Should I Put a Photo In My Resume – Resume Writing Tips

I’ve read countless articles by “recruitment experts”, “resume writing experts”, and “career counselors” that say do not put a photo into your resume. There are probably thousands of articles written that say exactly that, but when I wanted to know why, the answers were far and few. In fact, I couldn’t even find any legitimate research or studies cited in any of the posts I looked through.

It was almost as if it was same age old biblical golden rule that people keep passing along without question. Well today we are going to question it.

The ability to actually get a photo into a resume is a relatively new idea and as technology progresses and things like linkedin pop up online where it’s absolutely vital you have a picture attached to your profile in order to gain any credibility, more people are asking the question “Should I put a photo in my resume?”

Here are some of the top reasons why people say not to use a photo:

Discrimination

The fear that by seeing you ahead of time in a photo it somehow increases the likelihood of discrimination by a company. Let’s face it folks, if discrimination is going to happen, it’s going to happen regardless of whether or not you have a photo on your resume. If you show up and your white but they intended on hiring a non-white person because of affirmative action, then wouldn’t you want to save yourself the trip to the interview by just attaching a photo? Why show up to an interview if they already are going to discriminate and not hire you?

Technology

This is where big companies use an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to scan resumes and break them into searchable text to compare them to pre-selected criteria. The claim is that the ATS system could mess up because of a photo. While this is true, the ATS system can also mess up from trying to process too much information on a resume and one of the major causes of ATS malfunction is a highly formatted resume. Resumes that contain so much experience the user crammed so much information into the resume making less space available between the text which makes it harder for the ATS system to process. This crash is not limited to just photos but logos and other designs on a resume.

So can you submit a photo with your resume and not have it crash the ATS system?

The answer is yes you can. Make your resume simple and ensure that your photo is not too large and your resume is not too crowded and you’ll have no problem passing the ATS system scan, then think about the possibilities, if you meet the criteria the next stage will be hand review, if someone receives a stack of 100 resumes and only one has a photo of them, you don’t think they are going to pause and look at it? Of course they will! The point of the photo is to stand out and grab attention.

Professionalism

The fear is that you’ll be judged by your looks…really? Again, if you’re going to be judged by your looks, it’s going to happen regardless, save yourself the time of going in for an interview and not getting a job.

The article I pulled these three tips from in the information goes as far to claim that it doesn’t matter what you look like, but unfortunately, it does. They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover, yet the cover is one of the top three most important if not the most important selling point of any book.

It’s a first impression type thing, if your cover doesn’t draw someone in then chances are they aren’t going to open up the book to see what’s inside. If your professional looking photo can’t make someone feel comfortable with you and see you in a position then they aren’t going to care what’s on your resume anyways.

The reality is, qualifications for a job are not or your ability to perform a job are just plain and simple not the only thing you’ll be judged on. The interviewers and HR are going to examine you thoroughly from your personality on down to make sure you’re a good fit for the company.

Is this discrimination?

Maybe, but it’s necessary discrimination.

A single person with a poor attitude or bad hygiene habits or something else wrong can destroy an entire business atmosphere and weaken a business all by themselves. You have probably worked with a person before that just sapped the motivation of everyone around you so you can probably relate to why a company won’t hire someone just based on qualifications alone or you’ll understand why looks and personality are an important part of the qualifications.

This has nothing to do with being attractive or sexy or any of what you might be thinking about. It has to do with being able to look like and act like you fit in with the already existing group of people. A company might reject the most handsomely qualified man for a programming job because he won’t fit in with a group of programming “nerds” etc. It’s just the way things are. Businesses are more than an individual they are a team, and one person that doesn’t fit on the team, sadly, doesn’t belong on the team and can weaken the team.

Is There Any Research That Proves Photos Are Bad?

You’ll be surprised to learn that I was unable to come up with too much research on the subject specifically but I did manage to find something for you to consider.

A site called Nonprofit Job Seeker did research on whether or not good looking people are more employable. The research was conducted by a University in Israel.

They sent in duplicate resumes to over 2500 jobs, one with a photo and one without. Their findings are somewhat confusing to me but they do demonstrate that photos have an impact when they are on a resume.

The test subjects were that of attractive males and females only.

They found that attractive males received a 19.9 percent response rate, nearly 45% higher than the 13.7 percent response rate for “plain” males and more than twice the 9.2 percent response rate of no-picture males.

What does that mean?

It means that attractive males who attached a picture to their resume received over 50% more call backs then males who did not attach a picture. Which in turn results in attractive males sending in 5 resumes per call and non-picture males having to send in 11 resumes per call back. Interesting right?

But what about females?

The unusual thing is that females had different results. When I talk to most people about putting photos on their resume the example that I’m commonly given is no one wants to see a slutty hot chick on a resume it makes them appear unprofessional and they show boobs etc. This is not at all what we are talking about when I say include a photo. The photos need to be professional and should be a photo of you looking like you fit into the job role you’re applying for.

In female candidates the non-picture females received a 22 percent higher response rate than “plain” females and a 30 percent higher response rate than “attractive” females. Completely reverse of the male findings.

