Today I was photographing professional business head shots for a sales professional that works for a large company here in Raleigh. As we were discussing clothing options and the right expression for his image, he said he was already planning to come back in 6 months for an updated image. I was flattered but wasn’t sure why, so as we talked more he mentioned that he was planning to lose 40 lbs and get an updated image at that point.

Makes perfect sense. Any time you have a major change in appearance, you should consider updating your professional image that you use on on social media profiles such as LinkedIn as well as your business cards, website etc. Why? Good question, glad you asked. Regardless of whether you’re in a job search scenario, own your own business, or represent a company, chances are potential clients or employers will do a little research on you before deciding to do business with you or your company, or before deciding to interview you. What will they see? There is a very high probability they will see one or more of your social media profile images. So, what message will yours convey? What first impression will your image make for you? One sure way to create a bad first impression is to have a poor quality image or one that doesn’t represent how you currently look. Regarding the latter, when potential employers or clients meet you in person, and you don’t look like the image that represents you online, there is an immediate trust barrier that goes up, because in their mind, you misrepresented yourself. So if you’ve lost weight, had a significant hair style change, or any other changes affecting your appearance, you might want to consider updating you professional image.

A recent client image, though not the one referred to in the article.