Is it wanky to put my photo on my cv?

[TheoriginalLEM]

I needed to quickly do a cv for a job interview that i have already secured.

So to prompt myself to include everything in some sort if order i used a template from word. I normally just do a plain document. Anyway the document came together well and there was space for a photo. I take a terrible picture so its definately not vanity, but the picture shows me at work looking happy and its very relevant to the post.

Two questions.

1. Are they going to think im lazy using the template (i was a bit) and will i stand out for the wrong reasons?

1. I now have my cv written out so could effectively ping it out to jobs im half interested in. Do i leave the pic/template or do i go back to sober cv?

Yabu - wanker
Yanbu - will stand out positively

The thing with photos on a Word doc is it looks shit because Word isn’t really designed for imagery, it all ends up looking a bit clip-art.

And if you work with animals, surely that’s clear from the words on your CV? Presumably you don’t add a horse emoji after every mention of horses.

Agree that you should definitely spellcheck – using the Word tool but also print and scan by eye – before sending out. Good luck!

I had got the message by page one! It seems I have opened a can of worms.

"You'll look like a 16 year old" if only - I'm 50!!

The person who will be interviewing me has met me already, albeit briefly. An ex- colleague put a word in for me. She asked for an introductory, informal email so i sent one. I didnt have an up to date CV, i told her i could throw one together which I did. I think she wanted to know what specific tasks i can do rsther than it being screening per se.

I concur - the photo wasnt the best idea and i definitely wont include next time

I managed to work out the spell check all by itself

":08Snog

What jobs let you have a top with an obvious piddle stain and unkempt hair?"

The same jobs that you find yourself with shit dripping off the end of your nose - still wanna swap?

don't! you will stand out for the wrong reason. You can always link the CV to your linkedin account where you pose!

But other than that - no.

I have friends in Germany and apparently, you don't only put any nice enough photo on your CV but they go to the photographer to get specific CV photos taken. shudder.

dwiz8

Sure you can - that's why criminals and abusers are so easy to identify in the general population just from their faces... er, no, they're not are they.

I just wanted to say good luck with the job. I really hope you get it!!

It's not common practice to include a photo from what I've seen in the past.
Unless they specifically ask for a photo, I wouldn't include one.

@Throckmorton

dwiz8

Sure you can - that's why criminals and abusers are so easy to identify in the general population just from their faces... er, no, they're not are they.

Quite!

Perhaps dwiz8 has special magical mystery abilities to see into the soul from a photo. Clearly it’s not just that dwiz8 discriminates
based on appearance like everyone else.

You’re meant to be assessing if they can do the job. Not if they’ll fit in at the Christmas party.

No, even if you already have the interview for this job, it still gives them time to think about your appearance before the interview, which they won't have for other candidates. And it can support racism and sexism. Potentially also for you, not just against you. Do you want to get a job just because you are white (if you are)?

@ancientgran

MeredithGreysScalpel No to picture. I sometimes recruit to a professional position and have seen a photo once on a CV - oh, how we all laughed. How unprofessional. Senior HR manager and if anyone who sometimes recruits behaved like that they wouldn't be involved again.

WanderingMilly I am surprised at the people on here who say things like, they'd bin a CV specifically if it included a photo...that seems unprofessional in itself, to be honest. If you're good enough for interview and they change their minds just because you provided a picture, it doesn't put the recruitment department in a good light Couldn't agree more.

ancientgran -- totally agree

@WeddingGrump

It's one of the reasons I'm mainly in favour of (anonymised) application forms rather than CVs; certainly in (a lot of) education and the NHS, when you get details of the candidates and their experience, any personal data has been taken away.

However, if you work in a small region, or a very specialised role, the likelihood is that the recruiting managers may well have some idea of your identity anyway; plus, your supporting statement might give them one or two clues, from where you've worked; or maybe I've just been in the same field/location too long. ;)

I know there are experiments that have been done where the same CV has been submitted to companies, and depending on whether it's an "Olivia" or a "Chantelle", a "James" or a "Kyle", the applicant has or hasn't been selected for interview. I also live with someone from a non-UK country who can attest that in their native land, your address can make a difference. And then there's the whole "Did you go to the right university/school/have the right gap year" thing...Publishing, which someone has mentioned upthread, is a very good example of this, though self-publishing has disrupted the model in recent years.

I've had to do various recruitment courses throughout my career (it's not my main job role but it used to be a fairly regular ask), and they have all lacked any training on (unconscious) bias though the equal opps training addressed it.

