be on top of your game with your resume, attire, and rehearsed speech to employers.

For more info on who will be coming to our career fair, check out www.ipfw.edu/career.

Facebook Appearance and Students

A few days ago one of my EDUC x210 students Facebooked me and asked: "So, do you approve of my profile and my pictures? :)" I was immediately taken aback!

I've preached about having a professional Facebook appearance to students across the campus with the majority of responses being, "ARGH!" or "Why?!" or "Uh, it's not fair that employers look at my page without asking!" It was so refreshing and welcoming to have a student actively respond to my preaching by cleaning up her pictures and then asking for my professional opinion.

It is also nice to report that I only made a comment about one picture and even glanced over the rest of her profile and can honestly say it looked clean. She still had fun with it, but nothing inappropriate.

On a side note, to the students that protest with the "Uh, it's not fair that employers look at my page without asking!" comment, Facebook is public! This is a public profile that you've just created and unless you adjust your privacy settings, anyone can see your profile. And, yes it may seem sneaky that employers judge you without your knowledge but it's their job to pick the best candidate during a job search and that means hiring someone that fits with their company mission and goals. Personality can be the tie-breaker when candidates are neck-and-neck with relevant work experience. So clean it up!

And, one final fun comment... I've had a great semester with my EDUC x210 (Career & Life Planning class) students. They are motivated young adults with so much intellect and spirit. We're nearing the end and it will be a bitter sweet parting, but I wish them all the luck and good blessings with their future endeavors!