I had my CV checked at a recruiting event at my University here in Germany. While officially the employers are not allowed to require a picture or the age, I was told that both is a must. To my knowledge in Germany you should include a decent sized picture, your birth date, and your nationality. If you do not include this, your risk your application to be trashed, at least with larger and more traditional companies. The cover letter should be no longer than one page, the CV must not be longer than two pages.

It is also important to directly address the person in charge, so call them if in doubt and ask who is responsible and if you should include a picture.

DON'T put a picture on your CV in GERMANY and it directly goes into the bin. :)

I heard you guys also like mentioning in your CVs where you went to primary school. Horses for the courses.

Oh well, that was 20 years ago...

For what a software company would need a picture in a cv of a software engineer candidate?

In Germany companies just like it that way. I don't know why.

Racial discrimination. Huge legal problem.

Is this the case with companies like Ableton or SoundCloud?

I think so with Ableton, but know nothing about the guys at SoundCloud.

Hmm. I've had my picture on the CV (SO careers profile basically) and had no problems. But, my GF has been applying for jobs for over a month now without any luck. She also has a picture on her CV but she is not in IT (more like administrative jobs, reception, etc...). Do you think this might be the cause of the poor response rate (ie. non existent) she has? Would really appreciate more insight into this.

I don't know about those type of jobs, but generally such a poor response rate is always a sign of a poor CV. It might be the picture, the way it's written, laid out or the choice words for certain thins. I'd recommend finding someone who does hiring for similar positions and ask him to review her CV.