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Why are there photos on a resume site, and featured so prominently? It's not Tinder. US HR used to throw away any photos that people attached to resumes. (Us

• jmye 2y ago
  Right? Photos and video? Why would I ever want to post video on my resume? Why would I ever want to watch someone’s video if I was hiring? Are we trying to land tech roles or screen time on reality TV?
  • NikolaNovak 2y ago
    1. Agreed... But just for funsies: 2. There's a variety of roles out there, and for many "executive presence" is important qualification. (But really though,its because of tiktok)
    • KerrAvon 2y ago
      [flagged]
      • NikolaNovak 2y ago
        Hm. Never felt that way. Would be curious to discuss more though! Now - I'll 1000% agree, and speak from long years of work, that adhd and autism likely make it harder. But it's also quite hard for most people, just for different reasons, so I don't find it a filter with enough specificity. (Perhaps I'm sliding onto the dark side of the force, I certainly wouldn't have thought so 20 years ago, but as I learn more about the massive scope and mandate of senior execs, and the time crunch they operate under, I am starting to understand a bit better than I used to, the value of speaking in orderly and well summarized fashion. Still struggle with it mind you, but do see there's more to it than just neurotypical filtering.)
      • throwaway2037 2y ago
        No trolling: Is it possible to be a good/qualified executive if not neurotypical? In my view, executive-level positions are mostly about communication.
        • Lanolderen 2y ago
          Depends on what they're selling. Elon is a bit awkward but has/had a cult following. Edit: It's about communication but also hype/motivation. Be it for the team, shareholders or customers. And communication can be done in many ways. It doesn't have to be political speak, sometimes the directness some smart awkward people bring can be good and being awkward gives them the right to be direct without coming off as rude professionally.
        • NikolaNovak 2y ago
          A glib answer would be "depends if you consider sociopaths to be neurodevergent". More seriously though : Most big companies these days teach some variation of a 4 quadrant personality model such as DISC or equivalent. Scientific validity of these aside, today there's a fairly broad acceptance in North America that leaders come in different types, each with strengths and weaknesses. I was personally shocked how many executives around me, with extreme client relationship management and people skills, are some kind of neurodevergent. One thing I've observed, and others may disagree,is that they can be much better teachers. A person who is "born leader" will struggle how to convey their skillset to others. A person who on the other hand had to themselves learn these skills the hard way, can much more easily decompose and relate them. My wife has jokingly been called the most neurotypical person in the world :-). She's extremely emotionally intelligent. She intuitively does things which I had to learn on a very rational, conscious, intentional level. She's better at people skills than I am, but wouldn't even know where to begin to teach them, it's just too "obvious" for her to do or say the right thing. Anyhoo, my answer to your question is "absolutely yes, but it'll take dedicated hard work " :-)
        • grandempire 2y ago
          There is a lot that you can do to learn these skills and succeed in organizational roles. It’s different to be a CEO where the job is primarily politics and face to face discussion, and being a VP where you just need to make your org work. I think with Musk/zuckerberg/gates you are seeing a giradian duality. They simultaneously appear charismatic and awkward. It’s either extremely context sensitive or you are unable to accurately perceive it.
      • GuinansEyebrows 2y ago
        I don’t know about neurotypical. Maybe “sociopaths only”?
    • jmye 2y ago
      I get it on 2, but I’m not sure how good a take you’d get on that from a rehearsed, scripted video. I also sort of feel like, people already hate cover letters. Now we’re trying to normalize audition videos? Maybe it’s me who’s out of touch?
• fliellerjulian 2y ago
  Totally understand where you're coming from — and it's a super fair concern. We're not trying to turn hiring into a popularity contest or a casting call. The point of video or a photo isn’t to favor looks — it’s to give people a chance to show personality, communication skills, or walk through a project — especially in roles where that matters (e.g. PMs, founders, designers, etc.). That said, both video and photo are optional. We’ve seen that for many candidates, especially those early in their careers or from non-traditional backgrounds, a short video can dramatically increase response rates — not because of appearance, but because it humanizes them and cuts through the noise of generic applications. We’re 100% aligned that character and substance matter most — we just want to give people more ways to show that, not perform for it.
  • Daedren 2y ago
    If we were in a perfect world, I'd agree, but unfortunately that isn't the case. The cons here are far more prevalent than the pros, as photos and videos will lead to discrimination before the main part of what matters, the resumé, your experience and your actual knowledge, shines through. There's a reason these things aren't standard in resumés (at least for jobs that don't have a focus on appearance).
