Whether it’s right or wrong, every day we make decisions purely on the basis of how things look, in effect we do judge a book by its cover for much of the time. A recent 10 week long eye–tracking study by theladders.com recruitment portal showed that a massive 19% of the total time spent looking at Linkedin profiles was spent solely on the profile picture.
Linkedin’s Communication Director Nicole Williams shared her insights into some common profile photo mistakes with businessinsider.com:
Then she gave some tips for better profile pictures:
You might have a great photo of yourself that ticks the above boxes without making any of those mistakes (it might even be one that photographer took of you at your workplace that your employer doesn’t mind sharing with you). If not you might want to consider hiring one:
The professional photographer will know the best way to photograph you in your best light (and will have the appropriate equipment to make that happen). Each person is different and needs to be shot a certain way according to their shape, hair colour, gender, skin, and profession.
Knowing what pose, lighting and style is what will make your professionally taken head shot stand out from all the mug shots your next potential employer scans through.