And the fastest way to look like someone a hiring manager might want to work with-day in and day out-is to give your LinkedIn photo a simple smile. When viewed in a professional context like LinkedIn (rather than a social one like Facebook), this type of picture can backfire into a negative impression, such as indicating you’re not serious, that you’re inappropriate, or that you’re a goofball. It might project personal values, like “loyal” or “fun,” but nothing that translates directly to the workplace. For instance, if your photo shows you in a baseball jersey in a stadium seat holding a foam finger, this says little to nothing about you as a professional. Skip a Picture That Doesn’t Project Business ValuesĪn unprofessional picture is any that fails to put you in a professional light. LinkedIn allows large photo files, but they should be no larger than 8 MB. But, your photo can be as much as 4320 by 7680 pixels if you choose. It should be at least 400 by 400 pixels, so the photo isn’t blurry or pixelated when it’s uploaded. Make sure the file is a high-resolution photo. And if you take a selfie, be sure to crop out the arm you extended to take the picture. Seeing someone else’s arm in your picture looks a little…odd. If you’re cropping other people out of the picture, be sure to remove all of them. You should be centered, as best as possible, in the photo. Once it uploads, your photo might be nothing but face in that circle, which could look a little weird. That said, make sure the picture isn’t just your face. In fact, LinkedIn recommends that your face should take up about 60% of the photo. Full-body shots aren’t recommended because you’ll appear tiny, making it difficult for people to see you. Your LinkedIn profile picture should be a headshot, meaning that it shows you from the shoulders up. However, it shouldn’t be a picture from 10 years ago, no matter how good you look in it. That doesn’t mean it needs to be from this week, this month, or even this year. The first rule about choosing a picture is that it should be up to date. And, if that happens more than three times, you’ll never be able to upload a profile picture to LinkedIn again-even if it is your headshot. If LinkedIn sees you’re using a profile picture that violates the rules, they can remove it. LinkedIn has strict rules about what you can and cannot use as a profile photo. And you can further adjust the settings so that only people you are connected with see your picture.Īs for putting something other than a headshot (say, a nature picture or a logo you designed), don’t. You can, however, change it so that if someone searches for you, they can find your LinkedIn profile, but not necessarily your picture. If the thought of adding a profile picture is worrisome, change your LinkedIn profile picture privacy settings.īy default, LinkedIn makes your profile picture public. However, you may have some legitimate concerns about using a profile picture. So when recruiters search for candidates, they may never see your “incomplete,” yet perfect-for-the-job profile. Complete profiles are more likely to show up in search results than incomplete profiles. Or, your lack of a profile picture may imply that you don’t use LinkedIn very often, which is not the message you want to send.Īlso, your missing profile picture means LinkedIn considers your profile “incomplete.” And while you may not care about your incomplete profile, you should. Upload a Pictureįirst and foremost, have a picture! There are a lot of scammers on LinkedIn, and the generic gray profile placeholder might make people think your account is a spam account. So, make sure you’re following these tips to create a winning LinkedIn profile picture. But, that picture could send the wrong first impression. Sure, you need a great resume, summary, and everything else. That means the wrong kind of LinkedIn profile picture can solidify a negative impression within seconds before you even have a chance to win them over with your experience and credentials.Ĭhoosing the right picture is essential to creating a good first impression with recruiters viewing your LinkedIn profile. Did you know your LinkedIn profile picture could be harming your job search? That it could be the real reason recruiters and hiring managers aren’t following up? The fact is that people form an opinion about you based on your picture in less than 100 milliseconds.
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