[Salone]

Aye, I would simply avoid anyone asking for a photo. It's unspoken that looks and things that are not to be discriminated against always are discriminated against in a job setting. I worked at a hotel that refused to hire people with children, because they would supposedly want time off and need to leave early to deal with kids (all while doing the exact same thing for theirs. Double standards ahead!).

Sending a picture would give you decent grounds for a discrimination suit if you were not hired afterward, but as Coda pointed out it would make for a fairly icy work environment. If you can, I say work for a soulless massive corporation that doesn't care who or what you are. Sure they may lack personality, but remember that personality is not always great. HR is always a plus...unless they're coming for you.

Also if you're searching for a job on Craigslist...I would use some other search. Not a lot hires on Craigslist except, well never mind.

[Glitch]

I actually got an interview for a real estate receptionist thing! :D

[Salone]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I actually got an interview for a real estate receptionist thing! :D

Woo! Good luck with that. I hope that goes well for you. When is the interview?

[Glitch]

Friday at 10! >3> I have found most of my jobs on craiglist XD with the exception of one that I got from being stuck waiting in a verizon store for 3 hours with some guy and bitching to him about it, and his company happened to be hiring. I worked there for 4 years :'D - ---

But I don't trust these people trying to get photos first.

And it's like, if you don't send your photo . . . does that just automatically disqualify you for the position?

[Salone]

I would check things out on Indeed if you haven't already done so. Not sure what the market is like there, but you can find a few things on there and they are generally legitimate. Generally.

[littl3chocobo]

people get jobs through craigslist? isn't that the site where people go to find their murder victims?

[Coda]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I will say the one I sent the snarky response to was for something much like a bartender position. From past employers I also know they like to hire . . . or at least my last couple of bosses liked to hire "hot blondes." And we had one really attractive blonde lady working with us and whenever they would be talking about customer experience he'd say something like "make sure Julie is there to greet the customers." This always made me feel really uncomfortable XD And then some of the customers would like to talk about how they went to such and such place and there was this absolutely gorgeous gal there, or they would come in and ask if/when Julie was working. Man. . . so I just wanted to refuse to send a photo to these guys, even though I am certain it will keep them from ever calling me D:

A lot of customers would also bring Julie presents ._. /sojealous

This is, in fact, illegal, and if they're making hiring/scheduling/pay decisions based on whether or not the candidate is female (and, potentially, if she's white/Latina, if that factors into their idea of beauty) that's unacceptable.

There's exceptions that can be made for discrimination based on sex/etc. that's necessary for the job (it's not illegal to require a female actress to play a female character, for example, or to require that the pastor of a Christian church be Christian), but I think it'd be a hard sell to convince the labor board that a bartending job is better filled by a woman than by a man.

EDIT: However, giving preferential treatment to Julie after she's demonstrated a particular competence at her job (even if that competence is a result of her appearance) isn't illegal, because she's doing her job.

[Tas]

I've never heard of a job application requiring a photo before!

what part of the world do you live in???

[Quiet Man Cometh]

I can imagine it being done so that people can get a look at someone. When I accepted job applications when I worked at Tim Horton's, the bookeeper would ask me how they looked. ie. did they look professional and nicely dressed or did they walk in wearing torn jeans and a t-shirt with greasy hair? That's what I would expect employers would be looking for when they request a photo.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I actually got an interview for a real estate receptionist thing! :D

Make sure you learn and develop a good phone manner! People aren't always patient when dealing with things that are costing them a lot of money, especially if they (often) aren't really sure what is being done.

[Alatariel]

I've never had that issue.. Weird. ): Isn't that illegal?

[Lucid:]

I've never seen any job listing ask for a photo when searching for myself, but my mom recently changed jobs and apparently her previous employer was asking for photos to hire her replacement.

The reason behind it is, like Quiet mentioned, to ensure that a front office/reception position is filled by a person who looks clean-cut and professional, capable of making a good first impression to clients who walk in the door, because that is an important factor of a reception position. HOWEVER, it's difficult for people in general to separate out professional-looking from attractive a lot of the time, once the picture is given.

I think it seems a lot more reasonable to make that judgement on professionalism during an in-person interview, where the candidate is also able to make an impression about the whole package of their behavior and mannerisms, not just physical looks alone.

[RedRum]

I've never heard of a photo being required with a job application, that's not something I've come across in my hunt. That's likely a method of attempting to hide age/race discrimination which is illegal. Power to you for ripping whatever particular company it was a new one for it. Someone should be speaking up.

My job hunt issues are more complex and come down to the interview process:

Inexperience - the Catch 22
Around here, retail employers idealize anywhere from a few months to a few years of customer service experience that seemingly an individual must pull out of their ass. No job description I've read is open to entry levels.

The only way to receive consideration for simple tasks such as bagging or ticket ripping is to be elderly or mentally handicapped. I've seen many of these individuals in positions I've applied for and while I appreciate that these individuals are not discriminated against and applaud their drive and initiative, it's bullshit that I'm not seen as able to do the same tasks.

This is actually the root of the rest of what I'll be pointing out.


Social Flutterby
I'm terribly socially awkward. I have trouble initiating and at times maintaining conversations as well as lack composure when speaking. As a result, I sound clueless (which let's face it, I am, but I'm not supposed to let them know that if I want any chance at the position).

I'm also unable to think on my feet which kills me when I need to improvise situational performance questions; particularly those which ask for my non-existent prior expierence with a certain scenario.

Honesty is NOT the Best Policy

I'm a compulsively honest person. To quote one of my favorite television characters, Cordelia from the series 'Angel': "I think it, I say it. That's my way".

I have little ability to lie and I like it that way. I don't feel comfortable attempting it.
This impairs my ability to improvise and/or make a negative answer sound more positive (although the latter is not really lying) such as when I am asked if I have prior experience in the position and of course those situational performance questions.

****
I'm also quite stubborn and refuse to even go near fast food positions. Not only would that embarrass me (Sorry, no offense, it's certainly better than nothing) but I feel I'd be unable to keep from eating the food and I've already got enough of a muffin top thank you. XD

This shitty economy also isn't helping, thanx for nothing Obama.
*sigh* Being an adult is too hard.

[Illusion]

Umm.. What jobs are you applying too that is asking for your photo that doesn't sound right. I've never had to do this for any job whatsoever.
Cover Letters
Resume
Additional Documents

But picture? That doesn't sound right, unless your applying for some kind of modeling position or being a showroom girl (like at a convention/show.

[RedRum]

Originally Posted by Illusion

That doesn't sound right, unless your applying for some kind of modeling position or being a showroom girl (like at a convention/show.

Ah clever consideration but since Glitch complained to one of the companies which requested a photo of them, I'm guessing that is not the case.

[Glitch]

Ya i've seen it a lot. They just slip it in like "send your resume, cover letter, and a photo."

One was for a dentist office receptionist, another was for a budtender position, another was for a reception position with a realty company