Best Time to Update Your Headshot?

You might already know that the best, most effective LinkedIn profile pictures for success are professional headshot photos. That professional headshot look doesn’t have to be expensive and although you can go to a photographer and get fancy with it, they can turn out just as good with a phone camera, a nice background, and bright, natural-looking light. The next questions are: How often should you be updating this photo and when are the best times to change your LinkedIn profile picture?

Update your LinkedIn profile picture as often as you feel necessary and as long as you have a good, high-quality photo to replace the current one with. There is no specific timeframe, duration, or expiration date on a LinkedIn professional headshot, but general guidelines are to update your professional headshot at points in your career when you:

1. Get a new job or promotion.
   1. Anytime that you occupy a new position within a company or have a new role altogether, updating your profile and headshot along with it can help emphasize that change and show off your achievement!
2. Significantly change your appearance or age.
   1. When you make changes to your appearance, such as dying your hair or deciding to switch over from glasses to contact lenses, you should update your professional headshots and LinkedIn profile picture. Employers often see your profile pictures and headshots before they meet you in an interview, so it’s important that your picture accurately represents who you are to alleviate any chance of confusion. Additionally, chances are that by the end of college, you will look different than you did your first year as a university student. Generally speaking, anytime that there’s a clear distinction between what your profile picture looks like and what you look like during the time period in question, you should think about updating your picture. 
3. When a lot of time has passed or you just want to switch it up!
   1. If it’s been 5 years and you’ve had the same photo, it might be time to switch it just because! You definitely need to update your profile more often than your professional headshot but if you feel like your LinkedIn would benefit from a new photo, definitely just give it a try.