Is adding a picture of yourself too much for a resume?

[bibay45, RN]

I was looking up unique looking resumes for format ideas and I liked the ones that have a picture of the candidate. But is that too much for a resume?

[skydancer7, BSN, RN]

Nope nope nope. Because

a) not relevant to the job position, unless you are trying to get hired as a model or actor

b) increases the chance of discrimination bases upon looks

c) distracts from important points of your resume, such as your actual skills and experience.

Hope this helps!

[amoLucia]

ABSOLUTELY NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People have all kind of preferences and possibly, biases - racist, aged, dumb blond, overweight, sex, etc.

You do not want someone bypassing your resume based on some bias.

You want the reviewer to judge your resume for your strong points of PERTINENT experience, education, skills, etc.

Even when you interview in person, you HOPE that the interviewer DOES NOT have any subconscious biases. There is NO way to ever figure out how to address for some hidden bias. You can only hope that the interviewer or reviewer is open-minded & fair.

Now if you were applying for modeling or high end-sales, yeah, a pix might be indicated.

Other bad ideas - colored paper, crazy fonts, snazzy/slang language.

And keep it short and simple.

[KrysyRN, BSN]

Keep your picture off your resume. However, if you create a LinkedIn profile, you can add a professional looking photo of yourself on that.

[Seona, BSN, RN]

Too much of too much...never ever for any professional position in North America, or English language countries.

Unprofessional, and especially, it can cause discrimination, as amoLucia has well pointed it out.

Even I myself had a short experience of looking at someone's resume to vote (to consider as a candidate), and immediately closed the file as soon as I saw her picture... even though I already knew her.