Here’s the Real Reason You May Not Be Getting Hired

A picture can speak a thousand words. It also can be the first thing that person sees before they meet you. Social media has allowed complete transparency into someone’s life and making a good first impression is no new concept when it comes to applying for a job or during your job interview.
As the job search becomes more digital, it’s important to continue to dress to impress. Put on those new slacks and the shirt your mom loves and ask your friend to take a picture of you. The selfie has become a cultural symbol, but this fun pastime is not encouraged when trying to emulate your candidacy. Don’t get us wrong; you still want to capture a photo that shows off your personality and your professional side.
With over 250,000 Jobblers on our platform, we have some great insight into the importance and impact of uploading professional photos to your Jobbler profile. We thought we’d share some of this insight and provide a few helpful tips to make sure you land the job you want.

Promote Yourself

First impressions are vital because you know people quickly click away from a site if they’re not interested. There are too many voices screaming for attention, so you want your first impression to be a solid one. You want to present yourself as a decisive, essential and indispensable. Your professional photo is an excellent tool in your job search strategy. High-quality, original images help your profile stand out from your competition. Professional photography lets you adequately express what you’re about.

It doesn’t hurt to remove anything that may be suggestive or offensive, whether it’s of you or anyone else (you don’t want to be guilty by association). If you have photos that make you an attractive candidate (i.e., attending an important conference, volunteering, etc.), those are great examples of your ethics!

Invest in Your Future

People study faces. When potential hiring managers come to your profile, they will examine your look and see if they can trust you with your business a professional photo of you gives them a chance to make a connection.
Don’t have a friend with a high-quality camera? Although it may seem over the top, getting professional photography will produce more than you’ll spend. Photos will generate more hires which will in turn reward you with more money.
If you’re not typically photogenic, a pro can make you look amazing (that lighting though). Photographers are taught to bring out your personality in your photos.

Take a Professional Photo at Home

If you want to leave it to your natural-born photography skills and save some money, you can certainly achieve a great result by following these steps:

1. Find a plain wall across from a window. Preferably you want to stand in front of a wall directly facing a window to enhance your lighting.
2. Set up a tripod to hold your smartphone. Selfies distort proportions of your face, make sure to take your photo at least 5 feet away from your face–tripods are a great way to achieve this goal.
3. Use your timer feature to take pictures. Once you’ve got your phone in the right position, turn on your camera timer setting and strike a pose!
4. Edit your favorite. Free online photo-editors are not a rare commodity these days, choose from plenty of  platforms like PicMonkey, BeFunky, and Fotor to create studio lighting effects.
5. Photo feedback. If you’re having trouble choosing the best photos from your shoot, photofeeler.com is a great resource that provides unbiased feedback on your headshots from real business professionals.
6. Wear solid color clothing. Patterns distract hiring managers from looking at your face, instead of wearing your favorite Hawaiian shirt, opt for a solid color shirt instead.

Just how successful you will be if you follow our advice? Jobblers that have been hired for 40 or more shifts had 3 or more professional pictures and an average rating of 4.8 stars!