Update your bios

Take an hour to make sure you still are who you say you are

My fifth child just turned four. In other words, he didn’t just arrive yesterday. However, sometimes when people are introducing me (on a podcast, or for a talk) they’ll say “and Laura is a mother of four!” I usually make a joke about it (“I forget how many kids I have myself!”) but eventually I tracked down the problem — some of my online bios that come up when you Google me say I have four kids. It wasn’t really the first thing I thought to look up after having a fifth kid, and people just report what they find.

Maybe you have something like this in your life. It’s easy for head shots and biographical information to become outdated. I’ve even heard stories of people not recognizing someone they were supposed to meet because the person’s online photos didn’t look anything like them currently!

The historical record

I sympathize. I took a headshot I really liked back in 2015, and I’m hoping to keep using that for a while. I like to pretend I look exactly the same, instead of having aged nine years. I guess it looks more like me than the one I was using from 2008! But I know I’m on thin ice here. If your appearance has changed a lot, the sad truth is that using an older photo is probably going to emphasize the exact thing that you were self-conscious about (“Bob…I didn’t recognize you…I thought you had hair?”)

Bios can become out of date even quicker — and can lead to some awkward situations. A conference prints your bio from an old association directory entry, and next thing you know people are reaching out to you to learn about your old employer…which you left on not-so-happy terms six months before.

In any case, it’s wise to take an hour once a year or so to make sure everything is up to date. This really doesn’t need to take much time.

Find what other people see

First you should look at the obvious places: your own website, your employer’s website if you’re listed there, and LinkedIn. Then, take a minute to search for yourself online. What comes up?

You probably don’t need to worry about something that’s four or five pages down on results. But if something in the top ten results is incorrect, see if there’s a way you can correct the record. An old media article won’t change (it may have been correct at the time!). But a page highlighting notable alumni from your college might. See if there’s a contact email (sometimes you can find a “Contact us” link or search for “contact” and the name of the organization publishing the page).

If you’ve moved recently, think about who might have your address. Given how many things are paperless these days, I didn’t realize how many forms were out of date until some tax forms were sent to the old address. Whoops.

In general, it’s best to be who you say you are. Taking a little time to update pictures and bios helps make sure that there are no surprises — for you or anyone else.