One of the greatest tools to develop your career is LinkedIn. As of today, LinkedIn has over 830 million users worldwide. It’s the ideal platform for sharing insight, connecting with recruiters and becoming a thought leader in your industry. I want to help you get in the game!
This episode is Part 1 of my 4-part LinkedIn Profile Workshop. I break down the LinkedIn profile optimization process into bite-sized, manageable pieces so that you can take action each week and accomplish part of the process. Today you'll learn what goes into the perfect profile photo.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a LinkedIn profile that will help you achieve what’s next in your career.
One of the greatest tools to develop your career is LinkedIn. As of today, LinkedIn has over 830 million users worldwide. It’s the ideal platform for sharing insight, connecting with recruiters and becoming a thought leader in your industry. I want to help you get in the game!
This episode is Part 1 of my 4-part LinkedIn Profile Workshop. I break down the LinkedIn profile optimization process into bite-sized, manageable pieces so that you can take action each week and accomplish part of the process. Today you'll learn what goes into the perfect profile photo.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a LinkedIn profile that will help you achieve what’s next in your career.
Hello, everyone! Welcome to the CareerSequel Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Lee Koles and I’m so happy you’re with me today. If you’re tuning in to this podcast, it’s because you care about your career and you’re ready for what’s next. Your “next” may be landing a promotion, developing yourself as a leader, changing career paths or going back to work after a career break.
One of the greatest tools that you can use to develop your career is LinkedIn. It’s the world’s largest professional network. As of today, LinkedIn has over 830 million users worldwide. There are over 57 million companies listed on LinkedIn and it is growing. LinkedIn is a great place to connect with other people in your field. It’s the perfect platform for sharing insight, helping people, supporting others and building your reputation as a thought leader in your industry.
If you’re looking to find a job or change careers, it’s even more important that you get on LinkedIn. 97% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find job candidates. Some describe LinkedIn as a job search engine disguised as a social media platform.
If it’s so great, why isn’t everyone on LinkedIn? When I mention LinkedIn, more often than not, people give me this frightened reaction: “Ohhh - I know I should be on it, but…”
But what? People say,
I’ve been thinking about what I can do to help you get on LinkedIn. How can I take you by the hand and make things easy for you - so that you can get your LinkedIn profile all set up - all optimized.
This episode is the kickoff of something I’ve never done before. I’m going to take you through a LinkedIn Profile Workshop. I’m breaking down the LinkedIn profile optimization process into bite-sized, manageable pieces so that - together - with me - you can get yourself all set up on LinkedIn.
This is Part 1 of a 4-part episode series. These episodes are going to be short. I’m going to tell you just enough in each episode so that it’s absolutely do-able for you to take action after listening to the episode and accomplish that step of the process.
By the end of my 4-part workshop, you’ll have a LinkedIn profile that will make you proud. You’ll be off and running!
Are you ready? Let’s do this.
Today I’m going to tell you all you need to know about having the perfect photo for your profile.
Yes, having a great photo is really important on LinkedIn. It’s the part of your profile that will make the greatest impression. And, when you Like or Comment on a post, your photo will pop up beneath the post. People get to know you by your photo.
Statistics show that LinkedIn members with a photo receive more engagement than those without. They have 21 times more profile views and 9 times more connection requests. A LinkedIn survey revealed that 93% of recruiters will look at your profile picture before contacting you.
Your LinkedIn photo will be everyone’s first impression of you. Studies have shown that it takes one-tenth of a second for someone to draw conclusions about you based on your photo. So take the time to do this right!
Fair or not, if you haven’t put a lot of thought into your photo, recruiters and possible connections will draw the conclusion that you may not put a lot of thought and effort into other areas of your life.
This is the main reason why I don’t recommend that you use selfies. People ask, “Is it okay to take a selfie?” My stock answer is “no”. Your photo should at least look as if it were taken by a professional - if you have access to a professional headshot, use that. If you have a selfie stick and can take a shot that doesn’t look like a selfie, then I’ll give you a pass. Otherwise, ask a friend or a family member who’s a good photographer to take a headshot.
The photo should be taken from the shoulders up. You want it to be close up enough so that people can see your face clearly if they’re pulling up LinkedIn on their phone.
It should be clear, not blurry, and in color. You should have good lighting and the background should be plain or neutral. It’s okay to take the photo outside as long as the background isn’t distracting.
When you’re taking your photo, wear what you’d wear to an interview for the job you’re in or the job you want. LinkedIn is a professional space, so you should be dressed professionally, like you’re going to work in your desired industry.
Wear something neutral - no distracting patterns - you want the focus to be on your face. Speaking of your face, you should be looking directly into the camera, smiling - look happy and show your teeth!
There has been a ton of research around smiles - we are biologically programmed to relax and feel more comfortable when someone smiles at us. Studies show that -
Here are some things NOT to do when you’re taking your LinkedIn profile picture:
Don’t use a photo that has someone else in it. Everyone can tell if someone has been cropped out of your photo. This just makes you look lazy - like you couldn’t invest the time to take a good picture of yourself.
Keep the photo professional - someone shouldn’t be able to look at it and see that it was taken at a graduation or wedding.
Don’t have people in the background or a distracting building in the background. I’m okay with taking a photo in front of a wall if it serves as a neutral background. The same goes with outdoor shots. Don’t have outdoor scenery behind you unless you’re standing in front of a bush or something that acts as a solid, neutral background.
Some more don’ts:
Don’t wear a hat.
Don’t wear sunglasses. Put your dog down. Put your baby down. This all about YOU.
Show your photo to a friend for a final seal of approval and then upload it to your profile. The final step is to make sure that everyone can see it. You want to make your photo public so that even people you’re not connected to can see your photo. Think about it: You want recruiters to find you. You want other professionals in your field to find you.
To make your photo public, just go to your profile, then go to “Settings and Privacy” and click on Visibility. There you’ll find an option to set your profile to Public.
And there you have it! You just completed the first - and most important - step to Optimizing your LinkedIn profile!
I hope you’ve enjoyed Part 1 of the workshop -
Let me know how it goes! If you’re not already connected to me on LinkedIn, send me a request with a note telling me that you finished Part 1 of the LinkedIn Profile Workshop and would like to connect. I’m always up for connecting.
I’m happy to give you feedback on your photo, too - let me know if you have any questions.
Next week I’ll be back with Part 2. By the end of our workshop, you’ll be all set to use LinkedIn to help take on what’s next in your career!
Until then, take good care and know that I’m cheering you on!