Harvard Business School study reveals online profile pictures significantly influence hiring on platforms, with a strong correlation to perceived job performance.
The impact is more pronounced when platform reputation systems are highly inflated, emphasizing the importance of a fitting profile image.
As platforms present more candidates, the likelihood of profile pics affecting decisions increases, potentially disadvantaging those not conforming to visual expectations.
The research underscores the need for authentic imagery, inspired by incidents highlighting biases in representations like OneLogin's 2015 ad backlash.