Get a headshot.
Not a selfie. Not the photo from your best friend's wedding where you cropped out your ex. An actual headshot.
This matters more than people think. Recruiters will look at your LinkedIn. They'll look at it before the interview, and sometimes before even deciding whether to interview you. A bad photo, or no photo at all, sends a signal. A good photo sends a different one.
You don't need a $500 professional shoot. Here's the minimum viable version:
- A plain wall (white, beige, a soft grey, nothing busy)
- Natural light from a window, facing you (not behind you)
- A shirt with a collar, or a clean sweater
- A friend with a decent phone camera
- Shoulders up, looking at the camera, soft smile
Take twenty shots. Pick the best one. Edit it lightly. Just color and exposure. Don't airbrush yourself into someone else.
**A few do-nots:**
- No sunglasses
- No filters that change your face
- No group photos cropped down
- No photos from three years ago when you looked different
- No gym mirror selfies. No bathroom anything.
If the whole headshot thing feels vain to you, I get it. But think of it this way. You're asking someone to trust you with a job. They're going to form a first impression of you whether you like it or not. You might as well have some say in what that impression is.
