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When I had my profile photos taken by Brett Trafford, we joked about some of the things people do on their LinkedIn profile photos, so Brett looked further into this and created a blog post entitled: Top Ten Profile Picture Mistakes, and here are my 5 favourites...
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Avoid poor quality photos
If your image is low quality, blurred, under exposed, low resolution, pixellated or badly cropped, people may feel that your attention to detail is a bit, well, crap.
Which, rightly or wrongly, reflects what people think to your work too!
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Avoid photos of you socialising
Here's Brett down the pub - why do some people do this?
Unless you're trying to emulate Nigel Farage, then people may not take you as seriously with a pint in your hand.
So, save the food and drink shots for Facebook/Instagram. This is your first chance to tell people you're professional.
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Avoid fancy photos
Face the camera and steer away from anything cheesy, arty, graphic or illustrated.
If that's your field of work, it's best to showcase that in your 'Experience' section or in a Post on LinkedIn.
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Avoid personal photos
If someone wants to do business with you, hire you or be employed by you, the family album can stay under wraps (until you get to Facebook friends territory!)
Hello Carolyn! 🙂
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Avoid out-of-date photos
Brett didn't look like this when he turned up to take my photo! No leather jacket, long hair or white beetle either. Be current and honest in your profile and there will be no surprises.
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Check out Brett's other 5 profile picture mistakes and check out my profile on LinkedIn here.
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