I’ll admit it; while I am a big fan of VisualCV, I haven’t been the most faithful user of the site. In fact, when I (finally) got around to updating my account today, I realized that all my contact information was out of date, and I had only completed my education and reference section.
While I got that up to date, I toyed with the idea of putting in an “interests” section. The idea intrigued me because a prospective employer would get to know more about me as a person, in addition to my other qualities. And, let’s face it, resumes/CVs can be a little dull. I know they aren’t meant to be best-sellers, but having an interests section does make it, well, interesting.
On the other hand, having interests listed may give employers reason to eliminate a job seeker from their list of potential candidates. One of your interests might be a pet peeve of an employer, or even something s/he stands against. Your favorite band? The employer may absolutely hate it. Even something as common as “spending time with my family” or “babysitting my grandchildren” may be construed negatively.
So, what to do?
I am of the opinion that interests sections should stay out of resumes or other documents that are being sent in response to specific job openings, but on a networking site such as VisualCV or Facebook, I’m torn. How personal are job seekers allowed to get? Your feedback is appreciated.
