Whether you should put a headshot on your resume depends entirely on where you're applying. In the US and UK, resume photos are discouraged or actively avoided due to anti-discrimination hiring practices. In much of Europe, Asia, and Latin America, a professional photo is expected and its absence can work against you.
Know the norm for your target market before deciding. Then get the photo right.
Where Resume Photos Are Expected
Germany, Austria, Switzerland. The Bewerbungsfoto is a standard part of job applications. Professional quality is expected. This alone drives significant demand for headshot photography in German-speaking countries.
France, Spain, Italy. Common but becoming less mandatory. Including one is still the safe choice for most industries.
Japan, South Korea, China. Resume photos are standard and often have very specific formatting requirements (size, background color, attire).
Latin America. Generally expected, especially in corporate roles.
Middle East. Common in most markets.
Where to Skip the Photo
United States. Most hiring guidance advises against including photos to avoid unconscious bias claims. Exception: entertainment, modeling, and other appearance-relevant industries.
United Kingdom. Similar to the US. Photos are discouraged in most industries.
Canada, Australia. Generally not expected.
When in doubt: Check job listings and company websites in your target market. If their career pages don't feature photos, don't include one.
What Makes a Good Resume Headshot
If you're including a photo, it needs to be professional. A cropped selfie undermines the purpose. The photo sits next to your qualifications, and if it looks amateur, it creates doubt about the qualifications too.
Requirements:
- Head-and-shoulders framing, tighter than a LinkedIn photo
- Clean, solid background (white, light gray, or light blue)
- Professional attire appropriate to your industry
- Direct eye contact, neutral to slight smile
- Current (taken within the last year)
- High resolution even though it displays small on the resume
AI Headshots for Resumes
Narkis.ai generates headshots that meet resume photo standards: clean background, professional lighting, proper framing. For students and early-career professionals who need a resume photo for international applications, AI generators provide the quality without the studio cost.
The output can be sized to common resume photo dimensions:
- Germany/Austria: 4.5 x 3.5 cm (passport-style)
- General use: 3 x 4 cm or 2 x 2.5 cm
- Always check the specific requirements for your target country
Resume Photo Formatting
Placement: Upper right or upper left corner of the first page. Don't embed it in the header where formatting might break.
Size: Small enough that it doesn't dominate the page. 2.5-4 cm wide is typical.
File format: If submitting a PDF, embed the photo at high quality. If submitting a Word document, ensure the photo doesn't shift when the document is opened on a different system.
Border: An optional thin border can look polished. Skip decorative frames or rounded corners in conservative industries.
For general headshot guidance, see our professional headshots guide. For a comparison of how to get your photo, see studio vs. AI vs. selfie.
Humanizer changelog:
- "If their career pages don't mention photos" → "If their career pages don't feature photos" — slight word improvement; "mention" implied a text reference, "feature" is more accurate.
- "Optional thin border" → "An optional thin border" — grammatical tightening.
- "clean white/light background" → "clean white or light background" — removed the slash; plain language.
- All other content preserved. Article was already clean: no em-dashes, no banned phrases, no filler paragraphs, no wall-of-text issues. The "Whether you should..." opener is a conditional statement, not the banned "Whether you're X or Y" template.
