In the US, the photo usually doesn't go on the résumé
American hiring convention is to leave the photo off the résumé itself. Most employers don't expect one, some applicant-tracking systems mangle images when they parse the file, and plenty of recruiting teams are actively trained to avoid photos on applications for bias reasons. Adding one rarely helps and occasionally gets your document reformatted into something unreadable.
That convention is not universal. In much of continental Europe, and in several Asian markets, a photo on the CV is still standard and its absence is noticed. Follow the norm of the country you're applying in rather than the one you read about first — and if you're applying across both, keep two versions of the document.
So where does the photo do its work?
On everything the résumé points at. A recruiter who likes your application opens LinkedIn next, and often a portfolio site or a candidate profile in the company's own portal after that. Those are the surfaces where a good photo removes friction, and where a dark, cropped-from-a-wedding photo creates it.
Use the same image on all of them. Three different photos across three profiles makes you three half-remembered people; one repeated photo makes you a person the panel recognises when you join the call. That's most of the value — not that a headshot gets you the interview, but that it removes one small reason for someone to move on.
Match the style to the industry you're applying into
Finance, law, insurance, and consulting still expect the formal register: Corporate is the safe choice, Executive if you're going in at director level or above. Tech, product, design, and agency roles read a full suit as slightly off — Startup or Creative land better. Healthcare, education, sales, and anything client-facing reward the approachable end, which is what Friendly is for.
If you're applying across more than one of those at once, that's the actual argument for a gallery over a single photo: you pick per application instead of hoping one image works everywhere. Every tier includes the five core styles, so even the entry tier gives you a formal option and a casual one from the same set of selfies.
