You can also create custom background images on sites like Canva or Visme. Popular CC0 sites include Unsplash or Pexels where images tend to feel more current and natural. These images are free and legal for you to use. Instead, consider using attribution-free CC0 Creative Commons images. However, this tends to be quite expensive, and staged stock images can often look a bit dated or artificial these days.

If you don’t already have a photo you’ve taken yourself or photo you have explicit permission to use, you could purchase a photo from stock image sites like Getty or Shutterstock. Simply using a photo you quickly find using Google Images isn’t the best way forward because those images aren’t always legal to reuse. Once you decide on what type of image you want to feature as your background image, you need to then find an actual photo you have the rights to use. Boggs states, “ While photos of things like laptops, cups of coffee and keyboards can look overused and cliche, abstract images or textures can make your profile stand out without looking inauthentic.” She says you should choose a texture that invokes a feeling you want your audience to associate with you.

You could also consider some sort of abstract texture. “ Choose a color that matches your personality, or if you’re a business owner, choose a color that matches your brand colors.” “Even just another color can help you stand out in a sea of LinkedIn blue,” according to Debra Boggs, Cofounder of D&S Professional Coaching. If all else fails, you could simply use a color other than the LinkedIn default blue to give your profile a more considered feel.

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