As we look to the New Year, many will start thinking about that next career move, and use the time off work over the holidays to update their resume and LinkedIn profile. Our resident experts have seen it all, and they have some suggestions to make sure your profile photo will stand out in an appropriate and professional way.

Do:

• Make sure you are the only person in the photograph
• Have your eyes looking at the camera (*Note: Candid shots are OK as long as it still shows most of your face)
• Have a Headshot only (upper torso)
• Wear Professional clothing
• Have a nice background (It should be a simple background, such as a brick wall, or a plain wall that might have your company’s logo on it.) It shouldn’t distract away from your image.
• There should be good lighting
• If you don’t have a photograph taken by a professional, you can step outside on an overcast day or around the time when the sun is setting, but it’s still bright and have a friend use “portrait mode” on an iPhone, which will make the headshot crisp and the imaged blurred which adds for a very nice effect.

Don’t:

• Use a selfie
• Include weird filters (including alien ones – that’s just creepy)
• Take a photo with your favorite stuffed animal
• Include a group of people in your photo
• Cut people out of photos, but still leave part of them in (where’s that random hand coming from?)

Ready to start looking for your next career move? Check out our job opportunities.