Picking your LinkedIn photo is a specific type of anxiety inducing, not only do you want to look great, you want to make sure you seem professional. We have some tips and tricks for taking the perfect professional picture.

People won’t take you seriously with this as your photo, because you are not going to walk around with a face like that in the office.

You should be the focus of the picture in your headshot, otherwise it would just not be a professional portrait. Keep it to your face only.

Focus on your face in the photo and not on the background.

Don’t chew anything when you take your photo. It distracts other people from your face and looks awkward.

Great job! You took a fantastic photo for yourself!

If you feel like you blinked during your photo, ask your photographer for a retake.

Do not goof off during your professional photo, because it won’t be representative of the type of work you want to showcase.

Leftover food in your mouth could make it seem as though you are not organized and don’t care about your appearance. This would be bad for the company, and they probably won’t want to hire you.

Try not to sneeze while taking your photo. Ask for a retake from your photographer.

This is a picture for more casual forms of social media, such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. Definitely not a good fit for your LinkedIn.

You can’t see half of your face in this photo. Be sure to get a frontal view of your face.

Brighten your photo up so people can distinguish your face from the rest of the picture.

Picking your nose might be nice if no one else is watching. Might not be a great idea for your photo.