Linkedin photo.......formal or business causal?

I actually prefer business casual over the typical suit and tie just because there's more of a personal touch to it. I doubt anyone would look down on you just because you don't have one of those cookie cutter photos (by business causal i'm not referring to cocktail attire or anything too inappropriate).

Anyone have thoughts on this?

35 Comments
 
Best Response

Tailor it to the industry you're in/hoping to get in. If you're younger and want finance or F500, I'd say a suit and tie pic would be good. If you want tech or something creative like advertising I wouldn't do a suit and tie but more business casual, and not a ratty t-shirt unless you're a rockstar programmer and can get away with anything, more like collared oxford shirt.

I do have one question Mike, which suggests you're a male: what the fuck do you wear to cocktail parties that would be inappropriate? Spaghetti straps?

 

Lol'd at this;

Depends. If you have the bod you should go fitted business casual. If not than stick to tailored suit.

Within finance, I would say go ahead and stick with a suit though. Or shirt, no tie, blazer.

"It is better to have a friendship based on business, than a business based on friendship." - Rockefeller. "Live fast, die hard. Leave a good looking body." - Navy SEAL
 
"jankynoname"

Zero people are getting hired based on their linkedin. Zero.

i'm going to go ahead and disagree with this statement

i'll say your photo may not help your job / bschool prospects etc (in the finance realm), but an overly informal photo could certainly hurt

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"jankynoname"

the guys who wear suits on linkedin always tilt me. It's a fucking social network. Zero people are getting hired based on their linkedin. Zero.

The problem with LinkedIn is that the people who truly care about it are the same idiots who ask questions like "what's your greatest weakness?" HR. And they actually care about stuff like the picture.

 

Unfortunately this is bad advice. Companies / HR managers are increasingly using LinkedIn to search / vet candidates. I get messaged via LinkedIn on a weekly basis by recruiters - so yes, it is a factor in screening candidates.

Do you need to be in a suit? No. Business casual is fine. Should your profile picture be the same as your facebook picture (a 2am shot of you and your frat bros at Joshua Tree)? Probably not.

 

I mean, I guess so... I have a super casual pic of me on a backpacking trip on there and I get pinged by headhunters all the time. Frankly I think it's probably because they're doing a keyword search for "CFA" or some crap like that and my name shows up. I guess I agree that it is useful in the sense that it is basically free advertising for your resume. But I really don't think the pics matter that much, at least for jobs that you would want. Any decent job in finance is going to require multiple interviews/touch points where the interviewers are going to have a chance to assess your personality and make a variety of snap-judgments. Those are infinitely more important than whether you are wearing a hermes tie in your picture.

 

As long as you know how to wear a tie correctly and don't wear suspenders you should be fine. You don't have to wear a Hugo Boss suit to have a decent picture for linkedin. It's probably 70% male dominated, who gives a shit?!? lol

 

I'm just waiting to get hired by BX so i can have a glorious black and white Photoshopped bad-boi of a pic.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

Rule of thumb is to wear the same attire in your LinkedIn picture as you would normally wear on a working day in your current job or desired job (if you are still a student or are looking to transition).

 
thebrofessor

tailor it to your goal. if social network, casual is fine. for me, it's more business related (prospects & clients check me out on it), so I'm in a suit. if you're looking for a job and are worried about "personal touch," that's what the interests section is for

Great advice! Now I need to figure out how to get a hold of a Yacht, a few models, and lots of booze all for the purpose of taking my LinkedIn picture.

 

What do you wear in the office? Is it business casual? Suit and tie? (no one wears formal, which is a tuxedo...) Polo and jeans? Whatever you wear on a regular day is what you should wear in your photo.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Mine is formal, that being said no one has ever brought it up. I agree with Andy, if you're doing a keg stand in your pic, I don't see your pic helping your situation. (unless of course you're applying at partycity)

 

LNKD is really more than a social network. There are tons of different tech companies utilizing LNKD's code (many going against LNKD's approval) to scrape profiles, provide predictive analytics, source talent, etc. In the next decade, the company will be much more robust, especially as it starts acquiring more IP to its platform.

So if you have people scraping your profile to see if you are qualified for certain jobs, you would definitely want to have a picture (i dont think it matters that much, so long as it isn't a stupid picture). With that said, there are other important things to a profile such as school, experience, clubs, connections, etc.

Don't underestimate LNKD

 

Rule of thumb is that you should be wearing what you would wear to an interview in your LinkedIn profile pic

"Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman." -- George Soros
 
"NESCAC"

Change the game-- make your picture the tombstone of the latest deal your group just closed. Then in experience write something like "Refer to profile picture".

we should start a movement....then we could know immediately who the real monkees are in the real world

 

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