Which Industries Have The Best LinkedIn Photos

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If you’re searching for a job in 2018, you probably already know the importance of LinkedIn and how it can impact your job search whether or not you’re actively looking for a job or a career change. It’s safe to assume that your LinkedIn profile is going to be searched and analyzed both by current and future employers.  And what is the first thing any prospective employer is going to notice about your LinkedIn profile?  Your photo!

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Q2 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc

A social media and background screening firm named JDP recently analyzed 2,000 LinkedIn photos across the 11 industries to try and understand trends in LinkedIn photos and how people are using them across various industries.

Factors that were considered include:

  • Framing
  • Lighting
  • Resolution
  • Attire
  • Facial expression
  • Photo origins (was the photo a selfie? cropped from a group? professionally shot? etc….)

On top of these factors, there were also industry trends that were analyzed including:

  • Industries with the most selfies
  • Industries with the most pics cropped from a group
  • Which industry smiles the most
  • Which industry is the most casually dressed

They also ranked the industries with the best overall LinkedIn photos. Listed below are the results:

  1. Real Estate
  2. HR, Recruiting
  3. Marketing, Advertising, PR
  4. Sales, Business Development
  5. Health, Wellness, Fitness
  6. Finance, Banking
  7. IT, Computer Science
  8. Healthcare
  9. Education
  10. Government
  11. Retail

Interestingly enough of the 2,000 photos analyzed, 76% of the LinkedIn profile featured pictures with full smiles.  Only 12% of the photos included no smiles at all with the other 12% represented by tight-lipped smiles. Professional’s likely to smile the most in their LinkedIn profile pictures were in the health, wellness and fitness industry as well as in the HR and Recruiting industry.  Those were the industries that smiled the most.

When it comes to attire, 42% of the 2,000 photos analyzed included business casual attire. The most formally dressed industries included finance, banking, real estate and government.

The analysis also looked at gender breakdowns of the LinkedIn profile pictures.  Women were much likely to have full smiles in their pictures were men had no smiles more often than not. Men were more likely to have formal attire in their profile pictures, where women sported a more social and casual look for their attire.

To see the full analysis on LinkedIn photos, check out the graphics below from JDP.

LinkedIn Photos

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