Is membership in Mensa something that would help on a resume?
Robert asked:
I was wondering if being a member of Mensa would help with resumes and job applications or if it would be discounted as just a club. I qualify to join, but don’t feel the need to pay the membership fees unless I can find some tangible benefit outside of the group’s social aspect.
Tags:Help With Resumes,Job Applications,Social Aspect
I was wondering if being a member of Mensa would help with resumes and job applications or if it would be discounted as just a club. I qualify to join, but don’t feel the need to pay the membership fees unless I can find some tangible benefit outside of the group’s social aspect.
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Filed under: Other - Careers & Employment on April 3rd, 2009
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No, outside clubs and societies that you belong to should never go on your resume. They have nothing to do with your job performance or capability… even if they allege you are a genius. Your work experience matters the most.
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10000% yes
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Years ago I was a member of Mensa. I don’t really see how that could be valuable or an asset on a resume’. It’s more of an ego trip then anything else. I really didn’t learn a thing until I got out of Mensa.
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That might actually hurt you if you tout Mensa on your resume. Employers/future bosses will assume you have a big head, or that you are arrogant. I would totally join it, of course, because that’s such a neat thing to belong to, but I’d save to reveal it at a later date once everyone knows you.
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i think mensa shouts out “i am a clever person and i would be good to have on your staff team” so if you are looking for a new job and feel you could do with something to spice up your resume (and can afford the fees) then go for it!
Hope this helps.
p.s i would be impressed if i was your employer…maybe you may get some who would be jealous i dont know!
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If I were hiring people, I would shred a resume that mentioned Mensa.
Think about it from my side: This is a group of people who are so intelligent that they cannot think of a purpose for their group.
These are people who are so highly educated that they have lost all contact with common sense.
These are people who remind me of the woman in Gulliver’s Travels who was married to a man who was from a race of people who were so brilliant that they only had one eye and it was turned inward. She ran away from him and joined up with a man who beat her. The moral was: It’s better to be beaten than to be ignored.
These are people who are so bright that they don’t feel social skills are necessary.
Why would I ever ask them to join my business?
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no. no employer is going to care that you’re a member of mensa. putting that on your resume is just going to make you look narcissistic.
besides, just because youre intelligent doesn’t mean youre capable of performing any kind of job related functions.
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I have never found a single reason for keeping my membership, so I dumped it. It cannot help you on a resume and will probably even be detrimental in different ways. Nobody wants to hire someone who thinks they are smarter than the boss. If the applicant has the brains to succeed in an area of endeavor, they need to use that intelligence to convince the interviewer that their intelligence is an asset to the company.
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I wouldn’t put in on for two reasons:
1) as another correspondent suggested, outside interests ordinarily do not belong on a resume, and more importantly,
2) most managers don’t like their direct reports being smarter than they are; it threatens them.
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I would not put that on your resume and I also would not put the following things on my resume - just double check to make sure you’re in line….
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I wouldn’t think so.
I qualify but won’t join. Those I’ve met that ARE members tend to drive me crazy. They’re “intelligent” but have 0 common sense and tend to be socially infantile. They just don’t “get it” half the time.
I know a lot of people that think the way I do. Just because you are a mensa member doesn’t mean you are well educated or that you are qualified. It gives a quantitative measure of your intelligence, but it’s up to the individual to use it.
I would personally be turned off by someone that felt the need to be recognized for being a member enough to put it on their resume.
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Yes.
Mensa was founded in 1946, in England. The Mensa Society was formed specifically for intelligent individuals. The aim of Mensa was to create a non-political society free from all forms of racial or religious distinctions, that focussed on exceptional intelligence. All are welcomed into Mensa regardless of background, religion, socioeconomic condition, race, or age.
The name Mensa comes from the Latin word for table and indicates a group of equals sharing ideas, like a roundtable discussion.
Mensa’s stated purpose is to identify and encourage human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to foster research in nature, characteristic and uses of intelligence; and to promote stimulating social and intellectual opportunities for society members.
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Mensans have actually asked this same question on their forum. And just like here, the answers are split about 50/50.
So I guess the answer is, it depends on who you ask.