At least, that’s how a colleague said I looked on LinkedIn.

In case you missed it, LinkedIn is like FB for suits and ties.

This week, I figured it was time to smarten my LinkedIn profile pic.

Trouble is, I’ve never looked sharp or smart.

Trouble is, I smile a lot and have curly hair.

Certainly not sharp-looking like former foreign minister Julie Bishop, who appeared among the sharpest and smartest of the mob who call Parliament House their ‘workplace’.

(Note to self, looking sharp is not the battle. It’s substance and hard work that counts. That’s what I’ve told my daughters. Just ask Julie.)

Anyhow, I well remember the day when I was simultaneously hot, smart and sharp.

I was on the corner of Elizabeth and Market streets, Sydney. It was precisely 2pm, February 28, 1978.

The more I’ve tried to look studious and smart the less smart and studious I appear.

Is it important to look smart? (Not really. But it is, for sure, lots of fun trying.)

I wanted to look smart, sharp and perhaps a little hot when I interviewed Imran Khan during the 1992/93 Test cricket tour.

I tried to look sharp when I interviewed prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd and premiers Lara Giddings and David Bartlett.

The truth: I did get along well with the great Khan but it was nothing to do with my sporty, smart polo shirt and skirt and more to do with the story he wanted to tell about his mother’s cancer… fair enough.

And while my smart papal purple scarf did attract Ms Gillard’s admiration, getting a straight answer was impossible. (Let’s face it, she had hair issues.)

Ms Giddings, my very favourite, gave straight answers to tough questions and loved my smarty red pashmina so much, I believe she went out and bought its sister.

David Bartlett? Well, he smiled, played with his thumb ring and probably wished he had a smart, man-scarf.

Kevin Rudd? Took off his tie and ordered two gins and gave candid answers.

What’s not to love? And his wife Therese, has curly hair and is quite the sharp and smart business person.

I digress.

I actually thought I looked smart and knowledgeable on LinkedIn.

I was wearing my on-trend, translucent gold plastic specs from a dodgy designer in Melbourne and my hair looked tidy/dishevelled but knowledgeable.

I know, how can one have knowledgeable hair?

Well, knowledgeable hair is curly hair that says ‘this woman is curly and smart’.

No straight hair for me, just knowledgeable curls.

Famous and smart women with errant curly hair include journalist Annabel Crabb (razor smart) and artist Mirka Mora (creative, smart and sweet crazy).

Research for this piece led me to Smart Growth Vermont, where smarter people have researched the role and history of smart women’s hair in the empowerment struggle in the US.

Yep. Clap trap.

“There are many hairstyles that have helped in building confidence in the women throughout the US history. The main reason behind this popularity was that many women with curly hair became the members of parliament and this played an important role in empowering. The women with curly hair promoted their concepts due to the dignity they achieved in the parliament.”

Well, call me Annabel Crabb and pass me the Motion Lotion (curly hair product).

What’s that, Julie?

“If only I had naturally curly hair.

“Maybe I could have been Prime Minister?”