Resume Tip: Leave Your Photo Off, Pretty Woman

People stand in a line that stretched around the block to enter a job fair held at the Jewish Community Center (JCC), on March 21, 2012 in New York City.

If you think your pretty face might help your job application stand apart from the rest, think again. At least if you're a woman.

Attractive women who included a photo in their job applications had a harder time getting an interview than both less-than-attractive women that included a photo and women that did not include a photo at all, according to a recent study by economists Bradley Ruffle at Ben-Gurion University and Ze'ev Shtudiner at Ariel University Center.

The economists reason that since company recruiters are "overwhelmingly" women (93 percent of the recruiters in the study were female), they discriminate against beautiful women out of "female jealousy of attractive competitors in the workplace." These recruiters also view it distasteful for attractive women to include a photo of themselves in their job applications, the economists write. (H/t The Economist.)

Hot or not, including a mugshot reduces your chances of getting a call back from a company or an employment agency by 20 to 30 percent, according to the study.

Even at a time when we're including photos in our LinkedIn profiles, using a headshot for a job application is still a pretty novel approach in the U.S. But it is common in Europe and Asia, according to The Economist.

All in all, however, studies have shown that being beautiful is advantageous in most walks of life. Attractive people are viewed as having more desirable personality traits and more prospects of happiness and success. In general, attractive people are trusted more than the average joe.

Attractiveness is also associated with higher incomes. Pretty people earn more money than average-looking people, who earn more than less-than-average-looking people. Unattractive women also tend to marry men with less earning potential.

If you want a raise, you may want to try losing weight or wearing more makeup, as infuriating as that may sound. For women, obesity is associated with an 18 percent wage reduction and a 25 percent loss in family income, and it reduces your chances of getting married by 16 percent. Makeup enhances the perception that a woman is trustworthy and competent.

Doing a good job at work is the best path to a raise or to a better job. But beauty discrimination still is rampant.

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Comments

[Dianne93101]

03:21 PM on 08/07/2012

Including a photo is not always about attractiveness, it's about showing that you are a trustworthy, friendly person. Even overweight seniors can beat out a Glamour model for a receptionist job because of a friendly appearance. So I'm okay with posting a picture and besides, few people get a job without a face-to-face interview (where you are likely nervous and not in your best light) anyway so you might as well show it with the resume.

[balvane]

11:18 AM on 07/12/2012

After reading all the comments I can say - US does it again! Open your eyes and minds people! Not everyone is like you and you are not the only country in the world so you are not perfect or right about everything.
I am European and to have a photo on your resume is a normal thing to do for us. And it is because we have more confidence and we take care of our looks more than Americans do. We are not fat and we know how to dress nicely. And if you are pretty or not, does not help you to get a job if a woman looks at your resume.
To see a photo on a resume just helps to put a face to a name and if it is a foreign name - to know the gender of the applicant, that's it!

[abbitha7]

12:08 AM on 05/03/2012

I would never send a photo with my resume (unless it was for an audition). It opens the door for discrimination before you even have a chance to prove yourself. And as far as the woman vs. woman thing, we all know it's true. Many women don't like to see women who are good looking for fear that they will be perceived as lesser. I will say that I've never not gotten a job when interviewed by a man; I have been interviewed by a woman once, and while I was a highly qualified candidate, I did not get the position (no one did). Could be a coincidence though.

[TheInterview us]

07:14 PM on 04/11/2012

This is exactly why foreign nationals who are applying for positions in the US or with US companies should adapt their resumes and interview styles. I've had several international clients come to me after bewildering application and interview results...only to find that what was acceptable in their country was considered inappropriate by U.S. company standards. Diane Bochy with TheInterview_US (Veteran of 10,000 Interviews) 20 years of HR experience with the largest most recognized company in the world.

[Resume Companion]

05:37 AM on 04/30/2012

Could you elaborate further on what is a definitive US resume style? Also, an interview style that abides by US standards? What errors do you see? Therefore, future foreign candidates won't have to make the same mistake.

Joe F.
Resume Companion
resumecompanion.com

[TheInterview us]

10:06 AM on 05/01/2012

Joe F. (Resume Companion) - there isn't so much a single U.S. style for resumes but there are resumes that are formatted in a completely different manner by international candidates. My first suggestion would be for international candidates to review the resume templates provided by Microsoft Word 10. These are easily readable by search engines. International candidates should also check the spelling of words which may be slightly different by North American standards vs The Kings English. Search engines may interpret these as spelling errors and disqualify a resume. Have a neutral party (experienced of course) review your resume.
Diane Bochy for TheInterview.US.com

[TheInterview us]

07:10 PM on 04/11/2012

The economists who conducted the study were both male. Recruiters view it distasteful for ANYONE to include a photo of themselves. The vast majority of HR Professionals are exactly that...Professionals...and do not let such petty thoughts come into play when searching for Human Capital. Anyone considering using their photo should contact a professional interview coach for guidance. TheInterview_US

[oldwolf49]

11:44 PM on 04/09/2012

Never heard the photo thing, but far as women not hiring pretty, fear and a threat of losing status. Seen it happen, think it's crap but we are a product of our environment and our environment likes the pretty things.

