Think headshots are just for actors and models?  Wrong! Today, you need a professional online picture. In a competitive job market, any advantage over your competition is worth taking.  Whether you’re a recently graduated young professional looking for a job or an experienced corporate executive, the right online impression is a must.  And visuals – a professional online picture – plays a vital role in this. Just like casting directors, employers and clients are looking for a “type” of individual who looks like he or she is capable of completing the necessary job.  Your professional online picture should reflect that you are someone who gets things done in your field.

1. Call a professional. Remember, this is your chance to make a stunning first impression even before you meet an employer.  Putting effort into your professional online picture shows that you are a person to be taken seriously in a competitive market. Ask your friends if they know anyone who freelances. Often, a friend of a friend will take shots for free to add to their portfolio.

2. Dress appropriately. If you’re not trying to be on the next issue of Vogue or Rolling Stone, don’t take glamor shots.  Consider your business and what image you want to convey when you choose your attire.  An accessory with a splash of color will make you more memorable (a tie for men or a scarf for women).  Photographers’ lights may wash out your complexion, and too vibrant an outfit may detract from your face.  A good photographer will be able to help you with choosing the best outfit and make up for the shoot.  Wear minimal jewelry that compliments your features and coordinates with your clothes.

3. Smile. Think about what kind of first impression you want to make on your most important client or for your most promising employer.  When you sit for the photograph, act just as though that person has entered the room.  You want to look confident but trustworthy.  People make instantaneous decisions about you as a person based on your facial expression the first time you meet.  Smile and you look approachable, dependable, and likeable – someone the other person wants to do business with.

4. Be genuine. Even if your mouth is smiling, your eyes will give away any other emotion you might be feeling.  People can tell when you’re “fake smiling” and it makes you look as though you have something to hide or just don’t care.  At the very least it does not leave one with the impression that you are the sympathetic, strong individual one wants to hire.

5. Market yourself. After your photos are taken, be sure to put them online in as many of your networking sites as possible.  LinkedIn and even Facebook can be excellent sources of business networking instead of a place to put party pictures.  Change that fraternity photo for one that shows that you are ready to be taken seriously as a business professional.

6. Be consistent. Once you have decided which photo is going to be your professional face online, stick with it.  Putting ten different photos up on different sites (if you can Google your name and find your pictures, prospective employers can too) is inconsistent branding – make it obvious who you are across all platforms.

Consistently using a quality, professional online picture online to increase your visibility to employers will give you an edge over your competition and show that you take yourself seriously.  Ideally, employers or clients will be able to read a quality biography of you to get to know your personality and see a photograph of you to make you stand out in their minds.  It is easy to forget a resume and the applicant who submitted it. Often, a human face with personality help employers will take notice.

Bethany Stringer is a graduate of Texas A&M University (class of ‘08) and has her B.A. in English Literature with minors in History and Psychology.  She is currently working as a decorative artisan’s apprentice, and plans to teach English in Russia in 2010 as a CELTA certified teacher.  She owned her own business working horses when she was 17, and still loves riding her horse Romeo.  Always appreciating a challenge, she loves sea kayaking and prefers Rachmaninov to Bach.

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Maintaining a professional online image is a very important aspect of your career. Through a simple online search, an employer or client can find out what you like to do, how you blog and tweet and see the overall professional online image you portray of yourself.

Here’s advice and eight tips on maintaining your image as a professional online:

First of all, how often do you update your Facebook status? More importantly, how do your updates reflect your professional online image? The status “At the bar getting trashed tonight” does not sounds professional. Neither does the wall post from your friend talking about that last party.

1. Don’t use your status updates to share information about the actions an employer doesn’t need to know about, censor your wall posts and patrol the posts written by others on your own wall.

The photos you post also can impact how people perceive your online professional image. Although it won’t hurt your image if you have photos showing you outside of the professional setting, it will hurt you if your photos display you in a way an employer may see as inappropriate. Even if you don’t post unprofessional photos of yourself, your friends could still tag you in photos without considering how it could affect your image. Depending on your career goals, the type of photos considered appropriate will vary.

2. Never post pictures of yourself at a bar, party or other situation that may be inappropriate and inform your friends to ask for permission before tagging you in a photo.

Facebook users concerned with maintaining a professional online image also should be cautious about joining groups and fan pages. Groups such as “Party Girls” do not portray professionalism. The various applications on Facebook, such as quizzes and games, also can affect your image.

3. Try to avoid joining groups, fan pages and applications that are not relevant to your field. If you decide to join an irrelevant group, be sure it is about a topic you would be willing to discuss with a company CEO and your grandmother.

