Interests On Your Online CV or Profile?
Posted by crisfdez on 11 January, 2009
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 In fact, when I (finally) got around to updating my account today, I realized that all my contact information was out of date, and I had only completed my education and reference section.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.
eileen said
good question. in my opinion, interests are best included when you have a limited employment history, and need some filler for your resume. that said, i would only use interests/hobbies that are relevant to your career and do not give the potential employer opportunity to discriminate (like you pointed out with the grandchildren idea). What might be more useful than hobbies in a resume are leadership experience, honors, and volunteer activities. Alot of times people choosre to wait for the interview (when they may be asked about their hobbies) to share this information.
Teresa Lindsay said
I had a similar experience. It took me a while until I had everything figured out. But I am more a fan of simplicity. I found a web site which allowed me to upload a Video Resume http://www.mayomann.com is all secure and quite easy to use. Once I applied to some Jobs listed within Canada, I got some attention right away and interviews. Have you tried to submit a Video Resume???
crisfdez said
I have not, Teresa, although I have been toying with the idea since August! Video resumes are so intriguing, and they’re still novel enough to give someone that edge (as long as they execute it well). I don’t have any way to record a video, which is my first obstacle.