How important is the picture on someone's profile to a prospective employer?

As someone who owns a voiceover business have often asked myself why people keep asking for my picture.
I mean I'll be recording my voice for you so what is the point of you seeing me? And how will that influence your decision if the only interaction that will happen between us is that you will hear me.
But people are weird like that.
When I used to be a manager at a Marketing Software company I had to hire tens of people and to me it was never important what the person looked like.
It was important what kind of clothes they wore to the interview.
Obviously looking unprofessional at an interview is just not intelligent, especially because interviews are about first impressions and can often be a changing point in your life.
So a low cut dress, or coming to the interview in your old hole filled jeans is neither appropriate nor professional.
So technically it shouldn't be important.
Especially not for jobs that don't require interaction with a client.
But the truth is that people in general will not hire an unattractive secretary.
Or for that matter hire someone who sends a picture with his resume of him partying with his buddies in Cancun.

Most employers make a first impression through the applicant's personal so you should choose a good image and a good size and features clear

Unless it is a modeling agency, asking for a picture on profile or resume` for the purpose of employment is unethical, discriminatory, and should be considered illegal as well.
As a matter of fact, asking for a picture, age, marital status, race, religion, national origin of a prospective employee is illegal in United States of America.
In many case asking a candidate from opposite for a picture may lead to a sexual harassment allegation to the prospective employer.
An employer should always be concerned only with the quality of candidate for the advertised job, and focus alone on getting a competent employee.

Its totally pointless using the pic for evaluating a person.
But in large recruitment agencies or companies interviews100s of candidates, so interview board may need to confirm the identity of the person.
Anyway good question...! Keep it coming..!

I think it is important because it gives the prospective employer to have an idea to whom he/she is going to talk to if ever the employer is going to consider interviewing the applicant.
It adds marketability to the applicant.

In some jobs where you need to see your client's more often may require pictures in a resume.

Attractive picture make you eligible to meet employer and attractive personality and efficient knowledge make you eligible to stay their on job.

Its an act of presenting yourself that your are really interested and to give a first look over your personality although if you are being called for an interview its not necessary but im concerned about online job searching websites where employer could be anywhere from another part of the world or another city where he might probably meet you face to face before recruitement and he might wish to see you at first and to know the in advance more than what you have mentioned in your resume its a kind of curiosity as well.
But thats just from psychological point view.
Like i remember my second job interview the employer was impressed from me as per third person say , from a thing which i didn't considered it a main factor in securing a job but it was.
Its your appearance and personality.
But that was face to face.
I believe it encourages to some extent the other party to take interest in you.
But if your hunting job in Middle east then i prefer you NOOR ALI to attach your picture because you will get more responses than a guy does believe me.
And im not joking although right now im laughing but its true.
There is a saying ladies first.
And your a pretty person its a compliment so any one reading through ur resume will eventually get interested to know you more from professional point of view .
No offense Mis noor :)

Employers, I have long suspected, are looking for easy excuses to weed out applicants.
While I won't assert that there are *no* bronies in HR departments, you probably shouldn't count on their love and tolerance while you're still job-hunting.
(I do know someone with a Pinkie Pie pic, but I'm pretty sure he didn't put it up until after he was hired.)

it will be important if your CV is strong in educational qualifications, experience is too healthy too.
If you don't have attitude and style in your CV then your picture cannot do the rest things.
So we must give importance to qualification and experience rather than to our picture.

Everyone doesnt carry good looks but really good skills and it can go against him and make the recruiter having a biase opinion and some times it is, looks professional but lets say its6040 ratio