The number of members registered at business networking site Linkedin has recently reached 70m and, according to Kevin Eyres, managing director of Linkedin Europe, more than 50 per cent of Fortune 100 and 25 per cent of FTSE 100 companies pay to use the site's corporate recruiting solutions.
Those who peruse the website are not only seeking professional details and résumés but, unlike many a conventional CV, will also stumble across a member's photograph. Online image matters in the business world, every bit as much as it does on social site Facebook.
Cosmetics giant Estée Lauder is one of the first to pick up on this new reality. Beth Zurn, senior vice-president of global education and special events, says that at an internal brainstorming session at the company's headquarters, “everyone agreed they liked being on sites such as Facebook, but the number one concern was finding the right profile photo. Instead of posting a snapshot from last year's holiday, we all wanted a photo that made us look our best.”