I will be interviewing more candidates early next week, since I asked this question here. In looking at resume today as the team lead, one candidate had very impressive background (CISSP, CRISC, and several years of experience at reputable firms), but the resume was in a non-standard format, and contains elements not commonly accepted in the United States, at least not in the InfoSec profession. Examples:
- Candidate photo
- Candidate birthdate
- Printed on colored stationary paper with background
If hired the candidate is expected to show discretion and good judgement. These characteristics are important for any job, but especially for the roles in InfoSec due to sensitive nature of these jobs. Presenting a professional image is important for a first interview and I felt the candidates resume presentation falls short of industry expectations. I admit that this candidate may come from a culture where such resume elements (e.g: photo and birth date) are common.
On one hand, I don't want to unnecessarily dismiss a qualified candidate by being prejudicial, but on the other hand, I do feel the resume was not presented as professionally as it could have been. My gut feeling is the resume is at least something to count against this candidate, but not eliminating from consideration outright.
How should I best assess this situation?
Is my belief that resume as described here is borderline unprofessional reasonable?