I once received the CV of a candidate who had attached an A5 glossy photo of himself, sitting in a leather armchair with a cigar in one hand and a brandy glass in the other. Gave us a good laugh but didn't make it to interview, unsurprisingly.

That can be assessed at interview. It has no place in shortlisting.

@MMN123 I didn't say it did, in fact my earlier reply made clear I don't think photos are appropriate in a job application. I was replying to the poster who said that a person doesn't have any control over how they look in a photograph.

@Carer589

I once received the CV of a candidate who had attached an A5 glossy photo of himself, sitting in a leather armchair with a cigar in one hand and a brandy glass in the other. Gave us a good laugh but didn't make it to interview, unsurprisingly.

For a place at university rather than a job but once received more than one photograph all put together in a professionally bound book called [NAME]'s Self-Aggrandizing Dictionary where words such as achievement, dedication etc were defined in relation to the applicant.

Dappled Things

Possibly the same candidate!

I also live with someone from a non-UK country who can attest that in their native land, your address can make a difference.

I believe taht happens in the UK too. People in here are very stuck up about class and postcodes.

So you looked at the photos and decided whether you could imagine working with them? I know you said that you also filtered out on relevant experience but how on earth can you tell whether you would have a rapport with someone from a photo?

Of course you can't tell. As I said above, the photo was not the determining criteria; it was secondary to their experience in a particular field.

It's the possibility of putting a face to a list of dry, impersonal qualifications.

But anyway: my opinion is irrelevant; as it is not the norm in the UK. Just be aware that in some European countries the opposite is the case.

Don't add a photo. If anything, I would've thought employers would be against this - it potentially prevents them from being accused of discriminating against minorities.

@Kiire

The photo helped us to know: is this a person I can imagine working with? The interview was the next step. If there was a bias, it was necessary for the job; the person would have to fit into the team, and qualifications on paper alone just wouldn't work.

This is why no photos should be included. What nonsense, you cannot from a picture determine if someone would be a good fit, what shite.

Read my posts again, please. I did not say that.

I don’t understand how you can decide that you will work well with someone and have a rapport with them from a photo. What are they doing in the photo? I guess if you asked them to take a photo of them doing their favourite hobby then you can choose the “sitting in the pub with a big glass of wine” person over the stamp collector or the skydiver over the swinger. But you don’t need a photo for that - you need a “hobbies” section.

If you were reading the posts of those who know the European system without immediately going into argument mode, you would have realised that we are speaking of professional passport photos, portraits.

It’s pretty standard to attach a photo to your CV in Asia. It looks like a passport photo, honestly I hate this and much prefer the Western way as I just don’t see why it’s necessary

What you mean @ifailed is that a photo helps you recognise a person who is “someone like us”

It's amazing, then, and quite miraculous, that I did not look the slightest bit like any of my recruiters, who were all lily-white, while I am not!

@MangoFeverDream

It’s pretty standard to attach a photo to your CV in Asia. It looks like a passport photo, honestly I hate this and much prefer the Western way as I just don’t see why it’s necessary

You mean the British way, as it is common in much of Europe to include a photo.

I have friends in Germany and apparently, you don't only put any nice enough photo on your CV but they go to the photographer to get specific CV photos taken. shudder.

You also have to send in an entire folder with letters from your previous employers who highlight your strengths in detail. What I didn't know, and our boss revealed this when we discussed the applicants, is that there is a secret code in these letters which tell future employers things they could not say openly in the letter. The wording. "She is highly motivated" or "she is extremely motivated and passionate about the work" can make a world of difference!

It's really quite simple. OP, you;re in the UK so don't include a photo. Anyone applying in a country where it's required, learn about the process and do it their way without too much grumbling and whingeing about unconscious bias. Different strokes, and all that.

@MangoFeverDream

It’s pretty standard to attach a photo to your CV in Asia. It looks like a passport photo, honestly I hate this and much prefer the Western way as I just don’t see why it’s necessary

Awfully, there are women in some countries having surgery to make their eyes look more ‘Western’ because they won’t be shortlisted otherwise.

I'm not from the UK originally and didn't realise having a photo in your CV is so controversial. My own CV has a small, professional photo, in the top left corner alongside my name/details, but my partner is a graphic designer so he formatted it on InDesign and made it look professional. I haven't seemed to have problems getting job interviews in the past so it would seem it isn't a deal breaker, unless the photo is inappropriate.