What Does Your Profile Picture Say About You?

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(First published on LinkedIn February 13, 2015)

One of the key elements of a LinkedIn profile is a photograph. Photographs can be very revealing about a person. They can reveal if a person is happy, approachable, confident and professional. Or they can do the opposite. They can convey negative emotions, a threatening pose and show an unprofessional side. I suggest you chose your photo wisely because your photo does matter.

When people join LinkedIn, you assume they want to make positive connections, so I am always stunned when I see a professionally accomplished person putting up a photo of themselves that shows a negative, threatening, or unprofessional image. I can’t help but think they don’t realize the messages they are sending.

No one wants to reach out to a grumpy face, or a face that is looking down upon you (contemptuous). Or worse, a face that looks threatening or ominous. People will turn away.

So to aid people, here are my guidelines on how to submit a photo with a facial expression that will communicate a positive vibe for you:

  1. Make sure your picture shows you relaxed and comfortable
  2. If you are happy with yourself smiling, post a photo of you truly feeling happy or positive. This is the best profile picture you can post!
  3. If you don’t like to smile or its not natural for you (that’s okay!), post a neutral expression, but make sure there are no negative undertones in the photo
  4. Avoid negative undertones in a photo:
    (a) Looking down your nose
    (b) Forehead back, chin forward

    1. (“a” and “b” above both denote arrogance)

    (c) Tension in your face

    1. i. Lines in your forehead
    2. ii. Tense or tight lips
    3. iii. Squinting or glaring eyes
    4. iv. Eyebrows pulled down
      1. (ii-iv are suggestive of anger)

    (d) Frowning or down turned lips
    (e) Drooping eyes, heavy eyelids or heavy face

    1. (d) and (e) are signs of sadness, can suggest lack of motivation

    (f) Upper lip pulled upwards without a smile
    (g) Nose wrinkled and pulled upwards

    1. (f) and (g) are signs of disgust

None of these elements in number four above are going to signal positive traits about you. But by far the worst offenders I see are those who post pictures of themselves making the contempt expression, which is a half-smile. A contempt expression is a universal expression identified by scientists that is expressed by all people. So if you are human and feel contempt, you will make this expression regardless of where you live on the planet, what your race or ethnicity is, what language you speak, etc.

And while we all make contempt expressions–it’s a fact of life–I do not recommend putting a photo of yourself in your profile expressing this emotion. It is a very negative emotion which can signal a looking-down-upon-others attitude, an attitude of superiority as in “I’m better than you”, or in a low level situation a complete disbelief and disregard for what a person is hearing or seeing.

Here is an example of a contempt expression for you.

contempt

And here is a link to another one.

If you are going to take the time to publish a profile of yourself on anywhere on the web, put your best face forward!

28 replies
  1. Guest
    Guest says:

    These are great tips. So is contempt usually just a crooked smile? I am over-analyzing my linkedin profile image now. My smile is crooked. I was stifling a laugh because I was embarrassed (I don’t like having my photo taken and it was in a room full of my coworkers, so I was feeling a bit embarrassed).

    • RideAWildHorse
      RideAWildHorse says:

      Holy smokes, you are gorgeous. The picture is sensational. There’s lots of energy in it. And energy is sexy.

    • Keith D.
      Keith D. says:

      This is a fantastic photo! To me, this doesn’t show anything negative about you at all. To me it suggests that you’re a social introvert, light-hearted, generally upbeat, and easy to get along with, intelligent, and a good worker. You’d be an asset in anyone’s office because I think most people would really enjoy working with you, and I think you’d tend to also work well with others. In short, if I owned a company or were interviewing candidates, I’d most likely hire you, even if I had to find a different position for you.

  2. Joan
    Joan says:

    Eyes.. could the half-smile ever indicate uncertainty, shyness or other emotions? I do half-smiles when I’m not sure how to respond or feel cautious.

  3. Paul Flanagan
    Paul Flanagan says:

    Excellent post! I have a thought about people not realizing the messages they are sending, whether it’s through a picture or just a state of being. I find it gets murky whether someone “gets it”, or not, regarding self awareness. I know a guy–a nice guy–who is known for being annoying. He’ll tell longwinded stories, say juvenile things, and usually while jumping in on other’s conversations. Over the years, he has been asked politely to stop and also dealt with harshly by many. He is aware of how he is. He makes self references about it and often pulls himself out of conversations because he knows he just crossed the tolerance threshold. He’s not vulgar or offensive though, I would even say he’s the opposite. His behavior is just very lame, especially for an adult. He knows people tolerate him, which is itself a curiosity (because most feel he is a decent person) and yet he admittedly continues his ways. I’m pretty sure he has a specific rationale for it, but I don’t know it or can’t remember. And everybody says, “Oh, George. He gets it! He knows that he’s annoying–That people don’t like it.” But then, I question that. Does he get it? There’s a point to be made that he thinks it’s no big deal, because if he knew how people really felt, he’d stop. Maybe he continues specifically because most people tolerate it. It’s just that it’s difficult to do anything else because he keeps coming at you like the energizer bunny. So I guess my roundabout point is you, I and most of the people on this blog may change our picture if it showed contempt, but some others may not. They “get it”, but they don’t get it.

  4. Karon
    Karon says:

    I wonder what could be said about those of us, who don’t post a picture? Personally, I just don’t find it necessary. In fact, i like to try to figure out how people look from their words. I like to try to figure out if I am talking to a man or woman and what age they are likely to be. I can tell you that I have been really surprised after commenting to some people after a number of years.

  6. Russ Conte
    Russ Conte says:

    >When people join LinkedIn, you assume they want to make positive connections

    My experience with LinkedIn is a bit more specific – many people post on there because they want a specific type of positive connection – to get hired. One study I read last week said people with math and computer degrees get called by recruiters several times a week from LinkedIn. So if a person wants their profile picture to communicate “interview me”, or even stronger, “hire me”, then Eyes has excellent advice here:

    “If you are happy with yourself smiling, post a photo of you truly feeling happy or positive. This is the best profile picture you can post!”

    I’m curious what other see that works in LinkedIn profile picture that helps persuade recruiters to call them, or that would give a favorable and honest impression in the business world. Do they post a lot of photos or just a few? Photos in their office or at play – or both? Photos of them at home relaxing? Photos of them asleep? You get the idea 🙂

  8. Sophie Mccoy
    Sophie Mccoy says:

    I thought this would be about Facebook when I opened it, rather than Linked In. I rarely use LI and don’t have a profile photo. No idea what my FB profile pic says about me – probably that I love animals and am happy to look like a barn!

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