A picture says a thousand words, and the same is true for your LinkedIn profile photo. While it may seem more important to you that your profile content is done well, the photos you use are equally important.
 
Just like your appearance at a job interview, your LinkedIn profile photo helps people shape an opinion about you. Right or wrong, your chosen photo can help you land your dream job – or not.

Today we’re explaining the most common mistakes people make with their profile photos, plus tips on how to choose the right photo to create a positive impression.
 


Top 10 LinkedIn Profile Photo Mistakes 


As a frequent LinkedIn user, I see a lot of great profile photos. I also see a lot of dreadful ones too! To help you avoid your photo following down that path, I’ve made a list of ten profile photo mistakes for you to avoid:

  1. Selfies – while it’s tempting to take the photo yourself, the resolution on a smartphone’s camera is usually pretty low. This results in a poor quality photo. You can also tell it’s a selfie by the way your body is positioned.
  2. Cropping – it’s easy to identify that a photo has been cropped from a group shot, and it doesn’t look good. Take a photo of you on your own!
  3. Not smiling – yes, you want to look like a serious business person, but a smile can show you are approachable, confident, enthusiastic and full of energy.
  4. A personal photo – employers and other contacts don’t want to see you on your wedding day, nor hanging out with your kids. Keep the personal and family photos away!
  5. Old photos – you may have looked better when you were younger (as we all do), but an out of date photo isn’t going to do you any favours when you show up in person for an interview or business meeting.
  6. Pets – yes, we may like animals as much as you do, but we don’t want to see you cuddling your cat or playing fetch with your dog. Unless you work in the veterinary industry, they are personal photos best left offline.
  7. No photo – if you’re not sharing a profile photo, we’re left wondering if you are real, or too lazy to add one.
  8. Bad lighting – a dark and gloomy photo with your face obscured or in shadows just doesn’t look great. Don’t do it.
  9. Your logo – your personal LinkedIn profile is about you, not your business. It’s okay to mention your business in your profile, but don’t add it to your photo too. Make it about you, or we’re going to think contacting you will mean we’re heading for a sales pitch.
  10. Sunglasses – we want to see your whole face and hiding behind sunglasses just doesn’t cut it. Take them off.

Next we’ll take a look at how to select a great profile photo for LinkedIn.


Selecting a Great LinkedIn Profile Photo 


A great tool we’ve found which helps you choose a suitable photo for your LinkedIn profile is called Photofeeler. It’s a free online tool, but does require you to vote on other peoples photos to earn credits to have your photos checked. It works by you uploading a photo of yourself, which other users then rate. Users rate your photo on characteristics such as competency, likability, authenticism,  and how influential you seem. Yes, it is solely based on the way you look in your photo, but that’s exactly what LinkedIn users are going to do too!

Other key points to consider when choosing a photo are:
  • Professionally taken by a photographer
  • High resolution
  • The photo is representative of who you are as a professional
  • You smile
  • You are dressed professionally
  • It is clear and easy to see
  • Plain background
  • Your face fills at least 80% of the photo
 
For advice on your LinkedIn profile photo and the creation of your profile itself, ask us! As professional LinkedIn users, we know how to create amazing profiles that get results. Get in touch with us today and look forward to success on LinkedIn.