    • xedrac 2y ago
      > photos and videos will lead to discrimination I feel like video will help mitigate this, as personalty and soft skills are communicated better that way. But if a company is going to discriminate based on a video, then they are going to discriminate when they interview you in person, no?
      • deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
    • johnnyanmac 2y ago
      >photos and videos will lead to discrimination before the main part of what matters, We're in such a connected age that anyone wanting to know your face can 99% of the time just google your name. That was an issue talked about even 20 years ago in my grade school days of Myspace. Unless you legitmately have no photo of yourself on the internet (including LinkdIn), adding a photo here will not give or take much away from a malicious actor. >There's a reason these things aren't standard in resumés because companies are so scared of litigation that they won't even give feedback anymore. It's not a particularly good reason if we're being honest.
• figassis 2y ago
  Because catfishing is a thing on today's job market.
• nextts 2y ago
  This ain't a resume. You'd still need to apply for jobs. This is probably closer to your blog but hosted by someone else. A way to build connections outside of the recruitment process.
  • romanovcode 2y ago
    So... Basically LinkedIn. Where it is your "vacation photo and what it taught me about inbound marketing" type of bs.
    • nextts 2y ago
      Well if it is BS or not is a culture issue. LinkedIn has a culture (as does X as does Facebook as does Reddit as does Youtube). That is hard to prescribe and those tech giants probably don't care much what it is as long as people are engaged.
    • Smar 2y ago
      Good thing then that this is a LinkedIn replacement ;)
• sdhar45 2y ago
  There are several countries that demand your photo on resumes, especially the German speaking ones.
  • blueflow 2y ago
    I'm german and i did not know this.
    • aleph_minus_one 2y ago
      I'm also German: In former days (until perhaps the end of the 90s) sending in a photo as part of an application was expected. But by now the customs have changed.
  • atlintots 2y ago
    They should stop doing that then. Absolutely no good reason for it in the first place, other than discrimination.
    • johnnyanmac 2y ago
      In this day and age of AI overdrive, it may in fact be a more and more viable way to verify candidates.
      • lm28469 2y ago
        How so ?
        • johnnyanmac 2y ago
          Job applications already get inunduated with hundreds, thousands of candidates, of which 90% are bots submitting for canddiates. Some companies are resorting to the dreaded video submissions to filter that out, but even that may not be safe long term. Photos may not be the final solution to this flood of automation, but it's being dabbled with.
• andrewstuart 2y ago
  Resume site or professional network?
• riffraff 2y ago
  I believe historically CVs had pictures in Europe, and the "standardized" CV (Europass) still invites you to put one in[0]. Most people I spoke with said if you show up with Europass it's considered a negative flag, but I suppose it may still be useful for some "less modern" jobs. [0] https://europass.europa.eu/ https://europass.europa.eu/
  • BossingAround 2y ago
    Why would it be considered a negative flag? I've been using it my whole professional life (~15 years, multiple jobs) and never had an issue with it. It's just a PDF in the end.
    • riffraff 2y ago
      As I understand it, cause HR don't care about most of it. It encourages you to put a lot of things in it which are generally not interesting, much like in the old days you'd list the ability to drive a car in your CV, or having finished the mandatory military conscription. People prefer a one pager with relevant experiences than a five pages which include your id number, birth date and address. You can of course do a Europass CV with less info, it's just not how people do it generally, according to the people who complained about it (I'm just reporting what I heard, I don't care about the CV format)
      • BossingAround 2y ago
        Ah well that explains things, I have a one-page Europass CV.
  • rad_gruchalski 2y ago
    “Standard EU CV”… why doesn’t that surprise me. At least it’s not required by law. Yet. Don’t send photos.
• yapyap 2y ago
  Exactly, shouldn’t really matter.
• gadders 2y ago
  Yeah, I'd feel uncomfortable receiving a CV with a photo on it. I don't want to be accused of anything if I reject a candidate. Likewise I don't want to see your DoB either. It is surprising how culturally specific this is though - I've had CVs for hiring in our offshore centre in India where a candidate listed his father's details as a contact.
  • robofanatic 2y ago
    You're likely great at remembering multiple candidates' faces, as the hiring process often spans weeks or even months, with several candidates interviewing for the same position. Having a picture attached to a resume can be really helpful, much like how a LinkedIn profile picture adds value.
