‘To ensure an efficient and fair recruitment process, please refrain from adding a photo to your CV.’

I just saw these words in a job advert. Yesterday, I gave the same advice. Photos in CVs are a no no. Why? because we are dealing with humans who have biases. As a first impression, photos can cause unnecessary discrimination, especially in the wrong direction. I have experienced it firsthand where the recruiters get distracted by the picture and judge the candidate based on their outward appearance. In such circumstances, where the candidate’s looks didn’t appeal to the recruiter, the candiates were not shortlisted.

Unless it’s a modelling job requesting for a picture, I typically don’t advice using photos in CVs.

I guess one can argue that Linkedin has photos, and yes, many recruiters see people’s photos anyway. That’s a great point. I guess, we need to focus on raising awareness on bias in the recruitment process and training recruiters and hiring managers on the negative impact of bias in recruitment.

I still think job seekers should refrain from using photos in CVs while we help hiring managers and recruiters understand and mitigate the impact of bias.

You thoughts?