A picture is worth a thousand words; this well-known saying is true in every sense. There are many things that are better explained through pictures than words, but if you’re currently looking for a job, you are better off using words than pictures in explaining why they should hire you. Here are three reasons why you should leave the picture off of your resume.
Discrimination issues – There are a number of things that employers are not allowed to ask about in the hiring process: race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or religion. Adding a picture to your resume will only give away this information and will therefore put the employer in a difficult position. As a result, the employer might discard your resume as soon as they detect that there’s a picture identifying any of your demographic traits.
Technology issues – When applying for a job online, employers usually have software that divides your resume into searchable pieces of information. Including a picture in your resume can cause technical problems with these programs—problems that can cost you any chance of getting your resume through the screening process.
Not getting a chance to show your skills and experience – Whoever sees your resume will notice the picture before reading the words, and the picture will make you vulnerable to being prejudged by your looks, fashion sense or hairstyle. Why give employers another reason to eliminate you from consideration?
With all of this in mind, it’s clear that putting your picture on your resume is not worth it. My advice would be to find other ways to make your resume stand out. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but on a resume, it’s only worth a thousand problems.
