Darrin Grella – Interview Guru

Your Photo on LinkedIn -
Breaking a Cardinal Job Search Rule?

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? I certainly hope so since this is the first place recruiters go to find their ideal candidates. Do you have your photo on that LinkedIn profile? Again, I hope so – as today it is expected that you should. If you don’t, get a professional pic up there now! What you don’t have on LinkedIn says more about you than what you include.

But did you know that only three-plus years ago a big debate broke out over whether or not it was appropriate for LinkedIn to let its users have a photo anywhere close to their career qualifications?

Today most professional resumes still don’t include photos, exceptions being professional bios in the entertainment and public speaking fields, maybe a high-level executive resume. This job search “rule” is due to the Human Resources concern over liability regarding interviewing a candidate based on appearance, race or age.

(Maybe it’s time to change this rule, too? Please share your comments below.)

In doing research for this post, I found an interesting article, “A Photo Is Worth a Thousand Words” by Adam Nash on the LinkedIn blog. In this article the following announcement was made: “We’re excited to announce that starting tomorrow LinkedIn members will have a new option available: the ability to add a professional photo to their profile.” (9/27/2007)

Business publications raced to cover this revolutionary change in how HR and recruiters might be swayed on whom they would choose to interview. In fact, Bloomberg BusinessWeek printed the following: “As recently as an August interview, LinkedIn’s co-founder and president, Reid Hoffman, said ‘photos and business don’t go together…[continue reading at Coach Meg]

darrin grella – interview guru