###### Today, I'd like to share a personal story.
After graduating from university, I applied to about 50 companies while preparing for employment, and I had interviews with 20-30 companies.
Including job changes later on, I think I applied to nearly 70 places in total. It's a huge number when you look at it.
When I think about how many resumes I wrote and how many doors I knocked on during that long period, it still makes me shudder.
That's why I understand the feelings of job seekers better than anyone else.
I know how much effort they put into each resume and how desperate they are for a single acceptance call.
Was it a problem that I trusted the experts?
The first thing I focused on when I started preparing for a job was my ID photo.
At that time, professional job-seeking hair and makeup shops were just starting to emerge. There wasn't much information available,
and I had a hard time booking a famous place in a bustling area for the photoshoot.
But the moment I received the photos, I was taken aback. It was definitely a photo I took,
but the person in the photo was different from me. In today's terms, it felt like "Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V".
With excessive retouching, my skin became as smooth as porcelain, and every single strand of hair was refined.
It was undoubtedly a job application photo that looked like a job application photo, but it wasn't my face.
When I was taken aback and told the photographer, the answer I got was this:
"That's how everyone takes them these days. This is the trend. Don't you know that?"
###### Since I didn't know anything about job hunting, I thought that what the expert said must be right.
I submitted the photo as it was, and luckily, I got interview calls from a few places.
What happened at the interview
On the day of the interview, I sat down, extremely nervous.
The interviewer glanced over the submitted documents, looked at me once, looked at the photo once, and then looked at me again.
I don't know how long those few seconds felt.
And the first question that came out was this:
"Do you think this ID photo you submitted is you?"
My mind went blank in that instant.
I don't even remember how I finished the interview. The result was, of course, a failure.
That experience changed me
Since then, I have worked as a photographer for 13 years, adhering to one philosophy.
"Natural ID photos"
I always made sure to have the customer check the photo directly before receiving it.
If they had any questions while looking at the photo, we talked about it together, and I advised those who wanted excessive retouching to think about it again.
At first, I sometimes heard complaints like, "Why don't you do it this way?", but when I explained the reason, most of them nodded in agreement.
If my photo doesn't look like me at the interview, that anxiety is reflected in the interview. In that trembling moment,
if you get the first question about the photo, anyone will inevitably fall apart.
Common mistakes in ID photos
In addition to my experience, there was a common pattern that was repeated while seeing countless job-seeking customers for 13 years.
① Photos that look too different from the real person due to excessive retouching This is the most common case. Skin retouching is so excessive that it looks like a doll, or
the contours of the face have changed. Photos that are different from the real person affect credibility from the first moment of the interview.
② Photos with stiff or tense expressions Due to the prejudice that ID photos should be taken rigidly, expressions are often excessively stiff.
Interviewers look at dozens of photos a day. A photo with a natural smile is much more memorable.
③ Backgrounds and outfits that don't match the field you're applying for While white backgrounds and suits are considered basic,
more diverse backgrounds and presentations may be more suitable for creative or service positions. It is important to first understand the atmosphere of the field you are applying for.
④ Using old photos as they are In many cases, photos taken 2-3 years ago are still being used.
If your hairstyle, body shape, or impression has changed, we recommend that you take a new one.
