This is a critical time in your life. You’ve just spent four years studying, learning, and working towards your first job in residency.
Not only will the perfect job set you for success in your career, but a more desirable placement can also mean a better quality of life via a better professional network or better location.
With that said, here are four tips to help get you a better medical residency headshot.
Four Medical Residency Headshot Tips
1: Don’t Use Your Med School Buddy
As these headshots will create a “first impression” for hiring managers at your employer of choice, a decent headshot is worth the investment in time and money. While you’re not going to be put on the home page of thelancet.com just yet, a great headshot might just be what separates your resume from the rest of the applicants.
Your med school buddy probably won’t 1) Edit/airbrush the photos 2) Have access to professional backdrops and 3) Be able to help with formatting your photo for application databases.
2: Get Some Sleep the Night Before
I get it. Many of you have been up studying for exams for weeks or months.
But, while our editors can definitely help with bags under your eyes, we can’t completely remove the skin under your eyes in the photo. So, try to plan ahead for your session. (i.e. avoid waiting until the last minute.)
If you need to push your session back a bit, that’s okay too. You’ll look more fresh and more professional if you wait – and it’ll be worth it.
3: Stick with Neutral Colored Backdrops
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here. For the medical professional, a simple/clean headshot done on white, black, or grey is likely your best choice.
For medical professionals working with children, a subtle light blue or light red may also be appropriate.
4: Confident, Natural, and Competent
Focus your energy on making sure you’re cool and relaxed for your session. Hiring managers for medical institutions want to see applicants that are professional, confident, and ooze bedside manner.
For these sessions, we recommend a jacket or blazer. Make sure to iron the jacket beforehand. If you want to bring a stethoscope or similar tool, that’s okay. You may find it “corny” later, so we’ll take photos with and without the prop.
You can find more tips here: How to Prepare for Professional Headshots
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That’s a wrap! Keep these tips in mind and you’ll have an impressive headshot for use on applications, LinkedIn, and on your future employer’s website. You can click here to learn more about medical residency headshots.
As always, reach out to us with any questions at smile@headshots-inc.com. You can also book your session here: headshots-inc.com
