Today I wanted to share with you guys some reasons for you to revise your Profile Picture on LinkedIn and to give you 4 guidelines, the main tips that may help you to pick the best one.

I couldn’t help it but noticed that at least half of my connections with less than 5 years of work experience have inappropriate profile pictures. I’ll tell you why I chose the word “inappropriate” – it is proven that your picture makes the first impression on someone viewing profile. It takes them one-tenth of a second to draw their conclusions on you based on your photo.

So, now imagine that you just have passed your Brand new CV across to an HR of a company you dream to work for. They see your name and the URL link to your LinkedIn profile (please, tell me that you have been a good person and you put it there). They follow that link straight to your profile with a picture of a hand drawn cupcake or a picture of your cat. In most of the cases, you will receive something like “After careful consideration, unfortunately… “ and stuff like that. I am not saying that they will base their decision only on your photo but yes, it is very important unless you are looking for a job in an investment bank, where you are not supposed to mention your age, your gender and, of course, there should not be your picture.

Following guidelines will help you to choose the perfect profile picture for LinkedIn:

1. 1. Smile (also with your eyes) and look straight to the camera, as a candidate you want to appear warm and friendly.
   2. Make sure your face takes up around 60% of the frame.
   3. Wear what you’d wear to work.
   4. I would recommend a bright background but I read that you should just make sure that isn’t distracting.

And that’s it! You can thank me by sharing this post with your friends.

I also recently heard people saying “I don’t like LinkedIn, it is not intuitive/interesting/fun social network, so I deleted my profile”. Yes, it is not fun at first but trust me you will come back soon.

So will I with another article on “How to make LinkedIn your best tool in getting the job you were looking for”.