Missing 70% of your story? Your photo day is here!

Renowned Toronto storyteller Tina Edan once told her workshop participants, "When they see you, 70% of your story is already there before you even open your mouth". When it comes to your professional online profiles, the image you display there says more about you than you probably thought.  It may be an exaggeration to say “a picture is worth a thousand words” since most LinkedIn profiles are much shorter than that. So, the quality of your picture (or no picture at all) can make or break your profile. A quality headshot tells your potential contacts three things: First, you know the importance of personal branding and how to use it to your advantage. Second, you pay attention to details. Third, you look like a professional in your particular field. All of these may very well determine whether or not people continue to read your profile.

It’s important to note that in the era of social media, you usually make a first impression before you meet someone in person. A better profile picture will heavily influence that first impression. That is why when we designed our first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) Create an Expert LinkedIn Profile for Job Search we spent a significant amount of time talking about the importance of a good quality profile picture. Now that we are about to reopen this popular course, we feel we should get our participants ready in this regard.

In the inaugural session of our MOOC where more than 2500 students participated, we noticed that many participants used sub-standard pictures in their professional profiles: selfies taken from odd angles or pictures cropped from group shots, which still have someone’s arm around the person’s shoulder.  

Mostly, this was not because they didn’t understand how important a professional image is, but because they, as jobseekers with limited means, didn’t have the resources to get it done right.

CultureLink, a charity serving new Canadians in Toronto, has solved this problem for you. On Friday August 14, we will host a full-day Photo Shoot with professional photographers and makeup artists to make you look your best. Come get your profile picture. All you need to do is to dress properly and drop in at CultureLink. All services are free and please reserve a timeslot here to avoid long lineups. So if you need that 70% of your story to be shown properly, this is your photo day.