6 Simple Guidelines to Keep in Mind When Updating Your LinkedIn Profile Picture | Tech News
It’s all about putting your best professional face out there.
BY Amy George – 19 Jun 2018
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes. On LinkedIn, your picture is worth 14 times more profile views by recruiters and others, according to the professional networking site.
In recent years, I’ve been good at updating mine, getting new headshots twice since 2015. It’s a small investment — time wise and money wise — in making sure I look like myself on my LinkedIn and that people who have never met me are able to pick me out of a crowded coffeehouse for a networking meeting.
What makes for a good LinkedIn profile pic? Here are six things to keep in mind.
1. You should look like you.
Choose a picture that looks like you. If you wear glasses all the time or a suit to work, you should be wearing glasses or a suit in your LinkedIn photo. Ideally, your picture should be updated every two or three years, says Charlotte, N.C.-based photographer Heather Liebler, who has taken my headshots.
2. It’s just you.
Nobody or things (ahem pets) should be in your photo but you. It’s your professional image, after all. Oh and don’t even think about cropping out a significant other. Makes for an awkward-looking LinkedIn photo, and people can always tell.
3. No selfies allowed.
Save the selfies for Facebook and Instagram. Again, for LinkedIn, keep it professional, and hire a pro for a couple hundred bucks or enlist a friend for free.
4. Your face should fill the frame.
LinkedIn advises that your face take up 60 percent of the frame. That means you’ll want to crop your picture from the top of your shoulders to just above your head.
5. Go for a natural sunlight and a neutral background.
Get out of the office with it’s unflattering fluorescent lighting and put yourself in front of a neutral background, like the side of a brick building or a white wall. People will know if your photo was taken at a baseball game or concert … um, hello distracting background.
6. Be strategic about what you wear.
Per the first item on this list, you should dress how you normally do for work or a work meeting. If that is super casual and you aren’t Mark Zuckerberg, skip the hoodie and kick it up a notch. Another thing to keep in mind is your companies colors and if you wish to coordinate with them. That’s why I’m often in reds and blues for my photos, coordinating with my company logo.
I’m putting it on my calendar to get my headshot retaken later this year. What about you?
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