You were told selfies look unprofessional on LinkedIn. Now they're landing jobs — because AI flipped 1 rule about what 'polished' actually signals

Some creators are finding that selfies, unscripted videos and a little personality can help them stand out in a feed that’s starting to look increasingly polished and AI-generated.

Jan Hendrik von Ahlen, co-founder and managing director of JobLeads, told Moneywise that adding a more personal touch to LinkedIn can be a good thing for both job seekers and people trying to build their personal brand.

“Having a more casual LinkedIn appearance can definitely help in today’s job market. LinkedIn is oversaturated with AI slop posts, fake profiles and headshots of people who don’t exist,” he said. “So, adding a little video or a selfie reads as human and generally positive.”

Could being yourself be the new key to standing out on LinkedIn?

Yearning for human connection

We’re living more of our lives behind screens and, ironically, that may be making us want something that feels a little more real. AI can polish a résumé, clean up a cover letter and turn a half-baked thought into something boardroom-ready in seconds. The skills we once spent entire career classes learning can now be automated with a prompt.

Employers can often tell. Robert Half found 82% of U.S. hiring managers say they can recognize when candidates have used AI to create their application materials.

AI may have started by polishing the résumé, but now it’s reshaping the first impression, too. A 2025 Harris Poll conducted on behalf of PhotoPacksAI found 44% of Americans would consider using AI to create a professional headshot, including more than half of millennials.

When every bio sounds polished and every headshot starts to look the same, the little imperfections may suddenly be the most valuable thing you have.

Arielle Berlinsky, director of marketing at Movement Strategy, is one example of that shift. She told Business Insider that LinkedIn became a place where she could show more of herself beyond her day job, from her opinions and humor to eventually putting her face front and centre.

“The one thing you carry with you everywhere is your face and your name and your personality because that’s the heart of who you are,” Berlinsky said. “I’m so much more than just my job and my title.”

That kind of personality may matter even more as AI-generated content becomes harder to escape.

“In this time of AI, it’s so easy for people to get lost in this overly polished, filtered, corporate or even robotic tone,” Tara Crymble, an account manager at B2B influencer marketing agency Creatorbuzz, told Business Insider.

Platforms themselves are beginning to respond. LinkedIn has added a “Seems like AI slop” feedback option and is reportedly trying to curb the reach of generic AI-generated posts. TikTok has taken a similar approach, saying this summer that it was testing systems designed to detect accounts churning out AI-generated spam that can crowd out original creators.

But first let me take a selfie

Being a little more casual may help employers get a better sense of who you are, but that does not mean your Thursday-night happy hour photo should become your LinkedIn headshot.

Melissa “Mellie” Pennington, Founder and Global Head of HR at HR On Demand and creator who has made hiring decisions for more than 20 years, told Moneywise the sweet spot is looking approachable without looking careless.