Is it tacky and pretentious to include a small photo of yourself on your CV?

[davidbowie]

See title :) 

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Cheshire_Cat]

I don't think it is wise to do so.

[fuzzylogician]

It’s common in some parts of Europe but it’s never done in North America.   

[rising_star]

Definitely not done in North America, in part due to EEO/nondiscrimination policies. I would not do it. You can include a photo on your website and put the URL for the website on your CV.

[Adelaide9216]

4 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

It’s common in some parts of Europe but it’s never done in North America.   

Yes, and I believe this was precisely due to potential for discrimination that it's not the case in North America, am I correct?

[fuzzylogician]

48 minutes ago, Adelaide9216 said:

Yes, and I believe this was precisely due to potential for discrimination that it's not the case in North America, am I correct?

Indeed. It’s also the reason you’re not supposed to put your age, marital status, etc on there. 

[Adelaide9216]

6 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

Indeed. It’s also the reason you’re not supposed to put your age, marital status, etc on there. 

I think they should do it with names as well because there has been studies showing that people from other countries (or even Canadian or US citizens but that have immigrant parents) get discriminated against because of their names that do not sound 'Canadian' or 'English' enough  

[fuzzylogician]

As someone with a non-western name, I would agree, but sadly that’s not how life works right now. (And of course we could have a longer conversation about many other forms of discrimination.)

[TakeruK]

1 hour ago, Adelaide9216 said:

I think they should do it with names as well because there has been studies showing that people from other countries (or even Canadian or US citizens but that have immigrant parents) get discriminated against because of their names that do not sound 'Canadian' or 'English' enough  

I've read the same studies! 

I think astronomy and planetary science is slowly moving towards anonymizing applicants as much as possible. In academia though, there are some things that won't easily change but I think we as a community can continue to work to seek creative ways to minimize discrimination.

Something specific to my field has been telescope proposals, where women are much less likely to be granted telescope time than men. In recent years, Canadian astronomy has shifted so that the lead investigator is no longer identified on the proposal (a list of names of all investigators is given instead) and for external reviews of these proposals, no names are provided at all. The reason why names are provided in the first place to the main evaluation committee is that prior experience is a criteria for awarding time (although it doesn't have to be!).

For academic jobs, keeping applicants anonymous is a lot harder to do. I don't think it's really possible to do so all the way to the end. At some point, the committee will be reading the candidate's body of work and at this level, it should be quite easy to identify who it is. However, it's not like the committee reads this much in depth at all stages of the hiring process. So, I think it might work to start introducing these anonymous concepts at the early stages of the review and only reveal names and other personal information after a few cuts have been made to the list. 

I'm not sure if this would still change anything. But I think it is worth attempting and studying. In a few years, the telescope proposal process described above will have enough data with the new anonymous-name system that we will have statistical ability to compare the new system with the old and see if it created a more fair system. 

So, while I am realistic that the academic world is not fair right now, I am also cautiously optimistic that it is worth lobbying our community to take actions to change this! (Note: I don't mean to direct the call to action to you or other junior people. As a postdoc, I feel a little more responsible for what happens in my field, but I am really placing the responsibility to enact change on tenured faculty members!)

[PokePsych]

Pictures are so country specific though. In Korea its unheard of not having a (heavily photoshopped) picture on your resume/CV. Europe - I know in the Netherlands its getting quite common these days - especially as resumes/CVs (at least in the non-academic field) are now also combined with a video resume.

[GirtonOramsay]

I found it tacky when I reviewed undergrad resumes for a student organization too since I will get to see your face if I'm actually interested in your application. Besides, seeing your face adds no value to your application/CV. I prefer to eliminate any arbitrary details of an applicant's profile (name, race, pic, etc.) since I only want to evaluate experience and skills from your CV.

[bloome]

I know when my mom was in school (80's) she had to include a picture of herself on all applications and was shocked they don't do that anymore but I think today in the US its basically unheard of because of possible discrimination. I wouldn't. 

[CHAO_O]

simply...don't....