Being asked for a passport photo along with cv

Eod100

Hi there,

I'm applying for jobs at the moment.

I came accross one asking for a passport photo of myself to be attached to my cv.

Any idea why they are asking for this?

Thanks

mysteries1984

Personally, no, but I worked in retail a few years ago and any CVs we got in that were from anyone outside of Britain and Ireland always had photos attached. Literally, without fail. Polish, Chinese, wherever, they included a photo. I assumed it was something we just didn't 'do' here, but I'm sure someone can expand on it and give a better idea.

Eod100

mysteries1984 wrote: »

Personally, no, but I worked in retail a few years ago and any CVs we got in that were from anyone outside of Britain and Ireland always had photos attached. Literally, without fail. Polish, Chinese, wherever, they included a photo. I assumed it was something we just didn't 'do' here, but I'm sure someone can expand on it and give a better idea.

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I didn't think it was really done in Ireland either!

The only possible reason I can think of is that the employer wants to know if the person applying for the job has applied for a job in the company before.

But even then, you'd think they'd keep all c.vs on file/in a database for that purpose!

Mr. Loverman

Is it a customer facing role?

I normally interpret "attach a photo" to mean "are you good looking?"

Eod100

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Is it a customer facing role?

I normally interpret "attach a photo" to mean "are you good looking?"

No, not exactly.There would be an element of that alright but that wouldn't be the main element in the job!

Yeah, but that's the thing I'm probably naive in saying this but can employers discriminate on the basis of looks?

Even if they could, surely they'd have to do this at interview stage. Rather than filter out the ''ugly'' types before interview by asking for photos.

I'd like to think the best person should get the job and not the best looker!

Eod100

And besides who looks their best in their passport photos! :P

mysteries1984

Eod100 wrote: »

Yeah, but that's the thing I'm probably naive in saying this but can employers discriminate on the basis of looks?

Officially no, but I'd imagine it'd be impossible to prove in court. An employer's POV would be great in this case, actually...

Reminds me of a case I heard of a stripper somewhere in the US that sued her employer because they wanted to sack her based on her appearance. Her colostomy bag was putting off customers, according to management...the world's a strange place

Mr. Loverman

Well, according to the Equality Act 2004 the prohibited grounds of discrimination are gender, marital status, family status, age, race, religious belief, disability, sexual orientation and membership of the Traveller community.

No mention of attractiveness!

orchidsrpretty

Is it in heathcare? Everyone working in healthcare requires a police clearance cert and for the company to hold a photo and proof of idenity(passport/drivers license) to be held on file.

Eod100

@ mysteries1984 and Mr. Loverman

Yeah, I reckon it would be impossible to prove in court!

The wording of the act is interesting though!

Even if it's not illegal, it still seams nasty/immoral for an employer to favour ''good-looking people'' over ''non-goodlooking people''.

I know employers will say there are roles where employees will be dealing with customers so they might favour a particular ''look''. But in fairness, most jobs involve dealing face-to-face with members of the public so I think that argument is redundant.

And besides who chooses a restaruant/pub based on the physical appearance of the staff, seems absurd!

@orchidsrpretty Nope, not healthcare. It's just a passport photo they require, no mention of copy of id/passport etc! It's a weird one!

Eod100

Also, the only thing an employer seems to gain from asking for a passport photo is being able to put a face to the person's cv, so to speak.

So is that the only reason why photos are asked for?

The things they may be able to tell from a photo are age (roughly), race, and gender. And chances are these things are already on the cv aleady. And you can't discriminate on these grounds - so why the need for it at all?

To see if you've tattoos, piercings, scars etc on your face?

To see if you're ''good-looking'' or not?

Or just, the face to the name thing?

Irish_Elect_Eng

Asking for a photo is considered risky by some HR departments as it allows discrimination, not having a photo allows them to state that they could not discriminate at CV selection time.

But I suppose that it just brings it forward and saves their time from discriminating at the interview.

Serafijn

It's totally normal in several other countries to put a photo on a CV, so maybe the person hiring is from somewhere like that, and finds it weird not to have them

In terms of discrimination etc it could open up a whole can of worms if someone decided to take them to court, so I'm surprised any employers here are asking for them. Afaik they can't legally 'require' a photo (unless it's something like modelling or acting!) but that probably just means you won't get to interview if you don't supply one

Mrs OBumble

I've met this in a company looking for event security staff (the kind of roles you don't need the PSA cert thing for). I think it was just 'cos all their staff need to have photo Id, and it was easier to get it at application time.

Jellybaby1

I was told many years ago by someone in HR that they sometimes came across cases where one person turned up for the interview, and if successful then a completely different person could turn up to start the job. It just means they know that the fantastic person they interviewed, is the same person starting the job. I don't know if that still happens or not. In other words if you are rubbish in interviews, then you might send your brother/friend who will do a good job for you at the interview. Weird but true.

mysteries1984

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I was told many years ago by someone in HR that they sometimes came across cases where one person turned up for the interview, and if successful then a completely different person could turn up to start the job. It just means they know that the fantastic person they interviewed, is the same person starting the job. I don't know if that still happens or not. In other words if you are rubbish in interviews, then you might send your brother/friend who will do a good job for you at the interview. Weird but true.

