Photo requirement on CV?

Question

I came across an advertisement of an academic position (in Europe) that states explicitly:

Application package should include:
 (1) a complete curriculum vitae (with a photo), (...)

I have never seen a photo on CV to be a requirement (although the fact that is included in parenthesis might implicitly mean that is optional?)

In any case I find it mildly strange.

Assuming that its is indeed a requirement, what is the rationale behind this? What are the benefits (for the person advertising the position) of doing so?

I am not asking what are the benefits for the applicant (for which there is a related question) but I am asking from the point of view of the person receiving the applications. Even though the position is located in Europe (Switzerland), feel free to answer for your own region!

Answer 1

I have never seen a photo on CV to be a requirement (although the fact that is included in parenthesis might implicitly mean that is optional?)

My interaction with colleagues in Europe (especially Germany) seems to suggest that this is a relatively common requirement, or at least a default expectation for what is a "complete" CV that they may feel the need to specify due to an international applicant base.

Assuming that its is indeed a requirement, what is the rationale behind this? What are the benefits (for the person advertising the position) of doing so?

I imagine many of the rationales boil down to "This is how it's done". Every justification I've ever seen is about making a "personal connection" and evaluating some soft factors based on the photo.

Whether this is a good idea or not is left as an exercise to the reader.

Answer 2

This is not uncommon when you have a large pool of applicants, because makes it easier to identify you vs other candidates. It is likely that this approach has been adopted for all recruitment at this institution, in a one size fits all strategy rather than specifically for this post.

Some people remember faces better than names, so having both available serves both. For example: If I have interviewed 8 people in one day and another 8 on the previous day and am discussing you with other members of the hiring committee who may have seen you in a different order then we don't have a conversation that starts "Was PsySp the guy with the pink hair?", we would just refer to the photo, then we would be on the same page.

Source: Several years ago I was involved in mass recruitment for entry level IT roles.

Answer 3

In many countries (UK, US) it's very unusual and possibly illegal to request a photo on a CV and it's very rare that people put one spontaneously. In Switzerland however, it's still pretty much standard.

While there is growing criticism about the obvious bias issues associated with that practice, I'm not surprised to still see that requirement in Switzerland, even for academic institutions.

There are no real reasons for it other than a general slowness to recognize sources of bias in hiring in that region.

p.s. Switzerland is not part of the EU.

Answer 4

Several countries in Europe do this, although it is becoming less common due to the obvious problems with bias, so you should not treat it as an extraordinary request. What will happen if you do not do it is hard to predict, but may range from nothing to your CV simply being binned.

My advice is to proceed as if failing to provide it will result in your application being binned. Most job openings have many more applicants than desired and simple criteria - such as failed to follow the application instructions - are a quick way to reduce the numbers. Anecdotally, when I was still in the UK, one of our professors was from Italy and had to be stopped from binning all the CVs without pictures as it was so completely the norm where he was from.

From a more cynical point of view: if you are white, and particularly if you are white and male, you likely have nothing to lose from including a photo.

Answer 5

It's just a matter of cultural standard.

While including a photo may occur "mildly strange" to you (probably from a US background?) it is, for instance, in Germany as normal as stating your given name: You would just not hand in a CV without this information, even if (technically) it should not matter for the job.

The following is a quote from the "CV Recommendations for Students applying for Internships in Germany" from the Steuben-Schurz Gesellschaft. No emphasis added:

STRUCTURE: All German resumes include a picture either in the upper left- or right-hand corner.

...

Please include ALL of the following information.

1) Picture

All resumes must include a picture. This should be a face shot. Please make sure that this is a professional photo – a cropped picture of you at a party is not appropriate. Please scan the picture onto your resume before saving it as a PDF file.

Answer 6

I live in Switzerland and in the last 6 Years I have send dozens of CVs, every single one with a picture. Some may not require it but it definitely is standard and if you don't send one it may look odd. As for why, I don't really know. Its probably just the way it always been.

Answer 7

Consider not sending a photo, but be prepared to send one on request.

Here in the UK, it has been proven by sending identical CVs with different names (and I'll find you the links if you want) that female applicants are invited for interview less frequently than male applicants, and that ethnic-origin applicants are invited for interview less frequently than applicants with "traditional British" names.

With that in mind, many recruiters are extremely wary of anything which could look prejudicial to equal-opportunities hiring. Best practise in most places is to not include photos, questions about ethnic origin, questions about religion, and so on. Whether an interviewee gets hired is another matter, but at least the recruiter can demonstrate that their approach to inviting candidates for interview is relatively colour-blind.