I’m just curious if anyone has any experience or opinions on this. NajaHusband is finishing his PhD this summer and embarking on the exciting world of job hunting. He saw a listing yesterday for a teaching position available in a small island nation. The one unusual thing about the listing is that they require you to send a photograph with your application. I should note that while it seems common to request a photo (according to the extensive research known as “googling”) for jobs in tourism and of course modeling, and the major industry on the island is tourism, this particular listing is for a teaching position at the collegiate level.
Aside from the usual suspicions about discrimination based on age, race, or gender, it makes me wonder if they’re looking for someone tanned and muscled who’d look great on the beach in a speedo. Are there particular reasons an international company might request a photo, other than because they’re going to choose the most physically attractive candidate or otherwise make a selection based on your appearance instead of qualifications?
In many other countries, photos with resumes are absolutely typical. It doesn’t really imply anything other than they are following the custom of their culture.
Any laws they have about discrimination are likely to vary quite a bit from what we have in the US.
Often, job seekers from those countries include photos with resumes to US employers, to the amusement of whoever opens the mail in HR. US employers try to remove those photos before any evaluation of candidates to avoid the appearance of discrimination.
I recommend including a professional headshot, not a Speedo shot, no matter how good your husband looks!
About the discrimination thing, I know most countries don’t necessarily play by the same rules. I guess we were wondering just what they were looking for–he’s just an average guy, with a goatee and a homemade haircut. He’s brilliant at what he does, loves to teach, and is up for a little expat-style adventure, but if they’re looking for Fabio and Karolina Kurkova to beautify their island then we’re not it 
I don’t think you can really know what they’re loking for, and even if you did your choices would be the same. Send one or not, based on your own comfort level. And if he doesn’t get the job, you still won’t know whether the picture had anything to do with it.
Your only other choice would be to respond with a resume and a query letter asking what the purpose of the photo is. I would guess that would substantially reduce his odds of getting the job, so I would call this a pretty high risk option.
Forsome reason, this reminds me of a scene in the Albert Brooks movie Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. He is interviewing local women for a secretary/assistant, and one of them asks him out of the blue, “Are you a Jew?” So maybe they’re looking for skin color, or nose size, or facial hair. IMO, none of the possibilities are good.
I wouldn’t sweat it.
It’s not that uncommon - I’ve forwarded pics of myself with applications back when I lived in Europe. I’ve also been part of the hiring process, and the headshot was just used to put a face to the candidate - silly, but it’s the way things are done. Rather like how Europeans put their hobbies in a resume and Americans don’t.
Get a decent headshot, forward it with the application, and don’t worry about it. If he had major facial tattoos and we’re looking for a sales position, it’d be different.
Well, sure.
…Is pretty much the information I was looking for. Another website mentioned cruise lines requesting photos in an effort to hire “clean-cut” folks who can dress the part.
Edit: Thanks, Spiny!
Oh yes!
Not unusual at all!
Also, a 1-2 page resume may not work!
International employers are very thorough and they want to know everything!
In Germany, they want to be sure you are the best candidate for the job if no German citizen can do it!
Best of luck!
Q
Yeah, I second Spiny Norman’s post. E.g. over here in Germany, it’s the norm to include a picture with your resume. They should look something like this, a headshot of you wearing business attire and trying to look like you can do the job.
These pictures are usually made in a professional photo studio. Note that it doesn’t matter what job you’re applying for - an application for an intern job should include the same sort of picture (well, OK, if you’re applying for a job in higher management, you’re probably better off wearing a Boss suit and have paid for fancy lighting).
It used to completely typical in the US, too. Many companies would somehow find a problem with a resume with a black or female photo attached to it, which is why we don’t do that any more. Especially after a few resumes were sent to companies by journalists and investigators, who would randomly pick which photo to attach to which resume. Much fun and asscovering was had by all.
When I attended university in Spain, we had to submit our photo to each class we enrolled in.
My Mom worked in HR for a large company all her life.
I remeber when I was young she would come home with a stack of resumes to mull over. They all usually came with a photo. (This was back in the late 70’s early 80’s)
The only reason why I remember this is because I used to flip through them myself and tell my Mom which ladies she should hire. Of course my desicion was base soley on physical appearance. So I’m not sure she took too much stock with my “consulting”.
Thanks, everyone! I’m not sure the kid’s ever had a professional photo taken as an adult. I imagine he’ll probably end up sending in his grad student mug-shot if I can’t pin him down long enough to take a picture. No way am I going to convince him it’s in his benefit to have an actual photographer do it.
Gotta second, in other countries they put a lot more personal information on resumes, and often it is perfectly okay to discriminate based on this information. Over here, I’ve seen women applying for professional positions state their bust size right at the top! And it’s not unusual for employers to be seeking someone with kids, or someone who is tall, or whatever. This personal stuff is not considered particularly protected outside of America.
For foreign language teachers, at least, they often want to see that you “look like a westerner.” In other words, that you aren’t a minority and will impress people when you show up to school functions. Screwed up, but it’s a different culture and that’s what happens.