Should You Put a Photo on a Resume? The 2026 Answer, by Country

The short answer: follow the convention of the country where the job is. In the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, leave the photo off unless you're applying for acting or modeling work. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, much of southern Europe, Japan, Korea, China and the Gulf states, a small professional photo is expected. Elsewhere it depends on the employer, so read the posting and lean toward no photo for multinationals.

The photo question is one of the most misunderstood parts of resume writing, because the "right" answer is not universal. In some countries, including a photo is standard and not including one raises eyebrows. In others, some employers would rather not see a photo at all, to avoid any appearance of bias, and a resume with one can be set aside for reasons that have nothing to do with you.

The problem: most resume advice online is written from a US-centric perspective and gives the answer for US resumes ("never include a photo") as if it were universal. It isn't. If you're applying to jobs in Germany, France, Japan, Spain, or a dozen other countries, following that advice will make your application look weirdly incomplete.

This post is the country-by-country breakdown, plus the underlying logic that explains why the rule differs so much, plus what to do if you're applying across multiple countries at once.

The one universal principle

Before the country list: there is exactly one universal principle for photos on resumes.

Follow the local convention of the country you're applying in. Not the country you're from. Not the country your recruiter is in. The country where the job is located and where the company will hire you.

Everything else is regional variation. If you're applying to a German company from the US, use the German convention. If you're applying to a US company from Germany, use the US convention. It doesn't matter which country you were educated in or currently live in. The company's local hiring norms are what govern.

Now the list.

Countries where you should NOT include a photo

United States 🚫

Standard practice: no photo. In the US, including a photo on your resume is unusual and often counterproductive. Many employers prefer not to see a candidate's appearance at all, because it invites the kind of bias, or the appearance of it, that discrimination law is meant to keep out of hiring.

The one exception in the US is acting, modeling, or on-camera talent roles, where a headshot is literally part of the qualification. For every other job, from software engineering to sales to executive roles, no photo.

United Kingdom 🚫

Standard practice: no photo. Same reasoning as the US, though slightly less absolute. Some UK candidates in creative fields (design, film production, brand marketing) include a small headshot without penalty, but the default is no photo.

Ireland 🚫

Standard practice: no photo. Follows UK convention almost identically.

Canada 🚫

Standard practice: no photo. Same reasoning as the US. Do not include a photo.

Australia 🚫

Standard practice: no photo. Same reasoning as US/UK/Canada.

New Zealand 🚫

Standard practice: no photo. Follows Australia.

The Netherlands 🚫

Mixed, leaning no photo at larger employers. Photos have long been common on Dutch CVs, but concern about bias in hiring has pushed many larger employers away from wanting them. If you're applying to a large or multinational Dutch employer, skip it. Smaller local employers may still expect one, so this is a case where research on the specific company helps.

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland 🚫

Mixed, leaning no photo for international employers. Photos still turn up on plenty of Nordic CVs, so this isn't the firm rule it is in the US. For multinationals and English-language postings, leave it off unless the posting asks for one.

Countries where you SHOULD include a photo

Germany ✅

Standard practice: yes, professional photo. German resumes (Lebensläufe) traditionally include a small professional headshot in the top-right of the first page. Leaving it off a German resume can read as strangely incomplete. It's a strong local convention, though slowly weakening.

The photo should be professional (studio-shot or high-quality equivalent), business attire, neutral background, direct eye contact, and small (roughly passport-photo size).

Note: some larger German companies (especially multinationals) now publish job listings that specifically say "please do not include a photo." Read the listing carefully. If it says no photo, respect that.

Austria ✅

Standard practice: yes. Follows German convention almost identically.

Switzerland ✅

Standard practice: yes. Follows German convention. The Swiss also expect a very complete resume that includes date of birth, nationality, and languages, details US candidates tend to find unusual.

France ✅

Standard practice: yes, but check the company. French resumes traditionally include a photo, though the practice seems to be fading at larger companies. As with Germany, if the job listing says "no photo" or "anonymous CV," respect that.

Spain ✅

Standard practice: yes. Spanish resumes conventionally include a photo. Same rules as France about company-specific instructions.

Portugal ✅

Standard practice: yes. Follows Spanish/French convention.

Italy ✅

Standard practice: yes. Italian curriculum vitae usually includes a photo. Italy also expects a complete personal-info section including date of birth.

Belgium ✅

Standard practice: yes. Photos are conventional in Belgian resumes, though this is slowly shifting toward the anti-discrimination model.

