Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Why Your LinkedIn Photo Sucks



While you may not have given more than a moment's thought to your profile photo on LinkedIn, you may want to reconsider.

A recent analysis of 2,000 LinkedIn photos from a variety of industries by JDP, a risk mitigation company, finds that those in real estate, human resources, marketing and sales get the highest marks when it comes to framing, lighting, resolution, attire, facial expression and photo origins (selfie, cropped from a group, professionally shot, etc.)

Those who were given a grade of "F" include government and retail workers. The highest percentage of those with no photo came from healthcare (36%) while those in marketing, advertising and public relations were most likely to have a photo.

"Epic fails" included most car selfies (usually from those in IT, computer science health, wellness, fitness and retail). The most photos that don't fill the frame came from those in retail, sales, business development, human resources and recruiting.

JDP offers some advice on taking photos that will portray you best on LinkedIn:

1. No selfies.

2. No cropped photos. (You know the one -- you can see Grandma's shoulder just to your left.)

3. No poor framing. Look at the background of your photo -- do you seem to have a telephone pole coming out the top of your head? Is that a beer pong on your desk?

4. Business casual attire. This looks best with a smile. If you're trying to convey a more serious and intelligent image, dress more formally.

5. Good lighting. The face need to be well-lit, with adequate contrast between the subject and the background. Avoid glare on the skin or eyeglasses.

6. Sharpness. Once the photo is clicked into full view, you don't want any pixelation or blurriness.

There are many ways to improve your professional image, and this may be one of the easiest. Investing in a professional photo session or having a photographer buddy take a decent photo of you can pay off in the long run, and should be seen as an important investment.

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