--- description: Remember to smile title: What to Know Before Choosing a Photo for Your LinkedIn Profile image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd33c7a60d17dc/698859f42dce0174a79e4837/linkedin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What to Know Before Choosing a Photo for Your LinkedIn Profile by [Jessie Militare / MIMI](/author/mimi/) ## Jessie Militare / MIMI Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 7, 2015 7:45 PM CUT  The LinkedIn logo displayed on a phone. The LinkedIn logo displayed on a phone.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Jessie Militare / MIMI](/author/mimi/) ## Jessie Militare / MIMI Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 7, 2015 7:45 PM CUT [_MIMI_](https://www.mimichatter.com/ "undefined") _is a Time Inc. property._ Choosing the right LinkedIn photo is no easy feat: you can’t just upload your latest selfie and expect to score your dream job. The snapshot should be professional, and show prospective employers that you’re the perfect person for a role without looking too staged or cheesy. Choosing an exemplary photo just got more involved: [new research suggests](http://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-photo-to-seem-trustworthy-2015-6#ixzz3eN2d8i8K "undefined") looking at least a “little” happy in your picture will make you appear more trustworthy to prospective employers. So what does a “little” happy mean, as opposed to just, um, regular happy? Through a series of experiments, [researchers at New York University](http://psp.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/06/12/0146167215591495.full.pdf+html "undefined") found that people who weren’t overtly smiling or laughing like hyenas in their pic, but rather adopting a positive, upward-curving expression (upturned eyebrows included) seemed like more reliable candidates. And on the other end, if you sport a down-turned expression, or look more hardened in your photo, you are more likely to be perceived as untrustworthy. Basically, don’t look _too_ happy. Or deranged. I’m not sure why anyone would post a shot of themselves frowning, (no one likes an office grump!), but now you know. One experiment involved face perception, where participants looked at different computer-generated faces on a screen and were asked who they would choose to be their financial adviser and who they would consider to most likely win a weightlifting champion. Not surprisingly, the participants chose the happier-looking faces to handle their money, and the faces with wider, more serious expressions to lift the weights. Some bad news: you can’t really change how competent you appear in a photo, which is dependent on facial structure. That one seems unfair since LinkedIn is a very judge-a-book-by-its-cover space, but you gotta work with what you have. Considering all of this and the stressful process of finding a job, try these sound tips when choosing the [best photo](http://talent.linkedin.com/blog/index.php/2014/12/5-tips-for-picking-the-right-linkedin-profile-picture "undefined") for your profile: relax. Be yourself. _This_ [_article_](https://www.mimichatter.com/linked-in-photo-study-says-you-should-look-happy-in-photo-to-seem-more-1223437902.html "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_MIMI_](http://www.mimichatter.com/ "undefined")_._ _More from MIMI:_ * [This Is What Happened After I Tried an All Coffee Beauty Regime](https://www.mimichatter.com/coffee-beauty-products-beauty-regimen-review-1236567431.html "undefined") * [Meet the Cast of TLC’s New Show ‘My Giant Life’](https://www.mimichatter.com/my-giant-life-tlc-tall-women-cast-1236587400.html "undefined") * [Science Says a Vegan Diet Will Help You Lose the Most Weight](https://www.mimichatter.com/science-says-a-vegan-diet-will-help-you-lose-the-most-weight-1236166802.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3946858/linkedin-profile-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3946858/linkedin-profile-photo/"},"headline":"What to Know Before Choosing a Photo for Your LinkedIn Profile","datePublished":"2015-07-07T19:45:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:10.291Z","description":"Remember to smile","url":"https://time.com/3946858/linkedin-profile-photo/","keywords":["Living","Photo","LinkedIn","advice","career"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd33c7a60d17dc/698859f42dce0174a79e4837/linkedin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessie Militare / MIMI"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89cd33c7a60d17dc/698859f42dce0174a79e4837/linkedin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The LinkedIn logo displayed on a phone.","caption":"The LinkedIn logo displayed on a phone.","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3946858/linkedin-profile-photo/","name":"What to Know Before Choosing a Photo for Your LinkedIn Profile"}}]}] ```