Everyone reading this guide should have a photo on their LinkedIn profile now, whether good or bad get one on there and we can start improving from there.

So to those that do not…why have you decided not to have a photo?

“Well you know, I just don’t think it’s that important”

OR

“Well I don’t have a good photo”

OR

“Well I just haven’t got around to adding one yet”

OK so let me tell you, you are 21 times more likely to be viewed and 36 times more likely to receive a message.

I mean they are staggering statistics.

But why is it so important?

Why does it matter what I look like – surely, it is my experience that is important?

Well yes that is true.

But having a photo is not an assessment of what colour your hair is or if you wore a nice suit in the photo.

It is about showing who you are to your audience.

Firstly, by simply having a photo in the first place, it shows that your profile is up-to-date, and you mean business.

Secondly, it gives you the chance to really present yourself in the way you would like to be viewed, not how someone perceives you to be by reading your profile.

You can show all manner of personalities through a photo – which we will come on to next but how you hold yourself, your body language, even the expression on your face all help to show the type of person you are.

And lastly, I believe having a photo really helps to establish your personal brand,

It is like having your own logo. Especially if you use the same photo for all your social media profiles.

Logos have powerful symbolic associations connected to people’s memories so if you are consistent with your ‘logo’ people will begin to recognise you even if you haven’t met them before.