    • gadders 2y ago
      I'm awful at faces, but I'm worried about leaving myself open to a possible liability
      • bkummel 2y ago
        Yeah, let's focus on the liability, let's cover our ass. Instead of worrying about what this headshot thing really is about: giving everyone a fair chance by factoring out possible discrimination based on gender, race, haircut...
        • gadders 2y ago
          I wouldn't consciously discriminate on those characteristics. I want it removed so I can't unconsciously do it or be accused of it.
          • hkt 2y ago
            This is both sanest and fairest: some roles in the UK civil service are blind recruited for the first stages for exactly this reason. IMO it should be standard.
• robofanatic 2y ago
  > US HR used to throw away any photos that people attached to resumes. (Usually someone attaching a photo was a recent immigrant, who didn't know the US convention.) Don't they recommend having LinkedIn profile picture for better chances of getting shortlisted? Also assuming you are talking about physical resumes. Wouldn't having a photo attached to resume make more sense in terms of identifying the candidate correctly at any given stage of recruitment, before or after the in person interview?
  • mlmonge 2y ago
    The recommendation I've seen is to include a LinkedIn profile URL on your resume. This was with the intent that those reviewing said resume would be able to verify that a real person was behind it. I suppose that's reasonable, no?
• cloudedcordial 2y ago
  I never put my real headshot on LinkedIn even before it was scrapped for AI training. LinkedIn still bugs me to put a picture to "increase engagement". Putting headshot in resumes is not expected and even cringe in my country, but some countries expect headshots and other highly personal info. No thanks.
• Arisaka1 2y ago
  I'm not exactly sold on the counterpoint I'm about to share but, one thing I hear frequently at least on Reddit is "they're going to see your face sooner or later, and they'll realize you're old,black or whatnot so what's the point of hiding photos and birth dates?" For example, and I can only speak in anecdotes from my experience job searching in Greece, I had HR reps asking me my birth date, or when I'm gonna get married (I'm single). So it's like, people who will discriminate on me exist, and I can only work on my real skills.
  • BigGreenJorts 2y ago
    My counter argument to this is that the later in the process your face is shown, the fewer people have the option to discriminate and therefore the fewer arbitrary filters you have to pass through. And ideally the people who are discriminating at that point are the people you'd actually be working with, so their discrimination (however arbitrary) is more relevant bc you might continue to experience it on the job (not to say that jobs where a person is discriminatory isn't one worth taking or possible to work past.)
  • thrance 2y ago
    It's not 0 or 1. You won't be able to remove every bigoted recruiters from their companies, but you can always try to make their job harder, and limit the harm they may cause.
• Aeolun 2y ago
  It's a resume(ish) site, not a resume? How am I supposed to distinguish the thousands, maybe millions of Johns and Janes without a picture to recognize them by?
  • fliellerjulian 2y ago
    Haha fair — it’s kind of in between a resume and a portfolio. OpenSpot isn’t meant to replace formal resumes entirely — it’s designed to help people stand out before that stage. It’s public, searchable, and curated — so if a recruiter finds someone interesting, they can reach out directly or request a formal resume. Photos are optional, but yeah — they can help distinguish one Jane Doe from another, especially in a directory-style setting. Same goes for a short intro, project link, or anything else that brings some personality into the mix.
• rambambram 2y ago
  Hmm, I think I agree with you. I used to not add a picture of myself, because I think my experience and skills are more important. Until I kept hearing again and again that I should add a picture to my resume. So I added a picture, but now I open myself up to be judged by the cover or even get thrown away upfront. I'm from The Netherlands.
• fliellerjulian 2y ago
  Totally hear you — and I really appreciate how thoughtfully you laid this out. Photos are not required on OpenSpot - We included them because some people want to humanize their profile — but we’re also very aware of the bias/discrimination concerns, especially in the U.S. The intent isn’t to mimic LinkedIn or create a polished image-centric profile like a dating app — it’s to offer optional ways for people to show who they are, beyond just a list of bullet points. For some, that’s a photo. For others, it’s a project demo or a short intro about their work. That said, we’re actively listening and learning. If we find that photos do more harm than good — especially around bias or UX — we’re open to evolving that part of the product. Thanks again for the thoughtful take — this kind of feedback makes the product better.