Saw this article today on the Net about your Linked In profile picture and had to laugh http://www.careerealism.com/linkedin-photo-terrible/
We are in the midst of developing profiles in the Career Planning and Development course I teach and I love the part where I put up pictures that should definitely never, ever be on your Linked In profile.
Some examples:
1. The guy who has a large dog on his lap. Geez, the dog’s head is bigger than his and you can barely see him. Wait, maybe he works for the Humane Society. Nope. Maybe the ASPCA? Nope. He must have something to do with dogs no? Nope. Just wanted to put his dog front and centre in his professional Linked In profile shot.
2. The endless Executive/Administrative assistants who post pictures of themselves on a night out on the town. Really? And I don’t mean to berate EAs and AAs. They are awesome. But why do so many of them think that Linked In is a professional match-making site?
3. The young woman who applied for an HR Manager role and had a picture up where she didn’t even bother to brush her hair. Really?
4. The young woman who took a picture in a silk robe, open nearly to the waist, sitting on a bed. Honest to goodness. I do not make this stuff up!
5. The young woman whose face you can barely see because it’s so tiny….but the hay field around her is huge. Is she a farmer? Nope. Something to do with agriculture for sure right? Nope. IT Project Management. She’d do better with a picture of a computer next to her.
6. And my all-time favourite. The guy sitting in a chair where the biggest thing in the picture is the floor lamp next to him. I actually reached out to him to make a suggestion that he change the picture. He said his wife likes the lamp.
Well, that’s my tongue-in-cheek humour for the day.
Should you be able to put a picture on Linkedin? Is it necessary ?
You are able to put a picture up on Linked In for sure and I always, always, always recommend people do so. First of all, a picture helps to complete your profile and puts you further up the list when searches are conducted. Secondly, it’s great for being able to recognize people when you meet for informational interviews, coffee meetings, etc. in public spaces. Last but not least — I always question why someone would NOT put a photo up. But I do understand some folks are not comfortable doing so. However, it’s a professional networking site after all. Would you hide your face when meeting people face to face?