In creating a job here in 199Jobs, one of the obstacles that many sellers encounter is thinking what work sample image to upload. And unfortunately, a lot of you just search for an image on the internet and upload whatever looks appropriate.

Your work sample image shows in our job listings, and that’s reason enough to make it visually enticing. It’s one of the key factors that make buyers click your job link and read more. Your work sample image acts in tandem with your headline, and can definitely help you get more orders.

Below are some tips on how to make your work sample images stand out from the rest and how to create one that will truly showcase your skills and talents.

Must-Haves:

1. Make it unique
You don’t want to share the same photo with another seller, but this will most likely happen if you simply use a generic photo from the internet. The best way to make your photo or image unique is to upload your own. And if you have several jobs, make each one different.

2. Make it high-quality
We recommend using a photo or image that’s at least 800px wide and 500px high, with sharp focus. Make it full frame side-to-side and top-to-bottom so there’s no white space background.

3. Make it appropriate
Your photo or image should be related to the job you’re offering. And we believe the best one to use is your own photo while doing the job you’re offering.

Top Considerations:

1. Clear elements
Make sure that the elements of your photo are clear regardless of its size. Check if it looks good on the job listings page as a thumbnail, and is the same when shown on your job details page.

2. Enticing colors
Vibrant images will make your thumbnails visually attractive on the job listings page. But make sure the colors of your photo or image match so it won’t look “too busy” or “messy”.

3. Interesting visuals
Do you offer article writing jobs? Upload a photo of yourself typing on your keyboard while inside a bus. Do you offer Facebook page management? Upload a photo of yourself in front of your computer with several friends at the background all giving a thumbs up sign.

Be creative with your photos and we dare you to even have fun with it. We allow you to upload several work sample images so you can still showcase your portfolio, but hack your main image by making sure it captures the attention of your buyers.

Online Tools:

Find Photos
Stop using Google Image search that usually shows copyrighted images. Search Flickr for Creative Commons-licensed content that you can modify, adapt, or build upon and use commercially (option available in Advanced Search). Just give credit to the owner in your job details and you’re golden.

Edit Photos
If you don’t have a photo editing software, then you can check out and use the free online photo editors provided by PicFull and PicMonkey.

Text To Image
Turn your text into interesting image quotes by using Quotes Cover and BeHappy.me.

Why Not Outsource It?

Of course, you can always outsource this job to the graphic designers here.

You can choose to buy their job, or message them and see if you can do an exchange deal. If you’re a writer, you can offer to improve their job copy in exchange for the image. This is a great way to connect with other sellers and network with them.

That’s it! We hope you enjoyed this article. And just in case you missed it, you can also check out our past blog post on How To Create an Engaging Job Post.