Recent research has revealed that resume photos significantly influence hiring decisions, exposing biases among human resources personnel.

It was also found that, when given the option, many students still attach photos to curb any potential disadvantages.

Yasuo Yabuki, a lecturer at Chukyo University, conducted research on how these photos impact hiring decisions with support from a government grant. He specializes in sociology and studies topics related to appearance-based issues.

“The effect was strikingly evident, more than I had expected,” said Yabuki, who believes that photos are unnecessary on resumes.

For the study, Yabuki presented eight fictitious resumes to 818 human resources personnel from companies registered with an online survey firm. Participants were asked to rate each candidate’s chance of passing the resume screening stage on a scale of one to 10.

The photos attached to the resumes were provided by 134 Rikkyo University students who had used them in their actual job hunts.

Yabuki created six “average faces” each for men and women.

He then added specific features: glasses, hair dyed brown and obesity were given to both genders. Birthmarks and patchy hair loss were exclusively applied to the men, while droopy eyelids and eczema were added only to the women.

Academic grades, qualifications and personal statement sections were randomized.

The results showed that men with patchy hair loss received the lowest ratings, followed by overweight women, men with dyed hair and men with birthmarks.

The study also revealed a gender bias: men with dyed brown hair were rated lower than women with the same trait, and overweight women were rated lower than overweight men.

He believes that this gender bias reflects social norms in Japan where dyed hair has become relatively acceptable for women in professional settings.

He cited an example of recruitment suit brochures at campus co-op stores—many female models now have their hair dyed brown while the male models still have black hair.

Most research overseas has focused mainly on racial and gender differences, he said.

“In Japan, there’s little research on how appearance influences job hunting, so I think this data is valuable,” Yabuki said.

Yabuki began this research to address biases in hiring related to resume photos.

In 2020, he launched a petition to remove the photo section from resumes, inspired by a campaign six months earlier that called for eliminating the gender field.

Although the labor ministry issued a sample resume format in 2021 that removed the gender field, it left the photo requirement unchanged.

DIFFERENCE BY INDUSTRY

Most of the human resources personnel who participated in the study were men in their 50s and 60s. Yabuki said that no analysis has been done yet to identify trends by gender or age group.

However, the research showed that those in industries such as finance, insurance and real estate showed a stronger tendency to be influenced by applicants’ photos compared to other fields.

“There are other ways to verify a candidate’s identity, so I don’t think a photo is necessary for the (resume screening) process,” Yabuki said. “In fact, if having a photo hinders fair hiring practices, removing it could actually promote a more equitable selection process.”

Citing entrance exams as an example, he explained that while an applicant’s photo is used on the admission card for identity verification, graders only see the applicant’s ID number―they do not know the applicant's name or what they look like.

This approach minimizes unnecessary bias, he said.

Yabuki emphasized that photos should not be required. Or, at the very least, the person handling resume submissions should be separate from those responsible for hiring decisions, and the latter should not see the photos.

He said that a photo's impression can often differ significantly from a person’s actual appearance due to lightning and touch-ups.

Yabuki added that requiring photos may be a disadvantage for companies, as it can lead them to miss out on talented candidates based solely on appearance, or conversely, hiring someone unqualified based on looks alone.

People tend to choose those who are similar to themselves. He said if those with decision-making power in a company favor individuals with similar attributes, it can diminish diversity in the long run. Without diversity, innovation is unlikely to thrive.

STUDENTS’ CONCERNS

A survey prior to the study indicated that while some students opposed the photo requirement, most simply had not thought about it, with their cost being another common concern. Getting an ID photo taken at a photo studio costs around 10,000 yen ($65).

Students also worry that not including a photo might put them at a disadvantage. 

Of the thousands who applied to a company that reportedly made photos optional, less than 10 chose to not use photos.

Most applicants, wanting to avoid any possible disadvantage, likely thought, “Better to include (a photo), just to be safe.” Yabuki said, “It’s like being told there’s no dress code―but no one would actually show up in jeans.”

Yabuki himself has albinism, a hereditary condition in which the body naturally lacks melanin, and said a photo has rarely worked against him when job hunting.

He once intentionally used one of him wearing medical sunglasses on his resume as he wears them every day due to his sensitivity to light.

At that time, he had been asked to submit a resume to the university where the hiring process for a one-year part-time lecturer role was almost finalized.

The university asked him to send a photo without the sunglasses and used that replacement for his ID card.

As criticism of lookism grows, advertisements for cosmetic surgery are gaining visibility on trains and in public spaces.

Yabuki said that while the overall direction of society remains unclear, he thinks more people are speaking up and saying, “This is wrong.”

“I think it started around the time of the #MeToo movement and now people are beginning to think, ‘it’s OK to be angry about this,’ or ‘I don’t have to put up with this,’” he said.

Yabuki added that he wants to jump aboard these social changes to advocate for removing the requirement of including photos on resumes.