How recruiters "read" your headshot, and how it can get you more work.

What are recruiters "looking for"?

Place yourself in the shoes of a recruiter or manager, looking to expand their team - with potentially hundreds of applications to sort through. Think about what that company is looking for:

1) Experience, which is stated clearly on any legitimate application form.

2) Transferable skills, of which most applicants will have enough unique qualities to pass by.

3) Linked knowledge, of which most applicants will apply for the job with in mind.

So, if we can determine that most companies are getting hundreds of applications from similar people, with similar skills, and similar knowledge - all trying to break into the same industry, what makes "the best" stand out from "the rest"?

Well of course, job history and experience plays a pivotal role in your application, but so do you. Companies are always looking for people who will fit well in their team. Qualities that are more linked with an individuals persona - such as skills in cooperation, leadership, and so on and so fourth. Surprisingly, a good headshot has a lot more to do with this than you might think!

How we "read" images.

We read images based on a system or signs and symbols (a study known as semiotics) - for example, we know that an individual is happy thanks to the visual of a smile or thumbs up (both signs that mascaraed as gestures). We then associate these signs or symbols with other feelings, personal experiences, or judgements. This is especially prevalent in the workforce - where standards must be kept high in order to appease company policies (for example, a tidy workplace conveys order, a chaotic workplace conveys neglect). Obviously, this is an incredibly simplified version of what semiotics are, and how we read images - but the core idea still stands for the purpose of this blog.

(Pictured above: Matthew Reynolds - Director of "Some Guys With a Camera" and creator of "Birchall's Pints").

When a recruiter looks at a CV, they might see a beautifully laid out document that has clearly had a lot of work put into it - and stapled next to it, a photo of an applicant in their bedroom, or on the beach, or at a wedding. As a sign or symbol, what does this tell the recruiter? Especially when placed next to the headshot of an individual in a pressed suit, with professional photography. Even if it isn't true, it reads "one cares more, one is more professional".

This is all the same for potential clients - would you rather pick the lawyer with a professional studio headshot representing themselves, or the lawyer with a picture of a snake around their neck during their stag do in Brazil representing themselves?

And so, you may be thinking that in order to achieve a professional look - all corporate headshot photography must be incredibly structured, intricately crafted with hair gel, lack of breath, and uncomfortable, awkward positioning - after all, if we want the viewer to "read" our headshot in a certain way, we must "be" a certain way.

The subtle art of showing yourself.

Good headshot photography shows you looking professional. Great headshot photography shows you. Remember what we said at the beginning of this blog - what separates you from the crowd is your personal qualities and unique traits. Knowing this, a seasoned photographer will use subtle changes in body language and facial expressions to help convey who you are - and this doesn't actually take much work. It's less about posing you, and more about helping you become yourself in front of a camera.

For example:

1) Crossing your arms suggests authority, and the authoritative figure will naturally do this.

2) Chuckling at a joke while staring down the lens of a camera suggests a fun personality, but with focus, and the light-hearted figure will naturally do this.

3) A slight squint suggests attention to detail, and the attentive figure will naturally do this.

This is at the core of all great headshots - a faithful representation of the person on the application, but heightened professionally. I always warn against "character" headshots for corporate clients, and instead opt for a conversation between myself, and my subject - one of which the camera observes. This is when people fall comfortable in the big bad scary photographers presence, and when we can truly capture who they are.

It is here where your CV will stand our. Eyes are a powerful things, and your personality will jump from the screen. This is only one part of what a great headshot does - the rest is up to well designed lighting, backdrop choice, composition, and the general rules of studio photography. But, more than anything else, that "look" that represents you so truthfully and engagingly, will be the one that lands you that interview.

So yes, a professional headshot will help you get more work - not because it is expected, but because it is perceived as such. We don't just see images, we read them. What do you want yours to say?

Nic - FourthCornerPhotography.