By, Ashley Crimaldi
As I was applying for summer internships this past spring, I had a lot of difficulty determining what to include on my resume. My first thought? Everything! But on second thought, I wondered if including everything I’m involved with might have cost me an opportunity. I call this ‘Identity Transparency’.
As a woman heavily involved in many social justice issues on my campus, advocacy, awareness raising and diversity groups, I’m pretty clearly marked, dare I say, with a ‘Feminist’, ideology. I theorized that such activities would exude a passionate drive to make the world a better place to potential employers. I’m the type of college student who cares about her community, right? Well, maybe.
After absent calls from several business and journalistic entities I’d applied to, I realized listing, ‘Feminist Student Union President’ and ‘The Vagina Monologues Performance’ on my resume may not have been such great idea. Of course, the progressive non-profit publication I work for currently saw those activities as an asset to their team, but apparently not everyone had the same reaction.
Depending on the company, it may be better to appear a bit ‘apolitical’ or ‘uninformed’ (sad right?). According to advice I’ve been given by a PR professional, only list activities and leadership positions that are directly relevant to the position in which you are applying to, and be ready to discuss how so in an interview.
I’m not suggesting that you leave your identity or political interests at the door- but do be mindful of what you are including on a resume, and how it may appear to potential employers. In the end (if you got an interview), if they like you and you’re good at your job what you do in your free time shouldn’t matter. However, in industries like journalism, it’s ideal to appear as ‘objective’ as possible. For some people hiding your identity would be merely impossible in an Internet age. Personally, my feminist identity is one that I can’t hide, and if someone doesn’t want to hire me because of that, I probably wouldn’t want to work there anyway.
What do you think of ‘identity transparency’? Have you ever experienced a similar situation? How have you handled keeping work on the side separate from your day job? Tell us what you think!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I think Identity Transparency is an extremley important topic to consider as young professionals. We’ve all heard to watch what we publish on facebook, but it goes way beyond that.
Identity Transparency is something many Gen Y’ers struggle with. For example, we may hate our company’s conservative dress code and refuse to comply. Or perhaps we are in a conservative field, but have a very creative artsy side we must hide each day at work. We are used to being told that being opinionated (perhaps about politics or religion) is a good thing, yet showing it at work could hurt your career. It is said that a vast majority of Gen Y’ers hope to work for themselves someday. Many of us are trying to get that started while employed full time.
So the big challenge Gen Y faces is how to manage these multiple identities and still keep a job, get new freelance clients, or eventually get a new job (especially after someone googles you!).
I think you are absolutely right in the fact that you at least have to be aware that your life’s hobbies and interests – if they are readily available online – are visible to any potential employers. You might not want to hide them, but you should be ready to defend them should a potential new employer bring them up. Also good to keep in mind that you should remove certain “sensitive” affiliations from your resume when they have nothing to do with the job you are applying for. There’s no reason to introduce anything that might be perceived as controversial if it’s not immediately relevant. It’s a delicate balance, but I think if we are smart we can handle being diplomatic professionals while also staying true to ourselves.
My work experience right up til I had my two children had been in sales and hospitality management. However, realizing that I don’t want a career in either of those and needing stable employment while I raise my kids and pursue a degree in my career of choice (nursing) I had to apply this concept very specifically. I actually had several resumes, one for each industry I applied for a job in. Luckily much of my work experience is applicable across multiple industries. I also had to consider when interviewing how much of my hippie/gypsy/rocker personality to “show” and again, luckily, I landed a job where I can use almost my entire skill set as well as express my individual personality virtually without limits. Advertising and marketing rocks