Resume Photo in Germany: Required or Not?
Since the AGG anti-discrimination act, no German employer may demand a photo — yet it remains customary. When a photo helps, when to skip it, and what a good one looks like.
The legal side is clear: since Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act (AGG, 2006), no employer may require an application photo, and applying without one may not formally count against you. Practice is another matter: in many industries the photo remains customary, and a German-style CV with a good photo often reads as more complete.
When a photo makes sense — and when not
- Rather with: classic German Mittelstand companies, banks and insurers, client-facing roles, hospitality — anywhere the conservative German application standard applies.
- Rather without: international corporations and startups with English-language hiring processes (some explicitly discourage photos), anonymized application procedures, and whenever the ad says so.
- ATS applications: the software ignores photos anyway — a cleanly placed photo in the PDF does no harm either.
In short: it’s your call. What matters is consistency — a professional photo or none at all. Never a vacation shot, a selfie, or a ten-year-old portrait.
What a good application photo looks like
- Photographer or studio quality: neutral background, soft light, sharp.
- Current (no older than two years), in business attire matching the target industry.
- Friendly-professional expression, eyes to camera.
- Placement: top right of the CV or on a cover page — never in the cover letter.
How Zusaga helps
In Zusaga the photo is switchable per template: the German templates (BA style, classic) carry a photo slot with a “show photo” toggle, while the ATS template deliberately goes without. Upload a profile photo once and it flows into every template that has a slot:
That way the same application goes photo-free with one click when a process calls for it — without touching the layout.