#blankpic
pick the person not the pic
Our idea
#blankpic stands for omitting photos in the professional context. The way you look shouldn't impact your chances of getting hired.
We want to fight this discrimination and make a statement by replacing photos with a #blankpic.
If you'd like to join us, get your #blankpic down below and add it to your CV, LinkedIn, Website, etc.
Reasons to use #blankpic
- We repeatedly hear about people who are more likely to get hired if they look a certain way.
- In a professional context pictures can set the wrong focus. They move attention away from your qualification, your skills and move it towards a subconscious impression which might not even align with the truth.
- Photos potentially give a wrong impression about:
- ethnicity
- social status
- religion
- attractiveness
- lifestyle
- Decisions about a person's CV or online presence are often taken without actually meeting the person face-to-face. Thus, the usual breakdown of prejudices due to personal interactions cannot happen. Omitting a photo in the first place minimises the potential of prejudices.
- People should be evaluated objectively, without prejudice and without discrimination. Omitting photos on your CV and online presence can help with that.
How you look doesn'tshow who you are!
Get the facts
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Attractive Women May Be Less Likely to Get Hired
The better-looking you are, the more likely you are to get hired. Unless, you are a woman.
livescience.com
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Do photos help or hinder field experiments of discrimination?
This paper assesses field experiments of labour and product markets that have attached photos to identify applicants (in the case of labour markets) or sellers/crowdfunders (in the case of product markets).
Portsmouth Research Portal
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Jobsuche: In die Bewerbung gehört ein Foto - oder?
Einige haben es bei der Jobsuche wegen Vorurteilen besonders schwer. Dieses Problem könnte man lösen, meinen die einen. Aber nicht alle sind dafür.
wiwo.de
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Bewerbungsfotos: Firmen diskutieren Verzicht auf Bilder
Sterben Bewerbungsfotos aus? Die Siemens-Personalchefin sagt: Die Bilder sind überflüssig und führen zu falschen Entscheidungen. In einzelnen Ländern sind Bewerbungsfotos sogar gesetzlich verboten.
spiegel.de
FAQ
Are you against pictures in general?
No! Pictures are a great way to share emotions and help to develop personal relationships. However, we believe they aren't suitable for the professional context. Furthermore, there is lots of software available to manipulate photos. Everybody can decide whether they wants to use such tools for private purposes but they should not influence whether someone gets hired.
Isn't it more personal to include a photo?
It may be. However, photos cannot show who a person really is. They only provide a superficial representation. We believe relationships of mutual understanding must be based on real-life interaction, where there’s room for back-and-forth conversation.
Why use a #blankpic instead of no pic at all?
Using no photo is a great statement against discrimination! However, people who come across your CV or your online presence don't know about your reasons for not using a photo. This could even cause you to have disadvantages. Putting a #blankpic clearly explains why you do not have a picture and will hopefully make other people think about this issue.
What about LinkedIn or Xing?
Enterprise social networking is the modern way of connecting in the working world. Thus, we recommend putting a #blankpic on those too.
But anybody can find pictures of me on social media. Why does it matter whether I use them in a professional context?
Not everyone who comes across your CV or online presence will search social media to find photos of you. They usually don't have the time to do that. This especially applies to situations where people have to review lots of applications.
Do you claim that everybody is prejudiced?
Yes and no. We do not claim that people willingly discriminate against others because of their photos. However, subconsciously all of us have beliefs that influence our decisions even though we are not aware of it. In large companies applications are reviewed in a very short amount of time. Hence, reviewers don't have the time to question their subconscious impressions.
Get your #blankpic
Click an image to download.
If you can't see the pictures, please click here.
If you are interested in #blankpics in other shapes or formats don't hesitate to contact us.
Get in touch
Do you have any questions or would like to tell us something?
Send us an email to info@blankpic.org.
We'll get back to you as soon as possible.