Feed-scrolling, profile-swiping, video-zapping… Today's swipe culture is characterized by increasingly short attention spans and mountains of content that can make it hard to spot relevance. After reading 10 memes in a minute, can one really remember what the first meme was about?
Like the overall online environment, the job market is highly impacted by swipe culture, especially as candidate recruitment enters the Tinder age. With online processes constituting the new norm (over traditional face-to-face job interviews), it's easier than ever to contact potential employers… And harder than ever to make yourself noticed.
Even if you're the best candidate for the job, your cover letter, profile, or CV is just one of hundreds or even thousands of others. For recruiters, spotting you can be a little like finding a needle in a haystack. That's why your professional headshot is so important—in the context of swipe culture, it's the one thing that "sticks" with potential employers. After all, humans are better at remembering faces than names, professional qualifications, or college degrees.
Given how tough it is to stand out in our swipe-centric world, all help is welcome. Headshot Kiwi is an AI headshot generator that creates a professional, optimized picture of your face based on a set of provided selfies. In this article, we will tell you why AI headshots can give you an edge in a competitive job market and explain how easy it is to achieve impressive results with our generator.
AI and the Job Market
You still don't use AI in your job applications? Then, it's probably time to step up. The job market is transforming quickly and incorporating AI technology at a rapid pace. Recruiters themselves are forced to act as "artificial intelligences" by analyzing large sets of data, and they often resort to chatbots to aid them in the process. Moreover, they are beginning to look for candidates in new platforms; it's not just LinkedIn, Upwork, and so forth… Right now, even TikTok is a major marketplace for jobs.
With job hunting becoming an en masse experience, AI technology can help both candidates and recruiters by automating processes and streamlining the creation of CVs and cover letters. Headshot Kiwi does just that for your professional headshot, creating AI-generated photos that, believe it or not, may be even more real than reality…
The Effectiveness of AI Headshots
Generative AI gets better by the day, and surprising research shows that AI depictions of faces are already more real than reality. A Psychological Science study with 124 participants determined that, while 66% of the provided AI images were rated as human, only 51% of the real images were considered to be so.
This is a powerful statement in favor of the effectiveness of AI headshots. They aren't just an accurate representation of reality… They are an expansion of it! Using an AI headshot on your cover letters and social media profiles can therefore increase your chances of impressing recruiters.
In the middle of thousands of "normal" headshots, your AI headshot should have what it takes to cause a memorable impression, inspiring your future employer to stop swiping and schedule a job interview. But are AI headshots really better than traditional headshots?
Why AI Headshots Are Better Than Traditional Headshots
AI headshots are great because they save you tons of time. Instead of wasting a whole day on an awkward and expensive photoshoot, you just need to collect a few high-quality selfies, upload them to our generator, and let Headshot Kiwi work its magic.
Convenience is the obvious advantage of Headshot Kiwi, but did you know that AI headshots are actually better than real ones? Here's why:
1. AI Leverages Memorability
The memorability of an image is based on well-defined criteria, and AI engines like ours understand this intrinsically. AI headshots, unlike traditional ones, contain the basic elements that make an image memorable, helping it stand out in an overcrowded swipe-culture environment.
According to MIT, AI intentionally amplifies traits of memorability in pictures, including brightness and other aspects that make images "stick in our minds". So, to put it simply, Headshot Kiwi can help you impress recruiters by making your headshot more memorable with the kind of broadness and precision only AI systems can achieve.
2. AI Makes You More Attractive
Here's something you probably already know: looking more attractive makes you more memorable and can increase your chances of landing a job. This is why it's important to look good in your headshot (as long, of course, as you still look like yourself).
AI, like humans, is fascinated by attractiveness, and the headshots generated by Headshot Kiwi tend to portray you in the most generous possible light. The idea is to preserve authenticity (meaning the headshot still looks like you and not like a Hollywood-esque, fictionalized version) while also making you prettier.
Interestingly enough, attractiveness can help you get a job despite not being linked to memory… Shocking as it is, research shows that less attractive faces can be more memorable than more attractive ones!
Don't worry, though: as we've seen, AI already works hard to increase image memorability and, despite being more or less memorable, attractive people have a big advantage in the job market. Therefore, attractiveness should always be something you strive for when creating your ideal AI headshot.
3. AI Pictures Work!
AI headshots are also better than traditional headshots because AI-generated images are getting so good that they already beat professional photos. A few studies back this view, with research showing that:
- AI-generated images rated 16.5% higher in quality than real photos
- AI-generated images were perceived as 7.1% more real than real photos
While these conclusions were delivered in the context of a marketing study, they can surely be applied to job-market AI tools such as Headshot Kiwi.
Convinced? It's Time to Use Headshot Kiwi!
So far, we have shown you why using AI headshots can give you the advantage you need to stand out in a swipe-culture environment where it is increasingly harder to get noticed. They can be the distinctive element you need to catch the eye of a future employer and land that new job you've been dreaming of.
Now, it's time to see how easy and quick it is to use Headshot Kiwi to generate a job-landing headshot:
- Sign in and create an account.
- Click on "Generate your headshots now".
- Prepare around 13 selfies, focusing on realistic representations of yourself and image quality aspects like resolution and lighting.
- Upload the selfies to Headshot Kiwi.
- Tailor the settings and preferences of your future AI headshot.
- Wait while Headshot Kiwi creates several AI headshots of yourself.
- Choose your favorite AI headshots, download them to your computer, and add them to your CV and social media.
If you're not happy with the results, just experiment with new selfies and generate new pics until you get the one you want.
💡 Pro Tip:
In our swipe-culture world, you have seconds to make an impression. Make those seconds count with a professional AI headshot that's optimized for memorability and attractiveness. Your future self will thank you when you land that dream job!
