Job Discussion Forums

das31 · Joined: 08 Jul 2013 Posts: 36

I'm a foreign-born Indian male and am pondering the photograph I will attach to the CV I send out to recruiters.

Obviously it's relatively easy to tinker with lighting, facial hair, etc, to make one look a certain way. Does anybody know whether a 'Western look' or a more middle-Eastern one would be more attractive to employers?

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Keep in mind that you're required to submit a copy of your passport photo page anyway, so it really won't matter how Western or Middle Eastern you look in a photo you've included with your CV. Additionally, if you're granted an interview, it will very likely be via Skype w/video.

Let the printed words on your cover letter and CV help get you noticed.

CANDLES · Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 11:09 pm Post subject: ????

What does "foreign born Indian" mean exactly? You are either Asian-Indian, (Pakistani, Sri Lankan, etc) or not- olive skinned, or dark skinned. Enhancing yourself by Photshop is not actually going to get you the job- the experience and your degree matters and importantly your accent.

Strange people on this site??

rollingk · Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 212

THERE ARE NUMEROUS THREADS -- MANY LOCKED -- THAT GET INTO THE ISSUE OF RACISM IN KSA. I DON'T THINK THE OP IS IN THE LEAST STRANGE, BUT HAS POSED A GENUINE, ALTHOUGH UNCOMFORTABLE, QUESTION. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT BLOWING HIM OUT OF THE WATER WITH OBSERVATIONS THAT GIVE KSA MORE CREDIT THAN IS ITS DUE (ESPECIALLY ON SUCH AN OBVIOUS TOPIC) ISN'T HELPFUL.

I'D SAY LOOK IN ACCORDANCE WITH HOW YOU WISH TO BE TREATED, WHICH MAY LIKELY BE LIKE YOURSELF. THERE IS SUCH A LOT OF PRETENDING GOING ON IN KSA, YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO BEGIN A NEW POSITION PRETENDING TO BE SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF, AND THE INDIGNITY THAT IMPLIES.

coldcucumber · Joined: 21 Dec 2012 Posts: 114

I'm of the opinion that a photograph helps on the Resume.
Photoshop is quite normal in usage though. Just a decent
photo on the right upper hand side of your resume, could
and probably would be quite helpful.

CANDLES · Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:16 am Post subject:

Rollingk,

I certainly wasn't 'blowing anyone out of water', and neither was I being presumptuous in thinking that KSA is a land of openness, no prejudice, no racism. KSA is like every other country on the planet, with its insecurities and its double dealings. It's not a land of 'piousness', 'love your fellow human being', etc. That's a myth!

To me however it's a strange question from an educated person, who should know better.

Lastly don't shout! It's bad form.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

das31 · Joined: 08 Jul 2013 Posts: 36

das31 · Joined: 08 Jul 2013 Posts: 36

das31 · Joined: 08 Jul 2013 Posts: 36

CANDLES · Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:14 am Post subject:

Das31,

I'm confused. So when you arrived in Korea, looking like a 'foreign born Indian' what happened? Did you have to do something drastic to yourself to fit in with the indigenous South Asian people?
So many of your colleagues enhanced their looks by Photoshop and then what happened? Did they get hired and when they landed on the shores of Korea, were the employers surprised?

Sorry---this is too much Bollywood for me!

I am going to throw away my hard earned degrees and my experience and go to the beauty shop now, so please excuse me.

Sad

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Pretend to be a WASP so you can get a better job ?

CANDLES · Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 2:39 pm Post subject:

Yes Scot, 'foreign born........ (add)..

Whatever! Glad we could help/hinder.

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

Colour prejudice exists within India, too. Hindustan Unilever, producer of the skin-lightening cream "Fair and Lovely", touts it as "a brand that stands for the belief that 'beauty that empowers a woman to change her destiny' ".

TV ads for Fair and Lovely are posted on their website:

http://www.fairandlovely.in/aboutus/tvc.html

rollingk · Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 212

In KSA, I've heard the n-word used to refer to folk darker than the speaker, so racism there is not as straightforward as in other places. It involves, more than not, where a person comes from, and that country's relative wealth to KSA, and whether service workers from that country are among the routinely exploited in KSA.

So das, you are not outside the lines to be concerned about having an Indian heritage. However, there are many such as yourself already working in KSA as English instructors, so this should at least partially mitigate your concern about getting hired. Racism in your case may be manifested in a lower salary offered you, however, because employers may generalize about your English skills based on the low level of the same within your ethnic group in KSA. Some of these low-level speakers are teachers. Also, a Victorian version of the Queen's English, often prevalent among educated Indians, is not viewed positively in KSA.