I am sending off an application for a job at a German research institute in Berlin and am required to enclose a copy of the cv. I hear that enclosing a photograph on the cv is a norm in Germany and Switzerland - should I enclose one on mine? Though it does not ask for it specifically. I am unsure, I would never normally put a photo on my cv. The institute is international so is probably used to different styles of cv - I just want mine to conform to norms as much as possible!

Would you enclose a picture?

Ok, sorry I tried to resist saying the obvious, but I just have to...

It depends how hot you are!!!

Oh the shame!

lol

;-)

In the rest of Europe, the preference is to use a 'Europass Curriculum Vitae' template. You can find a Word version of the template here http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/EuropassCV/CVTemplate.csp . Yes you should include a photo as everyone else will.

I'm from Austria and have applied for several PhD positions in the whole world - in Germany and Switzerland too. Based on my experience and coming from a German speaking country, I'd say that in life sciences you don't need to put a photo on your CV. I never did as I have the feeling that CV formats from English speaking countries are considered as standard in sciences. However, in business, law and jobs outside academia a photo is a must!

The Germans and Austrians are really nosy with job applications - so much for EU discrimination laws - they always want to know your age, martial status, and sometimes even what mutter und vater do for a living.

(lol@sleepyhead).

@Missspacey, Where the heck do you have that from? Or am I missing the irony from your post? ;)
Nowadays its not necessary to put in your marital status or religion etc., however a Picture is necessary. When you apply for a degree at university or a job. On the other side I can't realy tell if its necessary for jobs in academia.
Nevertheless what do you lose adding it? Its not Uk or America, where your application will not be considered if a pic is on it! You will not have any negative impact on it...well if its a pic with you proper dressed. So in this case I would consider to take the secure road and add it. Good luck!

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No irony Matt. At the uni I worked at, faculty would have all that info. on their online CVs. I found it all very old-fashioned, and made them remove some of my info.

(I should say, my comment should read 'also' not 'always'...obviously it's not something that's done everywhere).

Thanks for all your advice. I have arranged my cv according to European conventions, but omitted a photo. The cv is quite detailed, and to be honest, I really don't have anything other than holiday snaps or events with friends (nights out!) which aren't really appropriate! There was one candidate - but I looked like a little boy and not employable material! lol

Just a quick question - and this is not meant to be critical of certain practices, rather an honest query - but what is the benefit of a photo with a CV? As MissSpacey implied, surely this hardly fits with discrimination laws (no-one too hideous, no-one overweight), and more seriously for example what if a person has a more 'visible' disability (more serious than ugliness), such as Downs' Syndrome or being blind? This would be extremely clear on a photo, but not from a CV...

I guess photos could be useful for an interview panel to remember people they had interviewed, or for meeting in the lobby etc. In the case of an academic cv, maybe photos on the cv relate to the kind of photos people put on university profiles etc

But yes, photos seem to go against equal opportunities and promote some form of discrimination. In most cases it is simply unncessary to see what one looks like. Perhaps in some cases, photos reflect a benign curiosity in what the candidate looks like, after all so much other information is given. But in general, I am pleased that photos aren't a commonplace of cv's.

During my undergraduates I worked part time at our university Institute. They conducted twice a year a conference where HR Manager come together and talk about new developments. I was fortunate to have small chats with several HR guys/ladies. According to their experience, a picture adds a more personal feeling to the application as one without. You do not have to forget that in some big companies, there are psychologists working with the HR department together! They say they can judge the personality of a person by a picture.

However, true or not, the No.1 reason for having a pic in your application is to judge your maturity. Are mature enough to not send in a pic where you are in short pants on the beach? This sounds silly, but it happens quite frequently! There seem to be enough people who can not get it right and send a pic with silly motives. The applicant dressing in a suit but the background is Pink...and so on.
People get very creative when they think they have to distinct themself by posing in a strange way on the picture.

Be aware that you might be asked for one. But again Industry and acadamia are two seperate pair of shoes.

hello this is prasath, looking for PhD. do you know what is the best format of Curriculum Vitae? please help me if any format please send me the samples. thank you.