Will putting my picture on my resume help me get the job easier while I'm not clearly asked to include it?

Question

First of all I searched for this question on the net, and I found some links in which there were all pointing out that putting your picture on your resume will show that you're unprofessional and it will look irrelevant to your work as an employee, unless a job asks for your picture.

But then I found something else in a language other than English that explained the results of a research in which the writer mentioned putting picture for women in resume can not help them get the job easier and it can help men to get job more easier.

So I think I have to ask the question again, will putting my picture on my resume generally help me get the job easier while I'm not asked to include it?

Answer 1

Generally, no (barring those occupations where your appearance is a legitimate occupational qualification for the job).

Assuming you are talking about job hunting in a Western country (the US, Canada, much of Europe, etc.), there are generally a number of anti-discrimination laws that should make any hiring manager extremely nervous to get a photo of a candidate on a resume because that makes it much easier for someone to argue that they were discriminated against. Lots of HR departments or hiring managers will discard such a resume out of hand rather than risk that someone interviews the pretty girl because she's pretty rather than qualified or that someone declines to interview a candidate because of their race or disability.

Beyond that, anything you do that is out of the ordinary tends to work against you because it makes you a riskier hire. The manager that hires someone from a good school with a conventionally formatted resume that dresses well and was personable on the interview suffers far fewer negative consequences if that hire turns out to be a poor fit than the manager that hires someone that was obviously odd in some way. Sure, on occasion, the candidate with the odd resume that never went to college and wore jeans and a t-shirt to the interview is worth the risk because he or she is so perfect for the job in other ways. But if you're playing the percentages, you're much better off following conventions.

Answer 2

You have essentially answered your own question, in that in some cultures a picture may be more acceptable than in others.

It is worth remembering what your CV/resume is for, in this context. The goal is to get you to the next appointment stage - an interview.

In general, the studies I have seen suggest that someone is more likely to be rejected on the basis of something people don't like on a photograph, than accepted on the basis on a positive reaction.

Some studies have even shown that where the CV is sent into an HR department, an unconscious bias can kick in, which is a good reason to avoid it. Again, there is a cultural imprint in these survey results.

From the linked study :

• Up to 34% of people responded negatively to women's CVs where a picture was used, compared to just 12% who responded positively.

• Attractive males received a 19.9% callback rate, almost 50% higher than the 13.7% response for plain men and more than twice the 9.2%
  response to those with no photo.

• Women with no photo had the highest call back rate – 22% higher than plain women and 30% higher than attractive women.

On a personal level, it is unusual for a photograph to be attatched in the culture I operate in (New Zealand). On that basis I would interpret it as a person trying to make their CV stand out on the basis of image, as opposed to substance.

Answer 3

The other answers correctly assess that in most countries photos do not help.

However, in German-speaking countries the opposite is true. While legally employers are not allowed to dismiss someone for this because of anti-discrimination rules, this is not reflected in practice. Not including a photo in your CV is seen as very strange and will many times directly disqualify your application.

For example, in a 2013 how-to article about resume photos, the SPIEGEL asked German recruiters about their importance. While they say photos are becoming less important, they are still a big deal.

Answer 4

Don't know where you're located, but here in the US it is generally frowned upon unless you're an actor, TV reporter, or in a similar profession that depends upon your looks and appeal.

Edit -

There are many questions and concerns about possible discrimination as a result of placing a picture on a resume. This goes right along with not putting your birthday, religion, or sexual orientation on a resume.

See Justin Cave's answer for the whys.

Answer 5

Doing anything unusual is taking a risk.

As many of the answers have noted, including a picture creates all kinds of problems for the perspective employer. For one, you are putting image data into a process designed to process text. For another, you are providing information that could be the basis for discrimination. This would probably give most employers reason enough to simply discard your resume rather than give it the exceptional handling it would require.

On the other hand, I'm sure you can research the internet and find a story about someone who included his picture on his resume, or printed it using green ink, or put it on grey paper, or showed up at the interview dressed in some unusual way, or sang a showtune during his interview, and was told that this is what put them over the top in getting him his dream job.

These stories stand out because they are in fact exceptional. Most people get their jobs through more mundane means -- developing the qualifications for the job, presenting them in a clean resume, leveraging their personal network for contacts within the company, and presenting themselves in a solid, professional manner in their interviews.

Answer 6

You have to ponder this carefully because it's very culture-sensitive.

The public on here is mostly anglo-saxon, so beware about assumptions about Western countries because this is an area where the similarities stop.

From what I read over the years, in anglo-saxon countries it's a no-no. In the US, there even are legal limits regarding information you can ask applicants to provide.

In Switzerland (not just the german part), it's expected that you include your date of birth, civil status, and sometimes a picture (it's sometimes explicitly stated, but otherwise it's your choice to include it or not, but e.g. Manpower says it's better to include it and I would). This applies to most of Europe, Germany for sure. And it's not a dying trend.

So whichever country you are applying in, you should research the norms in that specific country, maybe even use a translator to translate job search tips from local websites.