- January 5, 2009
- 3 Comments
How Much Do You Really Want to Know About Candidates?
Okay, don’t be jealous, but I totally have a fan.
Last week, what appeared at first to be a spam comment on my post turned out, on second glance, to be a legitimate (if slightly off-topic) comment/question from someone who’d found on MSN an article I wrote last year, geared toward job seekers.
After reading “10 Ways Your Résumé Irks Hiring Managers“ (one of which is including personal or nonessential information like interests, activities, and links to personal Web sites), reader Sonia Zuzartee posed the question:
Could omitting such information from her resume actually put her – particularly as someone from another country – at a disadvantage by not enabling hiring managers to see “the ‘real me’ outside of my work experience and qualifications?”
Of course, I see what Sonia’s getting at – that certainly, there must be cases where these things might be relevant (after all, doesn’t it stand to reason that someone with a diverse set of interests would bring new and interesting ideas to the table?).
But it still seems to me (just as it did when I wrote the article and which the hiring experts I interviewed confirmed) that things like interests and hobbies or personal Web sites that have no discernable relevance to the job in question have no place on a resume.
Of course, who better to settle this than you guys? So, tell me…
Do personal interests – if arguably relevant – ever belong on a resume or are they always taboo? Honestly, how much information do hiring managers really need (or want) from a resume?
And, hey, as long as you’re sharing…What about resumes irk you the most? (C’mon, it’s Monday…)
- Have a response? Join the discussion.
- Categories: Employee Attraction
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Interesting article. I have a few thoughts:
1. As you noted, it depends on the job. If a person where applying for a job at Nike or Reebok, listing athletic interests such as running or weight lifting would certainly be relevant.
2. Even when it doesn’t have a direct correlation to the job, I think outside activities can play a roll in personal branding. For example, I like to snowboard. If someone who’s interviewing me is a snowboarder, we instantly have a connection and something to talk about. Should that have an impact on me or my ability to get a job? Of course not. Is it relevant to the job? Nope. But it certainly is a point of conversation.
Generally, I don’t necessarily think that belongs on a resume, per se (except as noted in #1), but do think hobbies are worth bringing up in casual convo, or when applicable to the job during an interview (ex. You were Football captain and you’re talking about leadership skills).
- Chris
I see what feels like a hundred resumes a day; sometimes that’s a literal number. What matters most to me is your objective and your experience, not that you rescue kittens daily or (I recently got two in a row:) a photograph of yourself. It’s nice to know that you have outside interests, and if you really feel it’s relevant than feel free to discuss it in the interview should it come up.
These outside interests, however, are white noise on a resume that cloud out the things that really matter. If I only have thirty seconds to scan over one out of a hundred resumes before deciding to review it further or that you’re not qualified, what’s more important: your work experience, or your cats?
Of course, if you’re applying for a job with the ASPCA it’s a different story. Kittens don’t matter to me, a recruiter looking to hire you for a civil engineering position. A photograph doesn’t mean anything unless you’re an actor and that happens to be your headshot.
What matters most is your job experience. Don’t have much, but have a lot of education? Dive into class history with gusto; an entry-level CNC programming candidate’s education with CAM and CADD can put them a head above the next candidate who has only edited CNC programs at work.
Worked in another country? Doesn’t matter; work is work, and it doesn’t get any easier or more difficult just because you’re on another continent.
Worked in retail, food service, accounts payable and as a forklift operator? Let me know! Tell me about your job duties! Those are the diverse activities that matter; your responsability, loyalty, ability to stay at a job, your ability to tackle new challenges and duties are the things that matter. Don’t get me wrong, I love kittens. But since we don’t have cats around this office, does it really, truly matter?
What really irks me when I am reviewing job applications are the number of canidates that do not follow simple directions. I clearly state to send a cover letter, resume and job application. Many times I get one but not the others.
Job canidates may think this information is overkill but in my world it is essential. First it enables me to see if you can follow directions. Second, the cover letter allows me to see your writting style and proofing skills. Third,the resume allows me to gain a quick picture of your experience. Finally, if I am interested the work application allows me to varify your information, contact references and most importantly offer you a job.