LinkedIn Profile Pictures – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

by Ruaidhri Horan, Marketing Manager, Abrivia Recruitment

Love it or hate it, LinkedIn is a social media networking site that now has over 1 million users in Ireland. As a Recruiter I use LinkedIn on a daily basis and I’m still shocked by the quality of some people’s profile pictures. So let us review LinkedIn profile pictures – The Good, The bad and The ugly

LinkedIn is a professional networking site and therefore your profile and interaction with others on LinkedIn should remain professional at all times.

As with ‘old school’ face to face networking, interviewing etc. first impressions last and your LinkedIn profile is your first impression when others view your profile.

Here are some examples below of how not to represent yourself with poor LinkedIn profile picture choices.

1.No Photo
Having no photo on your LinkedIn profile is a sin in the online networking world! If you think of a similar scenario in the ‘face to face’ world, you wouldn’t walk into a networking event/seminar/interview with a brown paper bag on your head to cover your face so why cover up when you want to network online?
 
A professional profile photo immediately makes your LinkedIn profile feel personal and human.
Are you a job seeker on LinkedIn? Did you know that if you have no profile picture you will rank at the bottom of any searches by Recruiters no matter how detailed the information is on your profile?

2.Too Far Away
Make sure your photo is predominantly of your face and not the background. You may think, ‘it makes me look interesting climbing a mountain/running a marathon/riding a horse’ but human nature is such that we want to see the whites of your eyes!

3.Photo out of focus
Make sure the photo you use is clear and in focus, there’s no excuse for blurry photos given the easy access we all have to smart phones with great cameras.

4.Inappropriate Photos
Keep it professional! Remember LinkedIn is a professional networking site and should not be confused with Facebook, Instagram etc. Therefore your profile photo should look like you would at a business meeting or interview and should not include revealing clothing, partial nakedness and drinking pints with your mates or inappropriate facial expressions.

5.Photo Too Small
Make sure when you upload your (professional and appropriate) photo that it is sized correctly and fills the entire space provided for your profile picture.

So, if you avoid all of the above mistakes you should end up with a profile picture which represents your professional persona in the world of online networking.