Due to American ownership, my company is going to be closed down. I’ve just blown the dust off of my 20 year old CV and realised that it just isn’t up to todays standards.

After a bit of research it would seem that adding a picture (of yourself, presumably) is and isn’t a good thing to do.

So…. what’s the consensus of opinion? Add a picture? Should it be colour or monochrome?

Well, as a fully paid up member of the ‘boil on the arsehole ugly gang’ I’m going to say without.

I’d say no picture.

a) it takes up space
b) it’d have to be a very good/professionally taken one
c) potential for people to be biased from it

Are you a model.

If answer is no…..then there ends the requirement for a photo

No photo.

A decent, professional headshot on LinkedIn, however, is a good idea.

A decent, professional headshot

….would be  a simple solution to Brexit.

A decent, professional headshot on LinkedIn, however, is a good idea

As per Linkedin, or you could put a photo of yourself in a ski helmet and googles to show you ski, or maybe a photo in a wedding suit to show the only time you ever looked smart was at a wedding, or maybe even a picture of you with your sword collection to show you’re a complete nutjob.

you could put a photo of yourself in a ski helmet and googles to show you ski, or maybe a photo in a wedding suit to show the only time you ever looked smart was at a wedding, or maybe even a picture of you with your sword collection to show you’re a complete nutjob.

Indeed.
See also the ladies who take the frankly astonishing decision to use a bikini shot on LinkedIn. If you ever spot one, the “people who looked at this also looked at…” is eye opening.

Do you have interesting facial tattoos?

Go 100% catfish and include a picture of a well know celebrity. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to let a future employer know that they looked like Steve McQueen?

No photo on the CV, make sure Linkedin matches your CV and has a good photo. Even if you look like a bum pimple like P-Jay
Lock down Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc so that if anyone googles you nothing embarrassing comes up, especially if you have an uncommon name. Test it by opening incognito/pr0n mode in your browser and doing a search

Photos on CVs are a thing here in Germany. I dont like the it.

Mate of mine here works in HR and even he says that he’ll spend literally seconds reading each CV. If there is a photo included that means he’ll spend even less time looking at them if he doesn’t like the look of the person.

I don’t think CVs should include names or gender.

Would mean a lot more people get invited to interview and not biased because of their gender or foreign sounding name.

maybe even a picture of you with your sword collection to show you’re a complete nutjob.

Do not jest. A guy I worked with had a shot of him dressed up as the Duke of Wellington with his wife and kids alongside also in period costume. Ohhhkayyyyy!

Are you hot?

If you ever spot one, the “people who looked at this also looked at…” is eye opening.

No idea what you’re on about.

Do not jest.

I’m not, but the person I recall wasn’t in Duke of Wellington mode, more weekend ninja mode.

Nope

i use my passport photo…

The problem with a photo is it opens up the potential for prejudice to creep in. An employer might not want to interview someone who is old / female / foreign-looking / bearded / fat / ginger etc etc. Even if they’re not doing it intentionally, they could be being subconsciously biased.

I didn’t even know having a photo on your CV was a thing. Definitely a no from me and I also like the idea of no name or gender.

The problem with a photo is it opens up the potential for prejudice to creep in. An employer might not want to interview someone who is old / female / foreign-looking / bearded / fat / ginger etc etc. Even if they’re not doing it intentionally, they could be being subconsciously biased.

I think this could be *a thing*.

I’m sure there was some rules passed recently that employers could not longer ask some personal questions. I think age was one of those. Yeah it’s not too hard to work out from education / work history someone approx age, but I know a lot of my old colleagues found it harder to get into roles they wanted over 50 (yeah I know, over-50 year old White Males aren’t exactly top of the pile when it comes to prejudices against).

Saying that, CV tells them you can do the job, it’s the interview when they decide if they can bare to spend 8 hours a day with you.

 decent, professional headshot on LinkedIn, however, is a good idea.

LinkedIn, by definition, wasn’t ever a good idea, and remains to this day a terrible hole of a website filled to brim with dull and unimaginative lower-middle managers ejaculating their banal self help messages to each other. It is, by design, used by the the sorts of people you’d avoid like they had Cat Aids if you met them in real life.

When we need to build Ark Fleet Ship B. LinkedIn is where they’ll go to identify who needs to be on it.

I had judge death as my LinkedIn, no requests to link though.

it’s the interview when they decide if they can bare to spend 8 hours a day with you.

