# Photograph on CV - Is it OTT.?



## allthedoyles (20 Oct 2009)

Hi, 
Would like to know , if it is ok to place a passport size photo on a CV frontpage .........or would it be considered  'over the top '' ?


----------



## Diziet (20 Oct 2009)

allthedoyles said:


> Hi,
> Would like to know , if it is ok to place a passport size photo on a CV frontpage .........or would it be considered  'over the top '' ?



Way over the top IMO, unless it is for a job such as modelling


----------



## PaddyBloggit (20 Oct 2009)

uugh ... if I got a cv in the door with a photo on it I'd start thinking that the person was full of their own self importance.

Unless requested, I wouldn't include a photo.

Keep the CV neat, concise and professional .... it will talk for itself.


----------



## Squonk (20 Oct 2009)

I think a relaxed non-formal photo might personalise a CV...a good thing.


----------



## patftrears (20 Oct 2009)

Squonk said:


> I think a relaxed non-formal photo might personalise a CV...a good thing.


Not a photograph stuck on a paper cv, but a digital image passport photo on a cv is fine and can add to it.


----------



## Jewel (20 Oct 2009)

Absolutely no need for the photo. 
Why do you want to add it - do you think it will aid you getting an interview/job? 

It is not the custom in Ireland to include photo's on CVs, so those few that do arrive in the door seem a bit strange. 
However, in other countries it is quite the norm, so I would often see photo's on CVs for jobs in other countries.


----------



## Fatphrog (21 Oct 2009)

It depends on the job. If you're looking for something customer-facing, appearance is important so a photo is ok. It's a lot more relevant that a string of junior cert results.


----------



## Caveat (21 Oct 2009)

Fatphrog said:


> It depends on the job. If you're looking for something customer-facing, appearance is important so a photo is ok. It's a lot more relevant that a string of junior cert results.


 
+1

This photo on CV thing seems to be a largely Eastern European phenomenon in our experience though - doesn't always add to it if the applicant is a prospective engineer who will have little or no customer contact and tries to look deadly serious/cool/aloof - which I've seen a lot.  Ends up being a bit comical.


----------



## Guest128 (21 Oct 2009)

I may be totally wrong but is it not illegal to hire based on looks and places that ask for pictures can be prosecuted?

FM104/Spin1038 recently got around this while hiring those eejits in the VW Beetles by saying that "A photo may be included if desired" aka if you dont include one you aint getting anywhere near getting the job....


----------



## Complainer (21 Oct 2009)

FLANDERS` said:


> I may be totally wrong but is it not illegal to hire based on looks and places that ask for pictures can be prosecuted?
> .


It is not quite that black and white. It is illegal to discriminate against somebody under any of the nine grounds listed in the Employment Equality Acts. Asking for a picture could certainly open the employer to claims that they discriminated on grounds of disability or membership of the travelling community, for example. 

There is nothing in law that stops an employer choosing the blond girl with the really big hands over other better qualified candidates.


----------



## Guest128 (21 Oct 2009)

Complainer said:


> Asking for a picture could certainly open the employer to claims that they discriminated on grounds of disability or membership of the travelling community, for example.



They'd hardly include a picture of themselves posing outside a caravan


----------



## Fatphrog (21 Oct 2009)

Also, we're not talking about asking for photos on application forms, we're talking about candidates including them on CVs themselves.


----------



## Guest128 (21 Oct 2009)

I know that Fatphrog, on that point I would think it very irregular


----------



## Dinny (21 Oct 2009)

It is becoming more common now to place a photo on a CV. It is very much an international thing. Most of our clients in the Middle East require a photo attached to the CV


----------



## Squonk (21 Oct 2009)

I used to do a lot of phone interviews in the engineering profession. I always found a photo (digitally applied to a CV) helped me to 'humanise' the person, instead of just speaking to a disembodied voice. I'm not saying that people got the  job because of the photo, just that it helped me remember who they were (which may or may not have been a good thing)


----------



## lightswitch (21 Oct 2009)

Attaching a photo to a CV was quite common in the 80's and early 90's in Ireland.  Maybe it's a recession thing that it is coming back into vogue (if it is).

Wouldn't be in favour of it myself as people are judged on their looks so some excellent candidates could be excluded simply by not being photogenic.


----------



## huskerdu (21 Oct 2009)

I remember when it was in vogue years ago. Made no odds, and anyway CVs were photocopied to be distributed to  interviewers and the photos were usually did not come out in the photocopied version.

Surely all CVs are electronic these days anyway. Its years since I say an actual paper CV coming through the door.


----------



## BONDGIRL (22 Oct 2009)

seriously I would HATE to have to include a pic, as I am SO fussy about pics of me and it would take me days to find the right one LOL.  I would have to have a photo shoot done first hahaha


----------



## Guest128 (22 Oct 2009)

BONDGIRL said:


> seriously I would HATE to have to include a pic, as I am SO fussy about pics of me and it would take me days to find the right one LOL.  I would have to have a photo shoot done first hahaha



I'm assuming it would be your bog standard passport style photo as opposed to "I looked better in the green dress"


----------



## BONDGIRL (22 Oct 2009)

Oh still Flanders I would have to spend a few quid getting the right passport pic!!!!


----------



## BONDGIRL (22 Oct 2009)

FLANDERS` said:


> "I looked better in the green dress"


 
Oh I defo wouldn't wear green, my Late Nanny told me the colour green brought no luck!!!


----------



## huskerdu (23 Oct 2009)

BONDGIRL said:


> Oh still Flanders I would have to spend a few quid getting the right passport pic!!!!



And even if the photo was fab, the CV would be photocopied 4 times, and one of the photocopies would be faxed to another branch of the company where it would be photocopied again, and the photo will look like a zombie anyway.


----------



## Deas (23 Oct 2009)

Ask yourself why would you do this?  What will it add?  Unless you believe there is some subliminal reason that your CV with a photo will strike a chord, my advice as a HRBP is don't do it.  Do target your CV to the role you are applying for and don't make it too long.  Keep it strictly professional.  It will be the content that matters.


----------



## thesimpsons (24 Oct 2009)

Having worked in HR in big Irish company and overseas, I wouldn't recommend putting the photo on CV - always thinks it looks tacky and generally HR would take the photo off the CV before we'd photocopy it for other managers.  Also, wouldn't recommend those expensive covers - they usually get taken off and binned as being too big and bulky to handle (waste of your money).   Also worked in employment agencies and we never send CVs onto prospective employers with photos attached.


----------