Ah, this is interesting. I never considered that. It's a possibility alright, a bit like sending someone else in to do your exam. I must ask my HR manager what the story is with that...will post back when I get an answer!

Wishbone Ash

We request photos with applications to ensure that the applicant, the person interviewed and the person commencing work are the same person. It's got nothing to do with appearance.

aine92

I've worked in promotions and every CV or applic. for a specific job you upload needs a photo attached, purely to see if you look right for the job. If the client wants tall brunette and pale skinned then that's what they look for. Thats just in promo work though

irelandspurs

Is the job cabin crew ,emirates ,etihad?

Sala

It could also help them know if your male or female? I know that's obvious most of the time but I send letters in work and with non-irish names sometimes it's impossible to know, so you can't write "Dear Mr. X" or dear Ms X

Jellybaby1

Sala wrote: »

It could also help them know if your male or female? I know that's obvious most of the time but I send letters in work and with non-irish names sometimes it's impossible to know, so you can't write "Dear Mr. X" or dear Ms X

And as well as that, as we have a lot of non-Irish people working here, they can't tell the difference between Frances and Francis or Lesley and Leslie. In fact I am often surprised when Irish people still can't tell the difference. If anyone wants to know, Frances is female, Francis is male, Lesley is female and Leslie is male. I used to work with a few non-Irish staff who just argued with me over names especially when I said Pat could be male or female, that Mick is Michael, Maggie is Margaret, Lettie could be Letitia or Violet. If they had to deal with nuns they used to get very exasperated because they might be Sister Kevin, or Sister Michael, or Sister Peter!!They used to get very angry with me :D because they thought I was lying and trying to make a fool of them! Silly Billies!:D

Mrs OBumble

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

...I used to work with a few non-Irish staff who just argued with me over names especially when I said Pat could be male or female, that Mick is Michael, Maggie is Margaret, Lettie could be Letitia or Violet.

It's all about cultural expectations, though.

Where I come from, Patsy is always female, Enda is Edna with a typo and always female, and (... there's another good example that I can't remember now, too).

And that's a place with a fair few people of Irish descent, too.

That said, gender-discrimination isn't legal for the vast majority of jobs, so doubt it's the reason.

Jellybaby1

Enda is an ancient Gaelic male name.

Edna is an ancient Hebrew/Biblical female name.

Wishbone Ash

I find that many of the CV's I receive from non-national applicants give several initials but no title (e.g "J.K.N. Kumar") making it difficult when replying to establish if the applicant is male or female as in "Dear Mr X/Ms X" etc.

Another problem is the minefield of first names first or second names first. For example some Indians always put their surname first while others put their first name first. It's difficult to know when replying. It would be a bit like writing Dear Mr Pat which would sound ludicrious.

...then there are the Africans who have the same first and second names!

Miaireland

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

We request photos with applications to ensure that the applicant, the person interviewed and the person commencing work are the same person. It's got nothing to do with appearance.

I went for a couple of jobs where this was the case. When I queried this I was told it was the same reason as the above, particularly as they were interviewing a large number of people.

It's a bit like bring your student id into exams I guess.

Eod100

Thanks for all the replies everyone!They were very helpful!

It makes sense alright that they ask for it so that you can't send someone in your place for the interview.

The next question is, will what you are wearing in the photo be significant?

I know most passport-size photos show your face but you can always make out a bit of a person's clothes.

I'm wearing a hoody in mine. Should I get one taken of me in a shirt and tie?

Or does that matter at all?

Thanks a million!

mysteries1984

Eod100 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies everyone!They were very helpful!

It makes sense alright that they ask for it so that you can't send someone in your place for the interview.

The next question is, will what you are wearing in the photo be significant?

I know most passport-size photos show your face but you can always make out a bit of a person's clothes.

I'm wearing a hoody in mine. Should I get one taken of me in a shirt and tie?

Or does that matter at all?

Thanks a million!

I'm still waiting on my HR manager's response...but I think you have your answer, OP.

Anyway, I don't work in recruitment or HR but I do deal with CVs now and again. I would say get a shirt and tie photo, it'll look more professional. Best to err on the side of caution with this one.

Mrs OBumble

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I find that many of the CV's I receive from non-national applicants give several initials but no title (e.g "J.K.N. Kumar") making it difficult when replying to establish if the applicant is male or female as in "Dear Mr X/Ms X" etc.

Can't see the problem ... just write "Dear A B C Kumar"

Wishbone Ash

Eod100 wrote: »

will what you are wearing in the photo be significant?

It wouldn't be of any significance in my area. We often have applicants pictured in "traditional" dress (which wouldn't be permitted at work).