LinkedIn Profile Tips 1.1 – An appropriate Profile Picture
Your picture is the first thing that catches someone’s eye when they see your social media profile. And LinkedIn, although a social media website, is used for professional networking.
So, make sure your photo looks professional, clear and eye-catching if you’re in here for jobs. Now, don’t take help from Photoshop to increase the brightness. Heavily edited (or filtered) images are an absolute NO-NO. And the same goes for scanned and uploaded passport photos.
Then, what to do? What can be an appropriate profile picture for LinkedIn?
This is Part 1.1 of "How to use LinkedIn to get jobs?" series.
Well, here are a few LinkedIn profile tips for your picture –
It should be yours
Yes, of course, it should be. When going to the job, you don’t send your dog or your new Harley Davidson instead of you. Also, your future boss should know how you look. Check LinkedIn Profile Photo Guidelines
No selfie/close-up
While a professional headshot is preferred, it isn’t mandatory for your LinkedIn profile. Still, that doesn’t mean you should upload a picture of your face as if an accidental click from your front camera. Even an angled selfie is frowned upon.
An appropriate dress
There aren’t any particular dress codes but stick with the wardrobe you would like during work. However, anything which doesn’t give you off as a junkie should be fine.
No sunglasses or hats
Sunglasses, hats or other accessories make you stylish but they also, take the focus from you… the ‘eye contact’ is broken. Moreover, you don’t wear sunglasses or that scuba gear while working, or do you? Also, you might not want to flaunt your DSLR unless you are in the travel industry or something alike.
A simple background
Yes, not only do you have to take care of your appearance, but also the surrounding. Have a background where you stand out and your dress doesn’t camouflage you with the environment. Also, don’t upload a pic with accidental (or intentional) photobombs.
A little smile
The reason is pretty self-explanatory. You don’t want to look like a grumpy professor. Even a slight smile (along with a gentle head tilt) makes you look friendly and more approachable.
And that’s all I can remember for now. Oh, another thing!
Go solo! Yeah, dude, you look good. You don’t need someone else in your professional photo for it to be appealing.
Now, some technical details…
The LinkedIn photo specifications page states that your image should at least be 400 px wide and 400 px tall for it to be clear.
Don’t worry; your smartphone camera clicks images which are much larger than that. So, pick a high-resolution photo, in which you look simple but elegant. Opt for your regular look and have your glasses on if you wear them most of the times. Upload it and then, zoom in and keep the focus on your face and shoulder. A little till waist would be fine, but anything more than that starts making your face illegible. So, crop off the rest.
If you couldn’t find any such picture in your collection, pick a plain shirt/t-shirt/dress and head off to, maybe, an empty wall for the shot. Keep your pose simple, maintain eye contact and look friendly.
All those LinkedIn profile photo tips can be followed by you even if you aren’t looking for a job.
What other tips do you have? Let me know in the comments.
