Ask the Readers: When Should You Update Your Personal Avatar and Why?

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Why change something that so many people have seen and associate with you in a good way?

Your avatar is one of the most recognizable aspects of your personal brand online. Building that recognition probably took weeks, months, even years of effort. The last thing you would want to do is throw all of that away and start all over, or is it?

Saving face?

As I mentioned in 50+ Tips to Brand Yourself Online, my father passed away recently. One thing I didn’t mention is that as part of the mourning process, I’m not supposed to cut my hair or shave for the next little while. As a result, I now look like the tired, older, scruffier brother of the grinning guy that currently appears in my avatar. If you bumped into to me on the street or at a networking event, you might recognize me or you might not. Does that mean it’s time for me to change my avatar?

Should I change it back once a barber can trim my head and face again?

Enter Maor Kaplanski

Maor Kaplanski is the creator of Internetishi (which means ‘personal Internet’), arguably the best personal branding blog for Hebrew speakers. He’s also an active participant in comments here on Personal Branding Blog.

When I blogged 11 Rules for Best Personal Branding Results with Avatars, Maor left a suggestion in the comments that people should update their avatar every 6 months. Do you agree?

Picture of Jacob Share

Jacob Share

Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.

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