Five LinkedIn Profile Photo Mistakes.

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  1. Follow these tips to avoid making LinkedIn profile photo mistakes. Do not use your I.D or staff photo. This type of photo is normally taken on a poor-quality office camera and is only meant for identification purposes. It might be handy to snap a photo of your staff badge but it will not be helping your LinkedIn profile page and best leave it blank until you can get a decent business-related headshot.
  2. Do not use a distant photo of yourself. A LinkedIn profile photo is approx only 4cm wide and using a full-length or distant photo of yourself means people will not really be able to see your face clearly. As the whole purpose of the photo is to let the viewer see what you look like this is not a good idea.
  3. Do not use a cropped photo where you were in a group with friends. This looks so unprofessional and is often seen on LinkedIn. Normally people like a photo of themselves with a partner or friends but however you try and crop the photo you can always see elements of other peoples heads or arms. You want a headshot with a clean background and should be dressed in business attire.
  4. Do not use a party or wedding photo. This is very common and we strongly advise against it. There are lots of good photos taken at big parties and weddings but your clothing and your surroundings are not suitable for a business profile page photo. Make sure you think carefully about what you want in your profile photo as using a photo that you think you look good in might be sending out the wrong message to a potential client or employer.
  5. Do not use a selfie captured in a mirror with your phone. This type of photo is very common on Instagram and Facebook but not suitable for LinkedIn. They look very amateur and therefore you will appear not to have been putting much effort into your LinkedIn profile page.

Good example of LinkedIn profile photo

Above is a good example of a professional LinkedIn profile photo with professional lighting a clean plain background and captured with a long portrait lens.

To avoid LinkedIn profile photo mistakes, follow our suggestions on how to improve your LinkedIn profile photo.