Re: Introduction + Hobbies on Resumes/CVs

[Erik Harris <ewh -at- PLAZA -dot- DS -dot- ADP -dot- COM>]

Paul Moloney sez, in part:
>Someone remarked earlier on whether they (no, I'm _not_ going to use
>'zie' :) should put your hobbies on your CV, or resume. ...
>And I certainly think that some of those ... greatly contributed to my
>eventually employment as a technical writer....

You're picking up on, or re-starting, a thread from the past several weeks,
and the posts on the subject seem to be split dramatically between those
who'd agree to put relevant hobbies and activities on your resume and those
who say not to.

I'm in camp one. When I learned about how to create a resume, I was taught
that a brief Personal section was useful and commonplace on resumes. In
interviews, it's never seemed to hurt, and some points can serve as good
conversation starters that will often give you an opening to why you are so
perfect for the job--so why some on the list are opposed to this type of
information on a resume, I can't say.

>There is always the danger, of course, that some personnel managers
>might regard extracurricular activities as a sign of a frivolous
>mind. You should be working! :)

This is kind of silly when you think about it--as you said, your
extracurriculars are relevant to the job, and you ought to be able to
explain as much if an employer reacts otherwise. On the other hand,
employers do have very sensitive bullshit detectors when it comes to padded
resumes--so draw your lines carefully when deciding what extras to leave in
and what to leave out.

Enjoy.

-------------------------------
Quod erat demonstrandum
Erik Harris
ewh -at- plaza -dot- ds -dot- adp -dot- com (weekdays)
TrinityPlc -at- aol -dot- com (home)