What Does Your LinkedIn Profile Say About Your Professional Brand?
First published on my LinkedIn here on November 4, 2020.
[Description: “Headshots” of two cats (one tuxedo cat with one yellow eye and one all black fluffy cat with two yellow eyes) and a dog (with a big doggy grin and two very pointy ears straight up, he’s a mix of dark and light brown) because this blog is a playful and helpful take on LinkedIn profiles.]
In my career, I have had the chance to see many headshots for the purposes of promoting blog writers, events, podcast speakers, and new team members. I am surprised by how many leaders have terrible headshots. These are professionals who are at the top or near the top of their careers, who are well-respected in their sectors, and yet they are not representing themselves to their full potential, making some rookie mistakes in presenting themselves online. I thought I would share why it’s important to have a LinkedIn profile that better reflects who you are, your expertise, and your brand. To make this lesson more interesting and memorable, I will be using Zorro, Olaf, and Pablo to help illustrate my concepts (that’s my teaching style—furry and funny helps a lesson stick).
HERE'S THE JOB AND OUR CANDIDATES
We are currently hiring for a Director of Pets, which will report directly to the CEO and CFO, respectively. We have three candidates for the role who each bring their own strengths and are, for the most part, equally qualified.
Candidate 1: Zorro
Zorro is loyal to the company. He has been with us for 12 years and is happy with the current direction of our strategy. He will keep the status quo among the pets. His area of expertise is in procuring breakfast for the team, teaching new team members the art of hunting birds, and regularly bringing surprise gifts for the executive leadership.
Candidate 2: Olaf
Olaf has been with the company for 3.5 years. He is getting restless and would like to have more leadership responsibilities. Olaf brings a lot of energy to projects, is innately curious, and would be a subtle leader who moves the pets team in a new direction.
Candidate 3: Pablo
Pablo is our newest team member; he has been with the company for 6 months. Pablo is an underdog who shows real promise as he brings a new perspective and optimism to the team. He could turn out to be a real top dog. He is an expert in client love and builds new relationships everywhere he goes.
So, we have reviewed our current roster of candidates, and they’re all excellent for the role of Director of Pets.
WHAT DO THEIR LINKEDIN PROFILES SAY ABOUT THEM?
The CEO and CFO decide to review each candidate's LinkedIn profile to see how each candidate's public-facing brand represents them.
Upon first reflection, it’s easy to see who has a standout profile, but do you know why? And conversely, do you understand why your impression of the others is not as favourable? Or maybe you don’t see what the big deal is between the three profiles. Let’s dig deeper and explore what’s happening in each of these candidates’ profiles.
Meet Zorro
The first thing I notice is that the bird is huge in comparison to Zorro. In his candidate profile, it said he was an excellent hunter, and he does reiterate that in his headline. So I can understand the reason why he chose a bird photo in his cover—you do want to highlight your strengths or expertise here. But this bird, in its pose, looks like it’s going to eat Zorro and not the other way around. Maybe a photo with a smaller, more proportionate bird would help to connect the visual of his expertise to his page.
Next is his headshot. This looks like a classic headshot cropped from a party photo. The lighting is poor— is he wearing a nice sweater, or is it from our Christmas party? And he’s not looking at the camera. This does not look like a professional photo. And we’re right—it’s not. This photo is cropped from The Bergsma Family Christmas Card circa 2012.
But there’s more...the headshot of Zorro is not recent. Didn’t I just point out it’s from our Christmas card eight years ago? Granted, I understand wanting to show your younger and cuter self. But what if your headshot is so vastly different that the person meeting you for the first time doesn’t recognise you? Or they feel like you’ve catfished them?
This is what Zorro looks like today—eight years and one eye surgically removed later. Plus, he's lost some weight and is looking very healthy.
When it comes to humans, we are less likely to lose an eye. However, we are very likely to age, to grow a beard or lose a beard, to change weight for better or worse, and to change our hairstyle dramatically.
Your headshot should reflect what someone can reasonably expect to see when they meet you for the first time. We can see that Zorro has really made an effort to create a LinkedIn page that he thinks follows all the best practices. He has a headshot, he has a cover photo that promotes his area of expertise, and he has a headline that’s professional and to the point. With a couple of tweaks, he can take his LinkedIn page from good to great. See the difference.
Meet Olaf
Didn’t we say that Olaf was innately curious and full of energy as his strengths? So why hasn’t he put those skills towards creating a better LinkedIn profile?
This is a lazy attempt at a profile. The headshot is clearly a cellphone selfie (is that his bathroom in the background?), there’s no cover image, and the headline simply states his current position. This does not promote a positive professional impression of Olaf. If you hadn’t met Olaf yet, this would give the impression that he was aloof to his career and/or underestimating the importance of his professional brand and the power of social media.
As a marketing professional, I would cringe when I receive someone's headshot that looks like a cellphone selfie when the expectation is that I am going to use that selfie (or cropped party picture) to promote a podcast, to promote a speaker at an event the company I work for is sponsoring, to promote a guest blog you’ve written for our company blog, etc. Not only does this selfie headshot not help your brand, it’s not helping our company brand either. Imagine the selfie headshot next to two other speakers with professional headshots on an event flyer? Now, Olaf will look like the least credible of the three, whether that’s true or not.
While the biggest change that Olaf needs to make for his LinkedIn profile can be summed up in one word: effort. He needs to put some effort into making a professional profile, and that effort is maybe 30 minutes or less. This is what his profile could look like with a little effort.
Meet Pablo
What can we say—Pablo gets it. He has clearly done his research, and he is representing his brand. The most important takeaway from Pablo's LinkedIn is how authentic he is.
His headshot shows him smiling, he’s looking dapper in his teal harness, and he’s showcasing his expertise in his headline and cover image. He loves people, and he knows how to make them as happy as that big smile on his own face. We wouldn’t change a thing about Pablo’s profile and headshot.
As a marketing professional, Pablo has made my role easier in helping to promote him and in him helping to promote the event, blog, or podcast that the company I work for has asked him to be part of. His headshot can be easily placed into our marketing materials.
FOR THE ROLE OF DIRECTOR OF PETS...WHO WOULD YOU PROMOTE?