Personal/Professional Balance

Lisa Neal Gualtieri of CIO.com just published an article, “Job Hunting? Think Twice about Revealing your Hobbies”. In the article, she discourages job applicants from including the ubiquitous “Hobbies” section on their resumes, suggesting that “employers can read anything the wrong way”. She goes on to list examples, such as:

and:

As someone who has made selections based on just a few tens of thousands of resumes, I completely disagree. I would never, ever pass on a candidate based on my own preconceived notion of where I think their priorities lie. Not only would I likely be overlooking well-qualified candidates, but potentially opening myself to liability via the labor laws in most jurisdictions, too.

In fact, I would be a little concerned about someone who wouldn’t put their children first. Employers, for the most part, recognize the value of a healthy work/life balance with their employees. Why on Earth would an employer not want to hire someone who had a passion for something outside of work, assuming no illegal activity or conflict of interest?

As a manager, I have happily granted leave requests for World of Warcraft campaigns, kids’ sports games, sick pets, religious holidays, band gigs, unicycling contests, and, my all-time favorite: “Hey Ryan, is it OK if I stay home today? I think I pulled something in my leg playing Wii Sports Bowling”. These people all applied the same passion and focus to their software development, and were among my top performers. Unlike some of their more dedicated counterparts, these folks didn’t burn out.

Besides–depending on your outlook–any employer that passes on your resume because you might have a life outside of work may just be helping with your job screening process.

What do you think? Please post your comments below.

[ CIO.com Article ]

Tags: jobhunting, recruiting, interview, resume, hobbies