In a number of recent articles, I have covered whether or not you should have a photo on your resume, and where you should place it. Those articles were designed for people who were really set on having a photo on their resume or else worried about employers who ask them for photos.
But should you pause and reconsider putting a photo on your resume? Is it considered unprofessional to send out a resume with your photo on it?
Well, that all depends on two things:
-The type of photo you have
-The industry you are in.
Again, it’s important to understand that it’s not a one size fits all equation where there is an easy answer one way or the other.
For some people it’s perfectly fine and professional to include a photo on your resume.
For other people, it’s not appropriate and unnecessary. Whether or not it’s unprofessional has mostly to do with the kind of photo used.
What Kind of Photo are You Thinking on Putting on Your Resume?
Basically it’s never unprofessional to put a quality photo on your resume. If you are using a well taken headshot photo and using a resume template that supports a photo section, then you are not going to be viewed as unprofessional.
The larger issue is when people use photos when they don’t need to. Because not ever role requires you to have a headshot or photo on your resume.
For instance, if you are applying for to be an accountant, or a bookkeeper, or a software engineer, then a photo on your resume isn’t required.
However, if you’re applying for any sort of customer facing role, which might be anything form an account executive or a pharmaceutical sales rep to a customer service agent, then a photo on your resume is perfectly fine and might actually be of assistance.
The main thing to understand is that you should be using a professional photo to your resume.
It is never appropriate to add a selfie style photo to your resume. That’s not appropriate for any role.
What you should do is add a professional photo. You don’t want to add a “homemade” type photo to your resume, it will just make you look like someone who’s unprofessional.
So, my advice would be to find a professional photographer—and make sure they are one who has experience taking headshots for LinkedIn. You don’t want someone to take your photo who has never had experience taking professional shots.
The headshot should be well done and it should be something that you’d expect to see on LinkedIn. Some tips to remember is that you’ll want to smile, and also dress professionally. But most of these little tips are going to be covered by the photographer.
Headshots: Is LinkedIn A Better Method?
One thing we should pause on and discuss is if it’s better to simply have your photo on LinkedIn and only have a link to your LinkedIn profile on your resume.
LinkedIn is used by professionals. If you work in any field in corporate America, or even if you work retail or customer service, it would be beneficial or even considered a requisite to have a LinkedIn account.
While it might be appropriate to add a photo to your resume, it’s not completely necessary. Having a profile link on your resume is sufficient most of the time.
For some people, it might just be better to take the time and invest in a quality LinkedIn profile. That way you have something on your resume that will signal to people what you look like, but it’s also got some additional benefits:
Recruiters who prefer to use LinkedIn might be able to start communicating with you via LinkedIn.
Staffing agencies that use ATS systems often prefer to connect directly with a LinkedIn account and then pull all details from that online profile.
For most situations, and this counts for most roles, a good photo on LinkedIn is simply better and it’s enough in most cases.
The only times where are photo on your resume is really a big value addition to your resume is when you have a excellent photo and you’re extremely photogenic and the job you are applying for would like someone who is good looking: these jobs include sales executives, account executives, public relations executives and even customer service roles.
Remember, you need to have a good photo on your LinkedIn profile. If you don't have a good photo, or worse, if you have no photo at all, then it might be a reason why recrutiers aren't responding to you.
What’s The Point of Putting a Photo on Your Resume?
So, what’s the point of even putting a photo on your resume? Is there any benefit to showing potential employers what you look like?
Sure, if you have a good professionally taken photography, then there are plenty of reasons to include this on your resume.
First, everyone wants to see what someone looks like before they hire them. Even if the role doesn’t require that you have a lot of customer facing responsibility.
Most recruiters and employers will want to know what someone looks like. If they can’t find the person on LinkedIn, then they will check for them on social media. So, having a photo on your resume will immediately give them an idea of what you look like.
And it’s not necessarily required that you look like a model. It’s enough to have a pleasant photo where you aren’t frowning. It’s more of a situation where the employer will know what you look like and this might even give you a boost over other resumes that are sent in where the recruiter or hiring manager can’t find a photo of you online.
Remember, it’s not that they are looking to hire models, it’s more of a situation where they want to know the person and get a feel for their personality. So, a photo where you smile and look professional is important.
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