Japan ✅

Standard practice: yes, on a specific format. Japan is unusual. Japanese resumes (rirekisho) have a highly standardized format that includes a photo in a designated box. The photo has to meet specific requirements (typically 3 × 4 cm, recent, business attire, plain background, neutral expression). It isn't optional. It's part of the standard template.

For creative-industry or expat-heavy companies in Japan, more Western-style resumes are becoming accepted, but the default expectation is a rirekisho with photo.

China ✅

Standard practice: yes. Chinese resumes conventionally include a photo, similar to Japan.

South Korea ✅

Standard practice: yes. Korean resumes include a photo, sometimes with additional biographical details.

Brazil ✅

Standard practice: yes. Brazilian resumes conventionally include a photo, though this is weakening in international-facing tech companies.

Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, most Gulf states) ✅

Standard practice: yes. Photos are conventional and expected.

Countries in the middle

India

Mixed. Traditional Indian resumes often include a photo, especially for less-senior roles or in sectors like hospitality and airlines. Tech-industry resumes for Indian candidates applying to global-facing companies increasingly skip the photo. Rule: if the company is a multinational with a global HR standard, no photo. If it's a local Indian company or a role with in-person customer contact, a photo is usually expected.

Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile

In flux. Photos were traditionally standard in most Latin American countries, but more employers, especially multinationals, now follow US-style conventions. Rule: check the specific company. Larger multinationals in these countries have moved away from expecting photos; smaller local employers may still expect one.

Russia and Eastern Europe

Photos remain relatively common in Russia, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, and Romania, though the trend is toward anti-discrimination alignment (especially in EU countries). Include a professional photo unless the job listing says otherwise.

South Africa

Photos are common but not required. Include if you have a strong professional headshot; skip if not.

The interactive version

If you're applying across multiple countries or want to see the full context (what other details vary by country: age, marital status, nationality, resume length and more), we built an interactive World Resume Atlas that covers 15 countries and lets you click through to see the norms for each. It's free and quick to browse, and faster than reading this whole section if you know exactly which country you're targeting.

What kind of photo, when required

Even in countries where a photo is expected, the wrong kind of photo can be worse than no photo at all. Here's what a resume photo should be, everywhere it's expected:

• Small. Passport-photo scale, not headshot-portrait scale. Roughly 1 × 1.25 inches (2.5 × 3 cm) on a standard-size resume. Big photos read as vain almost everywhere.
• Professional. Business attire. Not a selfie, not a wedding photo cropped, not a vacation photo, not a graduation photo. If you don't have a professional headshot, a well-composed photo taken in front of a plain background with good lighting works.
• Recent. Within the last 2-3 years. Old photos read as evasive.
• Neutral background. White, gray, or muted-color background. No landscapes, no travel scenes, no cluttered rooms.
• Direct eye contact and a pleasant expression. Not a scowl, not a party grin. (In Japan and Korea, a neutral expression is the norm.)
• Correctly cropped. Head and top of shoulders, not full body.

Get this wrong and it undermines everything else on the resume in cultures where the photo is expected.

“The photo question isn't 'yes or no.' It's 'what does the local hiring convention expect?' And the answer is different in Frankfurt than in San Francisco.”

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What to do if you're applying across multiple countries at once

The pragmatic move: maintain two versions of your resume.

• A "US/UK-style" version with no photo, minimal personal information (name, city, email, phone, LinkedIn), and roughly 1-2 pages of experience.
• A "German/French-style" version with a professional photo top-right, more complete personal information (nationality, date of birth in some markets, languages), and the local layout conventions.

Use the one that matches the country you're applying in. Keep both up-to-date. Update them together whenever your job title or experience changes so they don't drift.

Yes, this is annoying. But it's less annoying than watching your German applications sit unread because they look "incomplete" or watching your US applications get set aside by employers who'd rather not see a photo at all.

The bigger question this is really about

The photo question is a proxy for a larger question most job seekers eventually face: how much do you conform to local hiring conventions vs. try to stand out?

For photos specifically, the answer is conform. There is no strategic advantage to being the one candidate who includes a photo in the US market or the one candidate who skips it in Germany. Local convention is the baseline; deviating from it makes you look uninformed or non-serious, not memorable.

For other resume decisions (formatting, tone, length, how bold your language is), there's more room to be distinctive. The photo isn't one of those. Follow the local rule, keep the actual content strong, and let the substance of your resume be what makes you stand out. Not whether or not there's a face on the top right.

If you want a second opinion on the substance side, meaning whether your resume's content is strong enough to compete wherever you're applying, that's what the free roast is for. Same content-quality read whether your resume has a photo or not.