Setting your profile to private is one way to avoid professional online image issues. But, people often accept friends who they do not know well. Additionally, a potential employer may go through a mutual friend to see your profile.

4. Even with strict privacy settings, it is still possible for other people to get access to your Facebook account. Always be insistent on maintaining a professional online image,  even if your profile is set to private.

Your tweets and the conversations you join are a reflection of your professional online image. If you do not have your tweets set to private, watch what you tweet.

5. Build a professional online image by sharing ideas and information and adding knowledge to the community. Write relevant and useful tweets.

One of the social networks used less often by young professionals is LinkedIn. But, LinkedIn can help build credibility in a person’s professional online image. You should go beyond simply filling out a profile and take full advantage of the site’s features.

6. Request recommendations, join groups and answer questions of other users after creating your LinkedIn profile.

Participating in the blogosphere also can help build a professional online image. Blogging displays leadership and knowledge in your given field. As a blogger, you also should contribute to the community by commenting on other blogs. If you wish to be seen as a professional, you should not write about personal matters on your blog.

7. Strategically write blog posts that will showcase your skills and knowledge and comment on other industry-related blogs.

A personal Web site or online portfolio is a great tool to help build a professional online image. Not only does it show that you are serious about your career, but you also can include materials to promote your personal brand, such as recommendations and work examples.

8. Create a clean, well-designed Web site focused on promoting your personal brand in your field to help build your image.

Professional online images take time to create and build. By following these eight tips, you can help build a positive and credible online image that can help advance your career.

For more information on how to increase build and maintain your professional online image please check out our other articles

1. Simple Ways to Effectively Manage Your Online Reputation
2. Personal Branding Statement
3. How to Leave Effective Forum Comments
4. 5 Tips to Rank Highly on Google and Increase Your Visibility Online

Rachel Esterline, a public relations senior at Central Michigan University, blogs at A Step Ahead and is the 2009 Founder’s Award recipient and public relations intern at Fahlgren Mortine, a public relations firm in Columbus, Ohio.

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I serendipitously came across an article on Techcrunch (after the article we posted earlier about professional images) that shows a very prominent tech blogger in a potentially brand-damaging position. Below I give you exhibit A and B.

This is Robert Scoble of the famous Scobleizer Blog. Apparently there was a big party in London (that I wasn’t invited to!) run by a few entrepreneurs over there that seemed like it was a big hit. As you can see from the pictures, Robert seemed to be a little out of it and just enjoying himself which I personally have no problem with. Everyone is entitled to do whatever they want and share it with whom ever is willing to listen. The point of this post is to demonstrate how to deal with a “personal branding gone wrong” incident and still maintain your dignity – and your job.

So what can we learn from Mr. Scoble?

1. Embrace criticism and join in the conversation:

If you read the original article on TechCrunch and scrolled down to see the comments, you would see Scoble sprinkled in there a few times. His personal brand is obvious through the way that he handles himself. Obviously, it would be hard to spin this if an employer came upon it, but what’s done is done so you need to deal with it.

2. Damage control. Don’t make it worse than it has to be:

Something like this is going to make a buzz and some controversy. A lot of the comments on the article were not that friendly, some down right obnoxious and mean. Why add fuel to the fire? If you were to argue with someone, especially online, it can be an uphill battle and sometimes even a lost cause. Scoble pokes at himself here to avoid unnecessary arguments.

3. Maintain your cool and keep true to your personal brand.

Moving forward, this will all blow over. But it is vital he does not break character. Not to say that he is playing a part, but even in compromising times, he kept true to his brand. In times of need, urgency and scrutiny, people have a tendency to turn into something that they’re not and make something small a lot bigger than it needs to be.

The lesson to be learned by this is to not put yourself in a comprising position like this. He is one of the few people that can get away with this because he has worked hard to be where he is and has a sterling reputation. A picture is worth a thousand words, so don’t give anyone an opportunity to put words in your mouth.

Please check out our other posts on how your online presence can affect your personal brand:

1. Personal Brand Management Tips? DON’T Learn From Sarah Palin
2. Do it RIGHT: Her Online Brand Got Her Fired!
3. Your Online Identity: Necessity or Fear?
4. Guy Kawasaki: How will his “ghost writers” impact his personal brand?

Trace Cohen is a rising senior at Syracuse University and bleeds orange! He is double-majoring in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. Trace has always been fascinated with technology and how stuff works. Once he gets his hands on a new gadget, rest assured it will be taken apart and put back together in a matter of minutes. Trace is a hands-on kind of guy whose first love was video games, which he loves to this day.

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