How often should you update your profile photos?
Have you ever made an appointment with someone online and when you meet them in person, you find that they are almost unrecognizable? Over the past few years, many people have increased their online presence, with social media, Zoom, LinkedIn, personal websites, etc. becoming important ways to connect and work or communicate remotely. Of course, most of these platforms have the option to add a profile photo. When was the last time you updated yours?
“Headshot is hello. It’s the first impression, and whether we like it or not, we live in a visual world,” says Craig Toron of Toron Photography. Over the past year, you have often heard stories of people who have gained weight, lost weight, or stop dyeing your hair. Now that many people are back in the office, there may be a mismatch between how we look in person and the photos we use to present ourselves online. First impression mattersbut how important is it if we look different than in the digital image?
Peggy Lou, psychologist Manhattan Therapy Collective, says: “There’s always a moment of recalibration when we first see someone’s photo and then meet them in real life. It may not be so much “if” it happens, but rather “how much” internal adjustment will occur. For example, meeting someone on a first date who is more attractive in person than their profile is a pleasant surprise. Whereas meeting a doctor who looks much younger than in the photo might make you think about their experience.”
Photographs give us a general idea of what someone looks like, but there are many characteristics that a two-dimensional image cannot provide. “This is especially true of height and build, which cannot be identified from a photograph,” says Loo. “From a clinician’s point of view, there were therapy patients that I had yet to meet in person because we started meeting in 2020 through teletherapy. Until this year, I had only seen them above the shoulders! I have met patients who were much taller or shorter than I imagined, and discovering these details really required me to adjust my general idea of who they were. It also gave me an idea of how they are perceived by others (for example, a petite woman coming to an interview will give a different impression than a very tall woman). As a cognitive behavioral psychologist, one area of growth I always encourage is cognitive flexibility, or the ability to change your point of view or the way you think. I think the level and speed at which you “recover” from initial impressions change may depend on how cognitively flexible you are.”
Unfortunately, some people will make assumptions about you based on a photoand these impressions paint a picture of how we perceive someone. “The first thing people experience is the delta” between how you picture yourself in a photo and how you look in real life, explains Marion Dino, former HR manager and career coach. “You want to show that you can be trusted. Most people don’t deliberately judge, but we all have unconscious biases and you leave yourself open to the interpretation that you’re less honest if you don’t present yourself accurately.” Most resumes don’t have a profile picture, but “recruiters look at LinkedIn and other social media platforms,” says Dino. “You don’t want to give the impression that you’re not real.”
Given this information, it might seem easier to not include a profile photo at all, especially if you’re concerned about discrimination. However, not having a photo can also be a problem. Fake Profiles on almost every platform are common, and without filling in all the fields, especially the section with photos, accounts that seem incomplete seem less reliable. The viewer might wonder what you’re trying to hide, and it might be “easier to fire someone and find a reason not to pursue them as a candidate,” says Dino, rather than digging further to confirm he’s a good candidate. position.