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Are Photos Good or Bad for LinkedIn?
by Allen Stern on September 27th, 2007
So the big excitement online yesterday was that LinkedIn has added the ability for users to add photos to their profiles. Caroline has a good overview of the new option and Donna discusses the "right" headshot for your profile.
We know that LinkedIn is used for hiring these days, so I wonder, will it now become more of a Match.com scenario? Some things to consider:
- Will employers be looking for the hottest cutie?
- Will a fat man be passed over just because he is fat?
- Will a woman who looks "old" be passed over?
- What about race issues?
While I know that bloggers in general love to show themselves off, I am not excited for photos to be added to this employment tool. Without the photos, everyone is judged based on their skills in a semi-anonymous way at least on getting in the door. I have always thought the Internet put us all on the same playing field but photos certainly changes that.
Yes, guys look for hotties at times, especially for either support or public-facing positions. A fat man may be passed over for health reasons. A woman who looks old may be passed over as well. Other races may be skipped as well, if the employer is an idiot.
It’s just reality, and I think it’s stupid to try to legislate away. People need to get along in the workplace, certain jobs can attract more customers or retain more through physical beauty, and health costs are real.
And if someone is dumb enough to use race as a reason not to hire, they are entitled to go ahead and leverage their own stupidity into a competitive disadvantage as their competitor picks the candidate up.
Anyway, as for LinkedIn, I don’t know if it’s a good idea to show pictures. I think in a perfect business networking situation they wouldn’t have them, but LinkedIn have to try to stay alive, so they may have to get a little more personal to do it.
It’s an option, folks, not a mandatory thing. Lots of people on Facebook don’t have pix either. I do, both at LinkedIn and Facebook. My advice? Take a quality, well-lit professional picture of your smiling face and stick to using that one.
To be honest, I’m indifferent. I’d rather meet a smart, ambitious person, than a beautiful, charming human being. Having said that, it’s not always how the world works. Keep in mind…
“Video killed the radio star…”
Cheers,
Aidan
http://www.MappingTheWeb.com
If I understood correctly, if you were hiring you could choose to “Not Show Profile Pictures”
Or did I mis read somewhere?
Yea, but even if they could, they wouldn’t.