Should You Include Your Photo In Your Resume
Should You Include Your Photo In Your Resume
In many, mostly Western countries, it is actually illegal to attach your photograph to your resume. This is because it is considered irrelevant to the matter at hand: looking for work and choosing someone for interview should not be based on their appearance.
In Asia, however, it is fairly common to attach your photograph to a resume so if everyone is doing it, then maybe there is no harm in you doing the same thing. That conclusion is fair, given that nowadays it is quite easy to find photos of almost anybody on the internet anyway, especially if they are quite active on social media.
The problem is that 95% of resume photographs are passport or identity card photos. The person in the photo isn’t smiling, they look stiff and some even look like they are unhappy or in pain. If that is the kind of photograph you have, why include it as part of your job application process? What are you telling your possible employer?
Are you saying you never smile, or that you are stiff as a person, or that you are unhappy and in pain? It may not be what you want to say to the recruiting manager but they will see the photo attached to your resume before they see you and they will have formed an impression based on it.
People are judgemental and recruiting managers especially so. They are not trying to find a reason not to interview you, or not to hire you, but at the same time, photos cause people to pass judgement. It is unavoidable.
So, if you feel you want to include your photo with your resume, or if you feel you must include your photo, then make the effort to have that photo be a flattering one. That itself is a subjective matter, of course but try this: firstly, do not use a passport or identity card photograph. That is inevitably already a disaster because the conditions of those photographs force the person to appear less than what they could be like. With the abundance of cameras on handphones today, get a friend to take your photo against a plain, light coloured background. For the photo, dress as you would if you were going to the interview itself because that injects some degree of formality into the event, minimal as it may be. Finally, a quarter turn to one side so that the photo is not directly full on, and smile without teeth showing. It’s a formal photo so maintain these elements.
“... if you feel you want to include your photo with your resume... then make the effort to have that photo be a flattering one.”
Finally, when attaching the photo to the resume document, crop it so that the bottom border of the photo is mid chest. There is no reason that a full body or even half body photo needs to be attached. It’s the classic head-and-shoulders that will do.
Best of luck!
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