You can’t convince me that a Memoji has a place on a CV. You can try, but you’ll fail

[LousyGolfer]

This is a new one on me. I must have seen tens of thousands of CVs in my career and thought I saw everything.

Recently recruiting. Fairly senior professional services role (£90-100k equivalent salary- I’m not in UK-, requires 7+ yrs relevant experience, and a degree). Interesting role, great company, lots of applications.

Opened a CV to find a Memoji at the top. For those who don’t know what that it, it’s a little digital cartoon graphic that’s tailored to look like the person. I’ve attached an example from Google.

Is it me or is this just bizarre? Surely this isn’t a thing now?

This is even worse than putting a real photo. Was the applicant actually an experienced professional?

Someone at a previous job had one as her photo. Memoji’s have no place in the workplace!

I can't see what the point of it is.

i find those things so irritating 😠. So twee, childish and cringe . Bad enough on social media with the jolly cartoon face that looks nothing like the person with those little shout out captions where the cartoon has a fucking megaphone! 📣 to put one on a CV is the most embarrassing tacky thing I’ve heard in ages. Rejection pile immediately!!!

Yes. Massively so. Great experience and educational background.

I’m getting mad just looking at the ones in the image you posted OP! They look too smug and pleased

I don't mind them much in place of a photo on, say, WhatsApp. It gives enough likeness that you know it's "Jess" because of the glasses whilst still having some level of anonymity if you feel you need or want that.
I don't like them flooding my social media feed. Just post a photo of you or your cat or something. Why do I need a cartoon of you!?

And absolutely do not ever go sticking them on your CV! That's just weird.

Are you in or they from a country where it is expected to provide a photo with a CV.

Had someone use an ‘avatar’ which looked similar to those on a teams call the other day. It’s a new feature and we’re told if we can’t put our camera on, use an avatar. I find it very weird!! Like I’m talking to an AI.

Are they from a country where it’s acceptable/expected to put a photo on a cv?

I'm genuinely shocked. I've seen bad CVs in my time and often wonder why these people have nobody to tell them what's acceptable, but this is new depths of terrible.

Very much not.

To be fair, she is from a different country. I know this because of a) her address and b) the fact that her Memoji has a nod to her nationality. Imagine she’s Australian, and her memoji is wearing a hat with corks hanging from a string.

I feel like some here might be out of touch. I work in data science/tech/IT. Images of this art style are common on sites people use for work like GitHub, LinkedIn, teams display photos or their own personal website to secure contracting work.

it’s fairly easy for people proficient in software to create an image like this from scratch too, it’s just a flex of your digital design skills at that point.

I don’t personally have one on my CV but I think if the rest of the CV was highly designed and curated in a similar art style (ie not just a blank white background and bog standard layout), it could look ok.

This isn’t for an IT role, or something in graphic design.

Professional services- along the lines of internal legal, finance, or HR.

My point being, that some sectors are more modern than others - you have a narrow view.

It doesn’t have to be as niche as “IT role” or “graphic design” either. Eg you can get senior managers, legal, HR staff and the like in FAANG groups. Those companies wouldn’t bat an eyelid at such images.

Beyond that, I saw Directors with teams images like this when I worked in government. They aren’t technical either.

Our school uses them. All the teachers have one 🙊

No, it's weird. I hate photos on a CV anyway but the cartoon thing is bizarre.

I was listening to R4 today on way home from work and they were quoting a statistic saying 1 in 4 of Gen Z's take a parent with them to an interview. Didn't listen to while programme but I do despair at the young today.

My GC live a lot of their life on line in their little online bubble. Makes you wonder what the future holds

If having a cartoon on your CV is “modern”, I’m very happy to be considered past it.

(And I’m not, but better than the alternative if this is the alternative).

To be fair, I absolutely loathe my photo so may consider a cartoon me as a way forward. Can't be worse then the real me 😁

To clarify my feelings on CV photos, I hate them because they feel regressive. Sift based on my skills and experience, not my appearance. I realise I'll be judged by appearance at some point in the process (consciously or otherwise) but surely faces at stage 1 just encourages discrimination (consciously or otherwise)?

I also work in data science, I don't know anyone who would put that sort of image on a cv. Plenty of them on Slack, Teams, GitHub etc. but a cv - no way.

I wouldn't classify adding an avatar to a CV as modern. It feels more like stepping backwards to when people put photos on their CV.

Teams images are different.

Any CV I get with a picture goes straight into my deleted folder.

As would a CV with one of these atrocities on it.

You're not past it or out of touch. I recruit graphic designers and this is NOT a thing.----