George Kotsiopoulos teaches job-seeking grads the art of the selfie
The art of the selfie can be a lot more complicated than fish faces and flattering angles, particularly for recent college graduates trying to nail a job.
To address the issue and make sure Millennials aren’t posting frat party pictures as their job profile images, Procter & Gamble has launched “Face the World” with support from online career networking site LinkedIn.
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FOR THE RECORD
An earlier version of this post said Kotsiopoulos was touring the country. He’s not.
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They’ve tapped George Kotsiopoulos, fashion expert and co-host of the E! Network’s “Fashion Police,” to advise graduating sudents on what to wear, how to pose and why tailoring is of utmost importance via the Face the World Tumblr page. “Style Ambassadors” for the effort are visiting college campuses through May 20 to relay Kotsiopoulos’ advice in person.
Here, Kotsiopoulos to shares his best advice on how to take a job-ready selfie.
What is one key piece of advice you give new grads about how they present themselves?
Regardless of any styling, you want your photo to look effortless. And by effortless, I don’t mean you just rolled out of bed, but natural. Looking “too cool for school” also doesn’t work for your LinkedIn profile photo -- you want to come across as looking professional yet approachable.
In this age of social media, why is it important for new graduates to consider their look and online image?
A professional, polished online image is a must, regardless of your industry. Sure, you can be slightly more experimental for creative fields, but you still can’t get too crazy. Prospective employers and recruiters want to get a feel for who you are and your personality and they do so by checking out your online images. According to LinkedIn, recruiters spend 19% of their total time on LinkedIn looking at profile pictures and your LinkedIn profile is 11 times more likely to be viewed if a photo is included.
Is there a key item of clothing or accessory every new grad should consider investing in, in order to be prepared for interviews and meetings?
Flattering, tasteful, powerful -- these are words you should think about when dressing professionally. You can’t go wrong with well-tailored, conservative clothing. As far as gender-neutral suiting goes, I think gray is the way to go with a crisp white shirt and black accessories. The tailoring must be impeccable. For the guys I would say a dark or medium gray suit and for the ladies it would be the same but ideally including a vest and pencil skirt in addition to the blazer and trouser. Sticking with black, white and all shades of gray will make it foolproof and chic.
