Details to Include on CV

Do I include Mensa Membership on my CV?

Hi. I only have a certificate qualification from college and would like to change job. I recently qualified to become a member of Mensa and would like to know if there is any point in including this on my cv. Would it carry any weight with a prospective employer or is it not appropriate to include it on my cv?

i suppose it depends on the type of jobs you are applying for, try to tailor your cv to the individual types of jobs

good luck, oh and i dont even have my leaving cert results in my cv, experienced a bit since then!

I think you should include it in a section at the end marked 'other acheivements' or just 'other' for 2 reasons.

- it might make your CV stand out a bit even if that bit is all they remember. My brother was born in Singapore and they always seemed to be a bit fascinated by that, it caught their eye.

- many employers are interested in what kind of person you are as well as your professional experience etc. Anything which shows some postive aspect of yourself not already obvious can only be good, especially if you can relate it to some quality which will come in handy in the job.

annR said:

they always seemed to be a bit fascinated by that, it caught their eye.

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This is the key reason for including it, I would think. It won't get you the job, but it shows another side to you and what you've done.

As a talking point, it's always useful to have such things on the cv as well. Either in the situation where everything is going well, and they just want to see you perform in a "general chat" situation.

Or, as does also exist, it's an easy out for a bad interviewer.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and give me your very helpful and insightful feedback. Much appreciated.

Depends on the job. If it's quite a non-stimulating job where the employer doesn't want a high turnover then I'd be afraid that they'd think that a Mensan would quickly get bored and move on. If it's any sort of prestigious type job or one with logic etc I'd put it in the other achievements section.

I see your point. It may be seen as a negative for some jobs and a positive for others. I never went on to diploma or degree level due to other committments so I was thinking that Mensa membership might in some way be an indicator of potential to any prospective employers but I recognise the logic in its inclusion on a cv being dependent on the type of job being applied for. Thank you.

Couple of points on IQ

(1) Be very careful about appearing 'proud' of your intelligence, as it is an inheerited trait. you wouldn't appear 'proud' of being tall or green-eyed on your CV and neither should you let a reader take that inference from what you imply about your intelligence. If your work is largely problem-solving and cranial, then talking about your high-end 'reasoning skills' is appropriate. You may be able to slide it into your profile as a third-party reference: "Consistently recognised for problems-solving capacities ..."

(2) A high IQ and 'success' in the workplace are very poorly correlated, and most HR professionals will know this. Issues of manageability, teamworking and a low boredom threshold all rear their ugly heads at the shortlisting stage.

bottom line, a lot of people will be insecure at managing someone who is brighter than them. I would leave it off the CV (except some allusion to it as above) and, if you judge the climate to be right, mention it at interview ...

CareerGuyInteresting view of looking at this which I hadnt considered. I guess i was viewing its inclusion as equivalent to another person's achievements in sport etc being an indicator of their physical prowess and talent. Are you in the HR sector? sounds like you have first hand experience of this?
Thanks for your input.

Taurean,

Sorry about the delay in responding, I've been away. Yes, I work in the hiring arena and see all the horror stories, all the time. Do let us know what you decide to do and what reaction you get. The boards will only really be useful if we share experiences after the fact ...

Careerguy

Based on the reaction on this website and from other sources I have decided to omit this fact from my CV. Most of the advice seemed to warn against its inclusion so it would seem reckless to ignore the advice of the vast majority.
Thanks for all your inputs.