Do you know how to select the best photo for your LinkedIn profile?
As professionals, regardless of the field we are in, we always want to pass on a certain image of ourselves. This image may depend on the company where we are employed, on our position, and also on our will. Therefore, I leave you 6 aspects that you should take into account when choosing your photo:
- Job – this is the first detail you have to pay attention to. The photo you choose must be related to your job. For example, if you are a professional cyclist, it doesn’t make sense to put a picture of you wearing a suit and tie – instead, you can, for example, put a picture with your equipment on.
- Professionalism – the first tendency when choosing a profile picture is to automatically select one in which you look best. Well, on LinkedIn this strategy is wrong. You should prefer a simpler one that portrays your professional side. That very nice picture of you on the beach that you took in Dubai, is not a good option.
- Confidence – don’t be afraid to keep a steady gaze, a professional, regardless of their position, should always be confident about you. Avoid the “shy” look.
- Charisma – think of your profile picture as your brand, create a personal magnetism, attract good professionals and good potential clients. Being charismatic is not only important for your photo but also for your job. Smile, show your skills through a facial/body expression.
- Responsibility – this should always be present, a sense of responsibility is what conveys several other factors and makes your connections build trust in you. When struck a good balance between professionalism and the quality of your profile picture, you are capable of demonstrating responsibility. This factor is mostly reflected by the background on which you take your photo and goes along with professionalism.
- Other personal characteristics that can be identified as important – for example, comedians want to convey a funnier image while models would be interested in passing a more attractive and confident image under themselves.
Photo Characteristics
Surely you have wished you had photos that were the same, i.e. of the same quality and harmony, like those published by public figures. Therefore, I offer you three tips on how to have quality photographs:
- It should always be between the medium and the short-medium plane – your image should contain from the head to the level of the arms, or at least to the level of the chest.
- Have a clean background – regardless of color, it works very well. Real backgrounds are more applicable in practical circumstances such as sports practitioners (they may consider applying a background according to their profession). Despite being overlooked, the background greatly influences the image you want to convey.
- A small detail, but very important. Your physical and facial expression! A more subtle look, a smile, the position, the crossing of arms – these are all details that will certainly describe your image. Let’s go back to the previous example, a comedian would post a picture in which he is laughing and in a frontal position with his hands’ thumbs-up. A model would prefer a more sideways angle that reveals facial features and body lines, with a confident look!
I remind you that there are cases and cases, but always consider what best fits your profession!
Are you up for a challenge? Look at the following image, what does it convey to you?
In my point of view, I consider him to be a potential CEO, responsible, and ready to move forward with your projects!
Always remember, it all depends on you, what you stand for, and what image you want to convey. Get rid of the selfies with the sun beating down on your face or the full-body pictures on top of a mountain you were happy to climb!
Be your profession!