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Five Essentials for the Modern Business Professional

In the bustling metropolis of modern business, it can be hard to discern exactly what makes a business professional stand out from the rest of the pack. However, being able to set yourself apart from the rest is one of the only ways to truly succeed in our modern world.

Nowadays, companies are not looking for the status quo but rather pride themselves on the uniqueness of their team. Innovation and the ability to do something that is different is the crux of this new world. According to Bill Gates, “Innovation is moving at a scarily fast pace.”

With this said, how can you truly be a part of this innovation rather than just another sheep in the proverbial ‘workforce herd’? Fortunately, the answer to this is simple; by following the five essential steps below in your own professional life, you are sure to stand out from the crowd and showcase a modern business professional that is ready to take on any situation with ease.

High-Quality Professional Headshots

One of the first things young business professionals forget is a high-quality headshot. Although this may not seem like a big deal, a headshot, in many situations, is the thing that will give a business their very first impression of you.

Since most interviews nowadays happen on video chat or begin online at the very least, your photo is the best way to portray a bit of your personality and professionalism in your particular industry and ‘put your best face forward’, so to speak.

According to LinkedIn, “people decide all kinds of things about you within the first few seconds of seeing your picture and/ or meeting you – from your level of intelligence to your socio-economic status and even sexual preferences. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression so make sure your one-shot counts.”

So, what makes a high-quality headshot anyways? Well, for starters, it’s all about your wardrobe. Although you may not see much of your wardrobe in your photo, you will still want to decide what color and style of clothing you intend on wearing for the shoot.

For instance, a creative writer with a comical side may want to wear a yellow shirt with a bowtie and keep their facial hair to show their edginess. Since yellow is a color that is often connected with creativity and energy, this is a great choice and having a less professional appearance in facial hair only adds to the creative image this individual is looking to give off.

However, a lawyer may choose to stick with a suit, a blue shirt, and a well-kept appearance. Since blue is often connected to trust and loyalty along with a clean-cut appearance, this image will likely give off the appearance of trust, loyalty, cleanliness, and professionalism.

Below is a great image to showcase what colors reflect what emotions so you can determine which one is right for you and then match it with a location that also exemplifies your personality for a wonderful photo that is sure to grab the attention of any business you’re interested in.

A Personal Blog

The next business professional essential is a blog. Why? Because blogs offer individuals a perfect means to acquire new followers, showcase their quirky or creative sides, and highlight some of their best work likewise.

With this said, the big question is how you will execute this blog. For some people, having a site function as their portfolio and having their blog on said site is the best option. However, for others, the blog is a completely separate and simplistic thing that can be done using a free blogging service like Blogger.

Once you’ve determined which way you want to publish your blog posts, you will then need to determine a set structure, formatting, and theme to your blog posts. For instance, a personal blog can be about business, personal stories, industry highlights, tips and tricks related to your industry, and even humorous thoughts and takes on current events.

Although you absolutely could have a mix of all of the above, the best thing to do to keep people coming back for more is to stick to a set structure and theme until you perfect it and then begin to delve into other options slowly but surely.

Lastly, you will also want to determine how you will get people on this blog. Will it be connected to your social media accounts, do you plan to market it somehow, are you simply going to solely show potential companies you wish to work for?

Your answer to this will reflect not only what you post but how frequently you post as well. However, your best bet is to post once a week to your blog to show consistency but not overexert yourself either.

Social Media Presence

According to Statista, 2.77 billion people use social media worldwide. This number only continues to increase as time moves on as well. With this in mind, it’s important that all business professionals have a strong and consistent social media presence.

However, sometimes it can be difficult to find time to balance work, life, and social media all in one. Still, you want to know how to grow followers fast and organically nonetheless. Fortunately, there are many options out there including creating a social media calendar, hiring a team, and simply choosing an hour out of every day to be active on each social media platform.

Fortunately, even an hour on social media each day dedicated solely to updating your profile specifically is sure to increase your followers and online presence which looks good both to companies as well as other professionals in your industry looking to connect.

Design Capabilities

Most people like to leave all design elements to a designer. However, this is simply not ideal. Sometimes, being able to quickly design your own images and GIFs is much more valuable than waiting for someone to do it for you.

This is where sites like Canva and Crello come into play. While many people will try to sell products when writing about them, Canva and Crello both speak for themselves and are free to begin using.

Furthermore, they allow you to create designs that are fun and unique without spending your money on hiring a designer or artist. They have various sizes, templates, and campaigns to help you get started making it easy and effective to create your own business designs both for yourself and your company in a flash.

Online Privacy

Lastly, perhaps, the most important yet often forgotten aspect of professionalism is privacy. Online privacy is essential to keep client data safe, keep your interests and data secure, and access sensitive information without the fear of it being stolen or held ransom by hackers.

While many business professionals already utilize virtual private networks to keep their only searches, interests, and data secure, one thing they tend to forget is email tracking. Because email tracking may seem harmless at first to some individuals, using mail blocking apps is not often considered essential—or even important, for that matter.

However, according to Mailblock, “Today, 90% of all marketing emails and 20% of all personal emails have embedded tracking.”

This number is staggering and also highly concerning for business professionals looking to keep tracking pixels out of their sensitive information. Fortunately, with apps such as Mailblock, you don’t have to worry about this problem any longer. Instead, you can sit back and relax as the free app does all of the work blocking your information for you.

In the end, security and professionalism are the keys to standing out from the countless other candidates in your industry. Through this, you can make the best first impression possible and continue to impress for years to come.