I’m pretty sure baring off in the interview would raise red flags.

Put one on my son’s. He’s 18. Wants to be a pilot and has a private license. So he has a small selfie of him flying a plane. Must have worked as he now works at LHR whilst he saves

If you have a photo of something noteworthy that adds to your profile, why not?

LinkedIn, by definition, wasn’t ever a good idea, and remains to this day a terrible hole of a website filled to brim with dull and unimaginative lower-middle managers ejaculating their banal self help messages to each other. It is, by design, used by the the sorts of people you’d avoid like they had Cat Aids if you met them in real life.

And yet many recruiters and businesses use it as part of the hiring process. May not be relevant if you work as a dentists surgery office manager, but there are plenty of professions where it is useful.

Good advice guys. I’ll not be putting a photo on the CV. Not sure about LinkedIn. Might use a picture of me happily holding my bike above my head as I had just finished ascending Mnt. Ventoux

Mate of mine here works in HR and even he says that he’ll spend literally seconds reading each CV

I go one step further and divide them into two piles at random. I then bin one pile without looking at them. No-one wants to work with unlucky people.

Definite no. Unconscious bias is a massive thing. Keep it fact based, but avoid personal details, age, DOB, and even what year you did your A levels (as they’ll figure out age from that). I also don’t like “hobbies”. It can go either way and give common ground and something easy to talk about at interview. Or they could be a cyclist hating horse rider who was once thrown from a horse that spooked by a mtber’s squeak brakes!

Definite no. Unconscious bias is a massive thing. Keep it fact based, but avoid personal details, age, DOB,

Exactly this.

Its the skills employers should be after, not what shoes you wear in Business Class.

Having done quite a few CVs and online applications earlier in the year, many are now going down the anonymous line. I even had to remove all the names of my schools & university on one of them – just give the degree and grade.

Never ever put a photo on a CV unless you’re an actor, auditioning for acting work!

Def no photo.

2-3 pages.use bullet points, most recent experience first and space well so easy to read.

Make the info easy to get at, recruiters are busy/lazy so tailor your cv to the job, i.e. if the job advert says “looking for several years experience in civil engineering” start your cv (after name etc) with “a civil engineer with several years experience”

I have spent a third of my life in recruitment so happy to offer advice if I can.

Not a great deal outside of the modelling profession should require a photo! It would probably contravene employment law and policies to insist one was included. Most big companies and institutions will have their Recruiting / HR depts anonymise applications – getting rid of certain personal factors and information that could be used prejudicially or identify the candidate – before sending them on to those actually doing the paper sift. The whole purpose being to prevent nepotism and bias at that stage.

avoid personal details, age, DOB, and even what year you did your A levels

Bit of an age giveaway if you have to list O levels though….

If your qualies are not recent and relevant to the role, no point listing them, I omit my chemistry degree as I now work in IT.

Must have worked as he now works at LHR whilst he saves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919IA_Lj0Ko

HAHAHA! I’ll show him that when he gets back from his night shift. He’s a security officer – the youngest they have ever employed (laptops out, shoes off…, x-ray reading etc…). He’s also on £26K a year, which isn’t a bad starting salary for an 18yo. The ratio of hours worked to future minutes flying is, however, not great!

And yet many recruiters and businesses use it as part of the hiring process.

It’s what it’s for now. Mainly recruiters using it as a means of getting candidates on their books and leads into companies with no interest in placing the right people for the job, just what makes them the most money. Also handy for seeing who’s unhappy where they are because they’re updating their profile, and can target that company for their replacement.

But that’s the recruitment business anyway. LinkedIn has just made it easier for them to abuse candidates and companies.

A decent, professional headshot

….would be a simple solution to Brexit.

Oh, very well done! A standing ovation for Mr Panther!
With my current job, my CV was one page, no photo, d.o.b., or qualifications, other than I have a full driving licence, and recent work experience.
After a chat with the recruiter at the head office, she said she wasn’t even going to bother sending my CV to the site I was applying for, she was arranging an interview for the following week, and I was offered the job a day or so after that.
That was just before my 64th birthday, and it didn’t matter a damn. All that mattered was my ability to drive a car safely.

As an interviewer, I’ve never had a CV with picture so not sure how I’d react. Probably not positively, so I’d say no

I don’t think CVs should include names or gender.

The application forms I get via HR all have the front page with name, gender and ethnicity removed. So maybe someone has attached a photo and it’s been removed