I had coffee this morning with a recent graduate from my alma mater (go, Jumbos!) who wants a Communications job. After I recovered from reviewing her stellar resume (I think she may have negotiated a peace treaty or something, I swear), I realized that my advice to young job seekers can be summed up in these five points:
1. Don’t let what you do for money get in the way of your career
But you need to reframe your thinking: In our image-driven world, mastering posing for photos is an executive skill. Use the opportunity to learn from the photographer how to project your best self on camera, just as you use coaches to perfect your delivery in an interview or in the gym to fix your form.
A headshot photo set up is much less glamorous than something for a magazine story. Your main goal is to get at least one good shoulders-up shot. The photographer may position you in ways that feel a bit weird because they look good on camera – just breathe, and think of how silly this all is (which will give you “smize” – more on that below).
Image of Mark Zuckerberg created by Charis Tsevis using Facebook icons
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