So do you conclude that hot females should not include a picture on their resume but hot males should? Of course not, there’s more to the story.

Over 70% of HR Positions Are Filled By Females

According to a Forbes article, the HR department is comprised of over 70% females. Could this be the disparity seen in the research above? Because a female is more than likely in charge of scanning resumes and hiring do attractive males jive with them more and attractive females perhaps threaten them or make them jealous?

I have no idea honestly, but it’s a variable I found interesting. To me it seems to go hand and hand with the research done in Israel, but you make the call.

Other Marketing Research

From a marketing standpoint, a resume is nothing more than a sales pitch to sell yourself to a potential employer. From a marketing standpoint, it would make sense to include a photo on your resume because adding a photo gives a more personal message. It also attracts attention which I talked about above, and grabbing someones attention so they read your piece, is what marketing is all about.

You could have the best resume in a stack of a thousand but if you don’t stand out and get someone to read it, you have no chance of getting the job.

Market research suggests that sales pages that contain graphical elements, such as photos of the author, are read by as many as 30% more readers in some cases, depending on the study used. The consensus however is that photos do draw attention and from a marketing stand point you absolutely should include a professional looking photo into your resume.

A photo, if it has a relevant connection to the context of the writing, can do wonders for you.

I don’t have a link online to these studies but I’ll give you a lead, a lot of them were conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide and I found them inside of a book I was reading on the topic of photos in sales copy.

So Should You Use A Picture?

Let’s be honest, if you’re applying for a low end job at a fast food chain, it’s probably not necessary to use a photo and might be awkward. But if you’re an executive or going to be applying for an important position somewhere then a photo can help you out tremendously.

What Type of Photo You Should Use

I don’t care if you have double d boobs or a 10 inch wiener, it’s never appropriate to include an inappropriate photo showing these features unless they are job related. If you’re applying for a modeling job or a porn job, then by all means, include the photo.

The photos that will enhance your chances are photos that show you looking the role. If you’re applying to be an executive then put a thumbnail u of you in a suit and cut it off somewhere around your tie. Keep the photos to your face, the exception might be if you’re applying to be a lumber jack, you might want to take an action shot of you chopping down a tree and include that in the small thumbnail, whatever you’re applying for, look the part.

If you send in a resume to taco bell to be the janitor and you include a photo of you in a suit, well obviously, you don’t look like you fit in and the photo will probably hurt you. But if you send in a photo of you in a janitor outfit with a mop and broom, you might get a laugh and an interview just because of the effort.

In today’s competitive job market, standing out is vital.

Times When Photos Are Required

As stated above, there are times when photos are necessary especially if you’re applying to be a model, but beyond that there are other situations where it’s required.

A friend of mine does free lance programming for a guy solely over the internet. He never interacts with a customer or his employer face to face. This guy manages projects so he builds a team of free lancers and then makes bids on contracts to companies. To give the appeal that his company is professional and qualified he requested professional looking photos from his free lancers so the potential customers can review his portfolio of employees on the job and their qualifications.

When working on the internet it’s great to put a persons face on who you’re dealing with. It definitely makes spending money easier and gives you a good feeling about what you’re doing to know what people look like. It can dispel stereotypes like free lance programmers living in grandparents basements and smoking pot all day.

There will be times when a photo is absolutely necessary, not just in the examples above, but you’ll find it necessary or helpful in many other ways on your job search. Whatever you do, don’t rule out adding a photo.

Looks Do Matter

I have known people who’ve gotten offered jobs as waitresses, receptionists, spokesman, and more without even applying just because of how they look. Anyone that tells you that how you look doesn’t matter for a job hunt is lying to you. Looks do matter so present yourself the best possible way. If looks didn’t matter, then they wouldn’t advise you to dress up and look your best at an interview!

If they’re willing to admit that much, then it shouldn’t be too far stretched to admit that adding a photo to a resume can help if done properly.

Let’s Look At Some Examples And You Decide

(No Photo)

(Photo)

Come on, which resume catches your attention?

Another Scenario

You’re looking for a secretary, each of the following candidates is equally qualified. Who are you going to hire?

(Applicant #1)

(Applicant #2)

You want people to feel at ease when they come into your office. Having a pretty face to look at and talk to makes people feel at ease.

Sorry, facts are facts, you’re going to hire the hot chick because she fits in better to the environment.

Looks are part of your qualifications whether you want to believe it or not and no matter how many discrimination laws you pass it won’t ever be any other way. You don’t see any ugly cheerleaders do you? You have to fit the role you’re applying for, not just by ability but by appearance.

But what if it was reversed and the position was for a janitor?

You’d probably hire the ugly chick because the stereotype is that hot chicks can’t do that type of work right?

See looks work both ways, so use your pictures in your resumes the right way.

References

http://melissacooley.com/2010/07/3-reasons-no-photo-resume/

http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/resume-technology-resume-format-machine-friendly

http://www.nonprofitjobseeker.com/careertips/article3.html?tr=y&auid=7607186

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2012/07/11/why-human-resources-isnt-just-for-women-anymore/