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

Photos on CVs is very common in professional services/ Big 4 type world - the kind that get included in an ITT response, rather than applying for a job. I have 100+ versions of my cv for proposals and every one includes a photo. Have to get the photo redone every now and then when I change my hair colour. It’s not at ALL shocking to me.

@Comtesse
ITT is different to a job application. I agree it’s usual to have photos of the team in the pitch but they are hiring the firm for a project not offering a job to the individuals.

What I'm taking from this is that most people have no understanding of how unconscious bias works. Humans have evolved over millenia to generalise very quickly about who we encounter (friend or foe, predator or mate) and make later decisions on the basis of that unconscious generalisation. It's not that you are consciously racist/ageist/sexist/whatever - it's that you unconsciously favour certain traits over others. Therefore, the fewer clues you have about the non-relevant attributes of a candidate (age, race, sex, etc), the less likely unconscious bias will come into play.

Yes @ChazsBrilliantAttitude I do know that a CV for an ITT is different from a CV for a job application! But there are a lot of responses on this thread akin to “oh NO, no one ever puts photo on a cv” and thought it might be worth adding that sometimes it’s fine / expected, just like other people in European countries find it perfectly normal....

It's very foreign!

Why would you send a photo with piss on your top and messy hair?

You've defo not got the job.

OP said earlier, the job is working with animals and often ending up covered in all sorts.

Pic was of her with an animal so in that context I think it's not the end of the world especially as she has been recommended for the role and is going straight to interview.

gingerbeerandlemonade
Please don't! We've had one or two people don't in the past and tbh, we've laughed at them. Not because of what they look like, but because they put a photo in at all. Why would you? Such a strange thing to do

Honestly I find you and your colleagues 'laughing' at that even stranger. I wouldn't ever include a photo myself but I don't think it's cause for such derision. I'm surprised people have such rigid views. It's just a photo!

The reasons why photos are not commonly used in the UK is clear to me and I entirely agree with others who say that photos can be used (albeit usually unwittingly) to screen out applicants based on protected characteristics, or other characteristics like weight that are not protected but are nevertheless (usually) irrelevant to someone's ability to do the job.

The bigger question for me is why photos appear to be so common in other parts of Europe, given that EU equality legislation obviously applies to all EU countries.

Is it that other European countries genuinely do not have the same problem with discrimination and unconscious bias as we do, or is it that our practices are better at acknowledging and addressing it? Obviously the answer might be different in different countries.

What I'm taking from this is that most people have no understanding of how unconscious bias works.

I know very well what unconscious bias is and how it works. I just choose not to take it as so dramatically terrible when it comes to job applications. See the process I described, the one used in Germany, which is the very opposite to the UK one, in that the recruiter wants as much personal detail there as possible. Yes, they are going to have personal preferences. Yes, it might not be fair in some cases.

But it works there, it's not the end of the world, there are always going to be people turned down for a job because the recruiter preferred the prettier one who is less qualified. Even with the strictly neutral UK system, I hear of such stories all the time. If it happened to me I would move on.

If we are so hellbent on removing all personal bias then we should just feed the factual details of the applicants into a machine and let the machine choose. That idea, to me, is horrendous; but it seems to be what most people here want?

I personally will always prefer a predominantly human process, with all the unconscious bias that might be involved, and let the chips fall as they may. A horrifying concept, I know!

I used to work in recruitment and we did, occasionally, get CVs with photos on them. Yes, I thought it was unnecessary. No, I absolutely didn't just throw those CVs straight in the bin though. People used to always say that sort of thing - if you've got a 'foreign sounding' name or an unusual name like Kitty Sunshine Jones or something, the recruiter will just throw the CV straight in the bin! That doesn't happen IME. You have to have solid reasons for picking or not picking CVs. Or you did where I worked.

Anyway, excuse slight derail.

I wouldn't include it again personally. But don't fret about it now. Some hiring managers might like it, but I think it opens up a can of worms. We had a very glamorous photo on one CV of a young woman and the hiring managers were extremely reluctant to shortlist her because they (quote rightly) didn't want to appear as if they were favouring her for her looks, so it can backfire.

I keep hearing that names are no longer going to be included on CVs as well? I've been out of this sort of job for years and years, so I'm truly out of the loop, so not sure if this is nonsense.

The template thing...meh, wouldn't have bothered me. If you used a template and have the right experience or if you had a beautiful CV but no relevant experience, obviously the beautiful CV is not getting shortlisted. But if both were equal in other ways, but one was a template, unless it was a creative or design role, we probably would have shortlisted both and then made a decision after interview.

Did you have to upload the document? We use a system for all job applications and it links to LinkedIn. We get your LI profile and ALL PROFILES ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR EMAIL such as Instagram and Facebook. So we have a fairly solid idea of what people look like before we even interview them, and are also able to suss out the people who forgot their real name etc.

OP don’t be hard on yourself - it may be UNUSUAL to have a CV with a photo but it’s not terrible or fatal. Some headhunters like to use photos so interviewers can remember who was who after doing lots of interviews. LinkedIn uses photos and no one says “how terrible”.
If any recruiters want to screen out identifiers that might result in bias then they can easily black out your photo just like they will with your name and address etc.

Why are you asking everyones opinion if you've already sent the c.v with the photo on. I don't understand why you've already done that then asking all us what we think!!!!!! Horse, gate and bolt spring to mind.

If you go through an agency, they put your CV into their template anyway

Err, because i may not get the job and i may not want the job. So, as i stated in my OP, i was asking for future applications. I used the template as a prompt and then thought it actually looked quite good, so replaced the glamorous stock photo with one of me looking dishevelled, porky but happy.

Now that would have been bad id id used the stock pic!!

I'm a recruitment consultant and I would say 100% no to photo on cv, unless your applying internationally where it''s more the custom to have one. As another mumsnetter has said, a URL to your Linked In profile will give them what they need if they really want to see what you look like....

A huge nooooo to photos on a CV. Ex recruitment consultant here. Also no to hobbies and interests!

My linkedin profile is pants though and tailored very much towards what i did before. So lots of endorsements for skills i used to use but nothing really for my current job.

I thought linkedin wasnt so much of a thing now but perhaps im wrong. I have worked in my.current job for five years and didn't even have an interview for it. Long story really

In Germany, where a photo is expected, it's been generally used to weed out people of colour who might coincidentally have a German name, and unattractive ior odd looking people.

I cannot think of any positive reason why including a photo could be construed as a good thing

Just because you said the word wanky i want to ask if you are 12? No photo. You would just be the office geek for ever. Mrs wanky 😂😂😂📸

LinkedIn is a massive thing these days - especially Since Covid 19.

I’ve never really thought if it’s appropriate to ask for a photo with a cv. I suppose where looks might be critical such as exotic dancer then a written cv is unlikely to be sought.

In Germany, where a photo is expected, it's been generally used to weed out people of colour who might coincidentally have a German name, and unattractive ior odd looking people.

How do you know this?

@Vinomummyinlockdown

A huge nooooo to photos on a CV. Ex recruitment consultant here. Also no to hobbies and interests!

You need to add three words: "in the UK."

Not at all, a photograph on your CV makes you more memorable. I’ve seen so many CVs and interviewed so many people. I love a CV with a photo, they are the ones I remember. It says a lot about you too, this is me, I’m here and I’m capable x