[estoyer]

07:10 PM on 04/09/2012

What the article fails to mention is that the practice in other countries of including a photo with the CV is intended to skirt anti-discrimination laws. See Japan, for instance, which only in recent years decided to bar job listings from requiring a specific gender -- so it became standard to require a photograph of the applicant instead.

I wonder if this study restricted itself to pretty white women and jobs in fields that are not overwhelmingly male-dominated. I can think of a lot of places right here in the US where race and gender are FAR more likely to undermine an applicant's job prospects than petty jealousy from female hiring managers.

[enh8g2]

11:52 PM on 04/08/2012

Was this article written by Samantha Brick?

[Megandale]

05:20 PM on 04/07/2012

I've never heard of including photos with resumes unless they are head shots for auditions. Do people actually do this?

[Fromageball]

08:32 PM on 04/08/2012

In a lot of other countries they do. I've never understood it but I used to work in a place that got a lot of applicants from different countries and most of the non-US applicants included a photo.

To me it just seems like a way to judge applicants by something they have very little control over that in most cases has nothing to do with the job.

[kultkonn98]

11:14 AM on 04/09/2012

Yes!! In undergrad my minor was Chinese Language and Literature. So I spent some time abroad in both China and Taiwan. They ALL put photos on their resumes. I thought it was so strange. I also had to put photos on my applications for study abroad, and my application for grad school. I couldn't help but think that if you weren't attractive you didn't get called

[Corpilot]

06:06 AM on 04/07/2012

Might it be that the average person thinks the folks that pay too much attention to looks might be narcissistic?...yep.

[ActaNonVerbaNow]

02:27 AM on 04/07/2012

Queen bees and wanna-bes.

[joeyhas]

09:11 PM on 04/06/2012

what's funny is the belief that beauty = character, integrity, trustworthiness, etc. But I know some people who are pretty ... slimy ... and are 'beautiful'. I also know very good people are are average or not so attractive that I trust with my life.

[Arrive2 net]

05:51 PM on 04/06/2012

The link in the article goes to the abstract, based on the abstract, the research appears to have been conducted in "Israel and Europe". Since the whole paper wasn't available I don't know exactly where. The abstract says there's a trend in "Israel and Europe" toward including pictures on resumes. The research found it is a bad idea to include it for women, good-looking or plain, and for "plain-looking men".

I think most of the plain-looking people in the world know that their picture won't help them anyway, but as the article implies, good-looking women are likely to know their looks will help them, and usually it will..but not in the resume picture.

The article says the negative effect is caused by female "jealousy", I wonder if that's really it. Maybe there's a perception that the applicant is trying to get by on her looks, or that she's looking for a sugar-daddy. Sometimes great beauty can be a disruptive factor because there are male bosses and coworkers who will give unwanted attention. There are organizations that have been disrupted by misbehaving bosses and coworkers.

I have noticed women actually try to tone down their looks in the workplace, or try to make themselves look homely to avoid unwanted attention. But there are also those who welcome that attention. Beauty creates attention that plays out different ways.

Bart Schuster
OnlineGraduateSchool.tripod.com
Twitter.com/arrive2_net

[ldyqtee6]

04:47 PM on 04/06/2012

Including a photo with a resume went away years ago. If someone incluades a photo with a resume, an employer immediately see "red flags" because that applicant has intentions of filing a discrimination lawsuit if he or she is denied the position. If an employer says that a photo should be included, an applicant should pass on applying for a position because clearly the employer is opening displaying discriminatory practices by looking for a "specific type" of employee.

The only industries that require photos are movies, theater and modeling or other similar, because then they are within their rights to look for a specific type.

[Dianne93101]

03:26 PM on 08/07/2012

the human resources department rarely hires people without seeing them face to face so the photo might as well be on the resume. Call me Pollyanna but I believe most employers are not looking at skin color but for great CHARACTER and merit. A resume picture gives a good preview of that.

[Mrs Robinsons]

03:21 PM on 04/06/2012

The way people change today...
I think it is not a bad idea
to attach your photo to your resume...
to allow
prospective employers
a glimpse of who they will be meeting.

I don't know if it is about being
nice looking..or having good bone structure..
I think there is something to
representing yourself
before the initial meeting
so the concept of your looks
have already been dealt with
and you can
get down to business.