Should I put a photo on my resume?

A standard resume should make the case for your skills, not your appearance. Unless you’re responding to a legitimate casting or modelling brief, use that space for evidence that you can do the job.

Why leaving the photo off is the stronger default

A headshot tells an employer what you look like. It doesn’t explain how you resolved a customer complaint, managed a project or learned a difficult technical skill. That’s a poor trade for valuable space near the top of your application.

It also introduces information that shouldn’t drive most hiring decisions. A photograph can suggest someone’s age, race, sex or other personal characteristics before anyone reads their experience. Removing it doesn’t eliminate bias, but it avoids adding another appearance-based signal.

Canada’s Job Bank guidance on writing a good resume explicitly advises against including a photograph. In the USA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidance on prohibited employment practices says employers shouldn’t ask applicants for a photograph before an offer; a photograph needed for identification can be obtained after an offer is made and accepted.

That’s not the same as saying it’s illegal for a candidate to include a photo. Resume conventions, employer policies and discrimination law are different things. Don’t turn sensible application advice into an imaginary legal ban.

For ordinary applications in Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Scotland, leaving the photo off is also the safer default. An employer’s own application instructions still matter, but a decorative headshot isn’t a qualification.

And no, working with customers doesn’t automatically change that. Being personable is a skill. Looking a particular way isn’t proof of it.

When the answer changes

The meaningful exceptions are about the work itself, not whether the company describes its culture as friendly, creative or modern.

Application situation	What to do	What to watch for
Standard office, technical or trade role	Leave the photo off	Keep evidence easy to find
Retail, hospitality or sales role	Leave the photo off	Show service and communication skills
Acting or modelling brief	Follow the submission instructions	A separate headshot may be required
Employer explicitly requests a photo	Check why and how it’s used	A request isn’t automatically justified
Staff profile after hiring	Follow onboarding instructions	This isn’t resume screening

For acting and modelling, appearance may be relevant to a particular brief. Submit the requested materials in the requested format. Don’t assume that means pasting a headshot into your resume: casting teams may want the resume, headshots and portfolio as separate items.

For other roles, a photo request deserves a closer look. Ask whether it’s mandatory, what purpose it serves and whether a photo-free application will be considered. A request for a security badge after hiring is quite different from asking applicants to demonstrate that they have the right look.

If the explanation raises discrimination concerns, keep the advert and correspondence, and seek guidance from the relevant equality or employment authority in your location. You don’t need to settle a legal question by guessing.

Will a photo cause problems with an ATS

A photo isn’t a magic rejection button. Applicant tracking systems differ, and there’s no universal rule that every resume containing an image gets rejected.

The more practical concern is the layout around it. A large image, text boxes, decorative columns or contact details placed inside graphics can make an application harder to extract and read. The image also contributes no useful text about your qualifications.

Keep your name, contact information, work history and skills as selectable text. Follow the employer’s file instructions and check that the document still makes sense when you copy its text into a plain-text editor. That isn’t a guarantee of compatibility, but it can reveal obvious reading-order problems.

Our guide to what makes a resume ATS-friendly explains the formatting decisions that matter more than template decoration.

The goal isn’t to appease a mysterious robot. It’s to make your evidence readable by both software and people.

What to put in that space instead

The top of your resume should answer three questions quickly: what work you do, why you’re relevant and how someone can contact you.

Use a clear name and contact line, followed by a short, role-specific summary if it adds useful context. Then make your strongest relevant experience easy to find. If you’re early in your career, that evidence might come from projects, placements, volunteering or study rather than paid work.

Don’t replace a headshot with a paragraph claiming you’re motivated, dynamic and passionate. That’s just another decoration wearing a tie.

For example, a hospitality applicant can describe handling bookings, resolving service issues or training new colleagues. A designer can link to selected work and explain their contribution. Neither needs a headshot to prove professional value.

Not sure which evidence belongs where? Our guide to LinkedIn, resumes and portfolios separates their jobs so you don’t cram everything into one document.

What about profile photos and video introductions

A profile photo on a professional networking page serves a different purpose from a headshot embedded in an application document. You don’t have to make every channel identical. You can leave the resume photo-free while deciding separately what you’re comfortable sharing publicly.

A video introduction can add something a still image can’t: an example of how you explain your experience. But video also reveals appearance and can introduce bias. It isn’t automatically fairer, and it shouldn’t be treated as proof of competence on its own.

If you choose video, make it about the work. Explain the role you’re targeting, one relevant contribution and what you bring. Avoid sharing personal information you don’t want circulating, and don’t use confidential material from previous employers.

A Wipperoz virtual CV combines a short intro video with a structured profile and one-link sharing. That gives you another way to present your experience, not permission to ignore an employer’s application requirements. If a portal requires a document, supply the requested document.

Check your application before sending

You don’t need a complete redesign because a template came with a circular photo placeholder. Delete it, rebalance the space and check the essentials.

If you’ve already applied with a photo, don’t panic or send a duplicate application just to remove it. Update your working version for future applications. Your experience still matters; the photo simply wasn’t helping you demonstrate it.

Ready to build a fuller picture of your experience? Sign up for free and have your virtual CV ready in 5 minutes. Keep the focus on what you can do, with a structured profile and a short introduction that has something useful to say.