You might be surprised, but one of the top mistakes many recent grads make when applying for jobs is including a photo in their resume. Unlike social media, where a profile photo is the norm, resumes typically do not include pictures unless it is an understood requirement of the industry, such as modeling or acting.
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4 Reasons You Should Not Add A Photo On Your Resume
It’s too much information
It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. On a resume, a picture that speaks a “thousand words” could mean trouble. In order words, it could be telling the employer more about you than you may want him to know.
A great number of studies have been conducted revealing how certain facial features are associated with certain personality traits. For example, several studies have proved that high cheekbones are associated with assertiveness and aggressiveness, while “baby faces” or face with more fat are associated with compassion and friendliness.
Whether this is true for you or not, you can expect the employer to be reading your face and making judgments that are irrelevant to the position in question.
You could be discriminated against
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While your resume certainly will not include your religion, age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability status, or anything that could easily be discriminated against, the picture will say it all even before you get a call. Sure, discrimination is illegal. However, there’s no way of knowing whether or not a potential employer rejected you for a discriminatory reason or some other genuine reason. In fact, many employers specifically ask applicants not to include a photo in their resume to avoid the possibility of such an accusation and potential lawsuits.
It’s a distraction
Humans are naturally visual creatures and in many ways, it makes them a bit shallow. Naturally, it’s really difficult for us to try and not judge someone by their looks, clothes, hairstyle, sense of fashion, and other visual cues. You may think that being Hollywood gorgeous may win you a job, but it could actually do the opposite and make you look like a not-so-smart-blonde.
Furthermore, by putting a picture on your resume you’re allowing an employer’s attention and focus to divert from other professional aspects of the resume, such as education, qualification, skills, experiences, awards, etc. that are more important.
An Applicant Tracking System may reject it
Many employers don’t have the time to go through each resume individually, which is why they use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to do the job for them. Some of these applicant tracking systems and scanners may reject a resume because they don’t understand the file or the format, making your resume illegible. Unfortunately, when that happens it’s more than likely that your resume will never reach the hands of a hiring manager.
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Bottom Line
Finally, putting your picture in a resume simply can’t capture what you’re all about. The face you put on your resume in only a small part of you, and very often even that’s not accurately captured. It’s always better to wait and show the real you to the recruiters when you’re called for an interview.
Lastly, it’s more important to be confident about your skills, abilities, experiences, and other professional qualifications and let those shine first for a job application than your appearances. Where a picture is not required, make sure your resume is well written and that’s really all you’ll need!
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