Have you ever been searching for one thing on the internet and end up reading an article on something completely different and two hours later not been able to figure out where you are on the world wide web–how you got there and where to go from here? Happened to me just a few minutes ago. And, somewhere I lost a good two hours. But in all that I stumbled upon an article (darned if I’d be able to track back and give credit where credit is due!). Anyway, this article argued the virtues of putting personal information on your resume. Personal stuff like your ferret racing hobby, your rank in the Klingon navy or your special interest in guns…that kind of thing.
I suppose I could have posted a comment there and called it a day, but decided to come back to our home site and share my opinion on the subject. My thoughts are pretty basic. In general… don’t. Real estate on your resume is fairly precious and should be used for items that directly demonstrate your value to your potential employer–how you can save them money or make them money. And, I’m just not sure how your new-found interest in bullfighting is going to make you a better candidate for any position I’d ever have.
That said, I could make an exception and encourage the mention of your hobby if it would directly translate to the position for which you’re applying. If your hobby or interest clearly demonstrates relevant knowledge, skills, abilities or accomplishments, it’s only right to include. For instance were you an applicant for a position in training/development and you had written articles published on training-related topics, you should list your writing hobby and the associated accomplishments because of their relevance to the job.
But, in general, your resume isn’t your myspace profile. This is about business and unless the content is business related, it doesn’t really belong. Save your love of travel tand trips abroad for the interview icebreaker.
I totally agree with jsillman on leaving all personal interests off of your resume. I wanted to add an additional point of being careful how much personal contact information you should put on your resume. Times have changed and the rate that personal information can be obtained (electronically or other avenue) by the wrong individual is rapidly increasing. My advice is to simply leave a phone number and email address as contact information. When I find myself helping candidates revise their resume I also have them delete the middle initial or their full middle name which most people love to display on their resume. Leaving your entire name, complete address, apartment # and zip code is just a recipe for disaster. You never know these days about what people will want to do with your information or flat out try to do to you with your information. Leave your resume to highlight your experience and what you are bringing to the table for a potential employer. Your personal information is just that; your personal information.
MMORROW’s advice is right on target for protecting your privacy in a world where your personal identification is so precioius and valuable. To me a resume is supposed to provide enough information to make the employer want to see you, and not enough for them to eliminate you from the process.