Dear Debbie: What’s In A Photo?

The statement I hear most often when people find out what I do is, “I have a profile on LinkedIn but I don’t use it.”
I hear ya.

Mine gathered dust for about three years because I didn’t have the patience required to learn how to use the site.
That changed after I left the world of 9-to-5 and went out on my own as a professional writer. My first job was writing for a political campaign, exactly what I wanted to do.

Unfortunately our campaign didn’t prevail in the election, and I didn’t see it coming – I had nothing in the pipeline to keep the business going. I scrambled, writing website content, ghostwriting blogs … anything I could find … but my heart wasn’t in it and neither was my income.

I got to the point where I started applying for 9-to-5 jobs, feeling like a total loser. And the cherry on the proverbial cake? I was forced to ask my mother for a short-term loan. My self-confidence was somewhere around my toenails.
One day my friend told me to stop with the résumés and get on LinkedIn – “Everyone hires there!”

So I started reading every book, blog and article about how to write a LinkedIn profile in the way that would bring eyes, connections and business inquiries. And I realized I could teach people what I’d learned or their profiles for them.

About two months after I’d posted my shiny new profile, I got an email from someone at Lincoln Motors. They’d found me on LinkedIn, were having their sales retreat in Newport Beach and would I come and speak. About two weeks and $3500 later, I was a LinkedIn trainer. That was seven years ago.

I’ll be writing a monthly column called Dear Debbie for this fabulous new magazine. If you have a question about LinkedIn, just send it over to info@LinkedInBossLady.com.

📌 Here’s this month’s Keeper:
Because your profile photo is literally the first impression of you that readers have, use a pro photographer who knows how to pose and light you. You’ll want a shoulders-up shot, called a headshot, so that your face can be clearly seen, and you convey ”friendly,” “warm” and “professional.” A solid color or small print that makes your eyes pop is always a good choice. Your goal is to look like you on your best, most rested day.