If you are well-known and respected enough in your field, you can get away with anything… or not
A dear friend and former colleague has recently been nominated for a prestigious award and was soliciting votes. His awesome accomplishments in a challenging technical field and a photograph were displayed on the award website where others were directed to vote on the nominees. He is exceptional in his field and I, of course, immediately cast my vote for him.
Apparently one of his other colleagues, that I had also known in a prior life, voted for him and chose to provide him some feedback on his photo, which he then shared with me. Here it is:
I WAS GLAD TO VOTE FOR YOU. HOWEVER I AM SURE YOU LOST LOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OF VOTES BECAUSE OF THE PICTURE. YOU LOOK DRUNK, NEANDERTHAL, JAWED & ADDLE BRAINED. THE SHIRT MIGHT OF PASSED IF YOU HAD LOOKED INTELLIGENT & WITH IT. JUST ON VACATION, BUT, THE PIC WAS A BAD CHOICE SINCE YOU ARE UP AGAINST GUYS WITH PHDs.
While the comments may be a little over the edge in their directness, the underlying point is worthy of consideration. People do make a lot of decisions based on how you look – and if you don’t match up with what they think and/or react to, sometimes it creates “noise” in the communication channel.
As a career coach who advises lots of people for are looking for advancement in their careers on the kind of photograph they need, I usually err on the side of conservatively professional – e.g. this is your professional face to the world and often a person’s first impression of you, for example, if they look you up on LinkedIn. For most men, that means a nice suit and tie, no facial hair and a plain background for the headshot – you know, “corporate” – or at least a business casual look that is appropriate for their profession. On the other hand, if you are so well known and respected that you can get away with a casual, gee I had a great vacation photo, more power to you.
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