Chile Forum

Hi Everyone,

I'm from the United States and was recently looking at a resume/CV of a Chilean friend and noticed that she had her picture, marital status, and elementary/high school education which are not the norm for a resume here in the U.S. but she was able to give me some fair reasons as to why these are important items for a resume in Chile. I went to an average public high school here in California and feel that it won't bring any sort of value to my resume if I did it using the Chilean standards for a CV/Resume.

Currently I'm in California but will be moving to Chile in December this year and would like to start getting my resume out to a few companies. I was wondering if some of you think that I should include a picture of myself along with my marital status...any advice? Maybe better to keep my resume the same way that it is now? Translating it to Spanish even though I'm sending it to American owned companies? Any advice from people that have experience in this would be helpful!

Thank You!

Brian.USA

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Also, the high school thing is mainly to see where you're "really from" (class and socioeconomic issues), not because they really care where you went to high school. Because you're from outside the system, that information is much less relevant. I wasn't aware that the photo was illegal, but then, I was hired at a Chilean employer without the psychological interview (possible because I'm a foreigner?), so it seems like there's some latitude.

gloriosopicante wrote:Yup, I was right about the photo and the CV. It's illegal.
http://www.dt.gob.cl/1601/w3-article-85036.html

That is right - it is illegal for a company here to ask for a foto unless your looks are an important part of the job. But that doesn't mean that you can't voluntarily include a foto with the resume/CV if you think it may be beneficial. A company doesn't have to reject a resume/CV just because there is a foto. So if you think your looks are an asset, you have the option of playing that card. It may help make up for other deficiencies, such as a degree in sociology.

And anyway if positions could require "buena presencia" then most of those in the current Chilean Senate would be out of work.

patagoniax wrote: It may help make up for other deficiencies, such as a degree in sociology

gloriosopicante wrote:Yup, I was right about the photo and the CV. It's illegal.
http://www.dt.gob.cl/1601/w3-article-85036.html

I am glad it is illegal, it should be, but speaking from experience I HAVE been asked to include a photo in my resume more often than not in the past, therefore I began to just automatically include it to save the time of resending it. Very weird!!!

Whilst it may well be illegal to ask for a photo to accompany your CV, it doesn´t get away from the fact that if you don´t send it, your CV probably will be rejected. It´s just like in the US you can´t reject an applicant because of his color, but if the employer doesn´t like your color, it´s very easy for him to find another reason for choosing another candidate .
From my own experience of living in the US and also in countries where Cv´s are the norm, I found there was a big difference between what in the US is called a " resume" and what other countries use ( CV). The former doesn´t give much personal info, and from all the resumes I had to go thru, in most cases, very little info was ever given about what the candidate ever really DID in his job, whereas in a CV he would. In summary, I found the resumes told me very little compared with a CV. So I suggest when in Rome...

I chuckled at this thread. For what it's worth to anyone who is new or looking to come to Chile. A law in Chile is more like a guild line, or what you can call a flexible idea. Picture on a CV illegal? - sure, but no ones going to jail over it, and no one is monitoring the practice either. That’s just Chile.

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I posted my CV on Laborum. I did not include a photo and due to that fact, my profile was considered 95% completed. I have yet to get a response to one of the jobs that I applied for. Hmmm.

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