The ‘seat’ I don’t want at the resume table

Why hiding who you are on resumes will only get you jobs you hate

Photo credit: She Bold Stock

This post was originally published on Medium on May 10, 2020.

Don’t include political or religious affiliations. Stay away from organizations that are historically race-based. Never mention fraternities and sororities. Make your name and email address simple. Do not disclose if you’re a parent. Make sure the work and personal references have names that can easily be pronounced. This is the kind of advice I see on resume writing sites often, especially for Corporate America jobs. I’ve never followed any of it from ages 16 to 38, and I’ve worked for as many well-known companies as I have startups. Here’s why I refuse to hide who I am before the job interview.

Staying away from racial topics won’t stop racist bosses.

I have never had any interest in being in a black Greek organization. But if I was in the Divine Nine, there’s no way in the world I’d leave that off of a resume. (This is a common tip from resume writers.) However, those nine organizations are affiliated with a massive amount of fundraising and charitable events. Why downplay it?

I have, however, worked on political canvassing projects such as sign-ups for the Affordable Care Act. I’ve covered aldermen debates and local government fundraisers for startups. And I have no problem telling hiring managers or clients this. Do I understand why it’s controversial? Certainly. From working with mainstream newspapers, the goal (pre-Trump) was to have an unbiased opinion. So if I’m reporting on a topic all while ridiculing it on Twitter, I can understand the conflict of interest.

What’s not said enough is this: “Why would you want to work for an organization that goes against everything you believe politically, ethically and/or spiritually?” A bleeding heart Liberal is going to be unhappy working with a conservative-leaning team no matter what, just as a FOX News enthusiast will despise Democratic-leaning employees.