Japanese job-hunters reportedly dismayed by requests for “photos showing who you are as a person”

Anything’s OK, just nothing too natural, or unnatural, or unflattering, or revealing, or stodgy… but, you know, anything is OK.

Job interviews are never comfortable… except for the one I had last Thursday thanks to Ms. Beatrice Carter who gave me the enriching opportunity to learn more about her organization and the chance to reflect on myself as a potential contributor to an active, goal-oriented team. (Call me!) But sufficed to say, all the other interviews are arduous, anxiety-filled walks through a minefield of loaded questions.

Thankfully, now there are a lot of online resources and even AI chatbots that can prepare people to optimize their answers and land the job of their dreams. However, some employers are also upping their game at finding new ways to make people sweat.

A recent one in Japan, according to Internet portal Lasisa referring to social media posts, is requesting an anatarashii shashin which translates to something like a “you-ish photo” or a picture that represents who you are as a person. While asking for a photograph on a job application can range from being frowned upon to downright illegal in some countries, in Japan it is still common practice. They tend to be of a uniform four-by-three-centimeter headshot dressed in the standard dark suit known as a “recruit suit.”

▼ How to dress and pose for a standard job application photo in Japan

Image: Pakutaso

▼ How to dress but not pose for a standard job application photo in Japan

Image: Pakutaso

For better or worse, at least the rules for these photos are so clear and rigid that it’s hard to screw them up, so it’s a relatively less stressful part of the job-hunting process. However, it turns out that getting scores of photos of people with blank expressions, in front of a blank background, wearing the same nondescript suit, made it hard to get a sense of the person’s character.

So, a growing number of employers are seeking out more candid pics of candidates, preferably in a setting that would show them as valuable human resources such as volunteering or playing team sports.

▼ In all seriousness, this photo of Mr. Sato giving a seminar on writing would probably be a perfect “you-ish photo”

Image: ©SoraNews24

This is bad news for the some 98 percent of people who aren’t star athletes or humanitarians, opting instead to focus on personal development by getting all the trophies in Helldivers 2.

As requests for “you-ish photos” get more widespread students on their way into the workforce have been spreading the word across social media.

“I want to tell all first-year students to work with your friends to take photos of yourselves doing some activity over the next four years for your resumes.”
“I don’t have any photos of myself, so I’d just use a close-up of an insect.”
“I didn’t leave my home for two years because of COVID-19. What pictures?”
“All pictures that represent me are rhythm game result screens and wet dreams.”
“If I see a company ask for that I’ll know it’s not a place I want to work, so that’s good.”
“I think it’s good. You can’t help build a society by being a recluse and only studying.”
“Just find the nearest mountain, climb it, take a picture, and call it a day.”
“Can I use a photo of a bus stop I stumbled across in the countryside that has the same name as me?”
“It’s sad that pictures we take with friends during school are now tools for employment.”
“I’ll need to call one of those friend rental agencies.”
“Finally, a use for gen-AI!”

On one hand, making an AI photo shows a certain degree of resourcefulness and technical ability, but in all likelihood, the purpose of the request is to weed out introverts and focus on more social and proactive candidates. So, while I wouldn’t recommend submitting an AI image as a “you-ish photo”, I thought it would be fun to try one and had Chat-GPT ask me some personal questions and then generate an image that represents who I am.

Image: Chat-GPT

That probably won’t work, but this does seem to be a lucrative opportunity for human photographers to start up “you-ish photo” services since the demand is clearly there and friend rentals already exist so that part’s covered.

In the meantime, anyone looking to hire a bundled-up banjo player with a pet beaver, your search is over!

Source: Lasisa, Itai News
Featured image: ©SoraNews24
Insert images: Pakutaso 1, 2, Chat-GPT
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