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Resume' + Climbing

yankinoz

10-Mar-2009
12:16:14 PM

On 10/03/2009 bluey wrote:
>I read a column on careers recently that said you shouldn't put any interests
>on your CV on the basis that for every employer that likes your particular
>interests there is another that hates all climbers, for example.

I wouldn't want to work for him anyway. I'll keep it in mine...


IdratherbeclimbingM9

10-Mar-2009
1:10:03 PM

On 8/03/2009 Olbert wrote:
>I am gonna put climbing into my resume as for the past four years its pretty
>much been a major part of my life. Im sure there are many skills/benifits
>that I can bullshit about...but I just cant think of any. Any help or
>suggestions? Has anyone else bullshitted about climbing in their resume?

Public Service jobs have specific criteria that need to be met in an application. If you don't address all the criteria you will be binned.
If you can demonstrate that you meet a criteria by citing climbing as an example, then it is specifically relevant; e.g. if the job criteria included an ability to work at heights.

If quite a few applicants meet all the advertised criteria then they are assessed on merit and experience as to how well they meet that criteria and culled down to the interview list. To that end your written application to some extent is only to help you get to 'round two', ie that being interview.

I have seen a few applicants at interview stage exceed their written application in terms of new and relevant material presented, but more often I have seen many applicants fall short of what they claimed within their written application.

When an interview panel has to choose between two close runners for the job they will consider all the material presented to them in application and interview. Indirect interests (if listed), may have a greater bearing on the outcome at that point, along with referees etc.

BS’ing is a risk. You don’t necessarily know who is interviewing you and their skills may exceed your own in certain aspects which could catch you out.
Interviewers are generally serious about obtaining the best person for the job and if they take the process seriously it can be a lengthy and difficult task. They are usually astute people who can recognise BS when they come across it. They don’t need extra irrelevant information, so if you include it keep it brief (point form works well), unless specifically relevant to advertised criteria.

Private industry is often less constrained in their process and can be more ruthless as a result ...

It is always good to demonstrate genuine passion for a job that you are going for.

widewetandslippery

10-Mar-2009
1:21:08 PM

I work in rope access and am weary of "I go rockclimbing" especially when its a smoke screen for I am unskiled and useless at everything". Don't get me started with "I like abseiling".

martin saint

10-Mar-2009
1:44:03 PM

I remeber a couple of years ago one of my housemates (climber) came home irritated.
He'd read in the paper that listing "rockclimbing" as a hobby was one of the most common lies people put on their CVs.
Apparently people who (mostly) don't rock climb believe it shows strength of will, leadership abilities etc.

gfdonc

10-Mar-2009
1:57:11 PM

Classic. As an employer and a climber I'm always interested to hear of peoples external interests as part of their character.

One applicant a year or two ago listed "rockclimbing" as one of his interests - perhaps for the reasons above? Keen to explore our shared interest, I asked him which gym he went to. He hestitated then replied with "the one out west" or something similarly vague, but as Altona happens to be my gym, I suggested that. He said yes, so I asked which walls .. it went rapidly downhill from there. He indicated he mainly just bouldered (for a novice climber this would be unusual) but was unable to say what grade(s) he climbed. I began to doubt that he knew what "V2" might mean, apart from a rocket.

After a few polite questions I formed the view that the guy was a wanker. We didn't hire him.

ZERO

11-Mar-2009
5:00:27 PM

Your resume' isn't the place to waffle on about interests.
If you are responding to selection criteria that ask for team work, communication, problem solving and completing tasks etc this is the place to bring in climbing.

Hopefully you will have some other skills to throw into the mix, otherwise you will struggle to fulfil requirements such as "multi-skilled", and people may think that your overdeveloped fingers will have them purchasing new computer keyboards on a regular basis.

And leave the BS for climbing camp.


SwineOfTheTimes

11-Mar-2009
10:01:55 PM

If you put climbing on a resume' your obviously not a climber, unless your going for a job at an ice factory (which pays all right, sorta). In which case strong and desperate for cash, and climber, are interchangeable.

miss crag

12-Mar-2009
8:33:28 PM

Not that this is specifically resume related, but I started some training off-site for work this week and as I walked in it was hard not to cringe, on the walls they had those wonderful 'leadership', 'courage', 'challenge' posters in frames with dudes on crazy overhanging ice and tackling giant frozen waterfalls.

While I managed to contain my rolling eyes at least it makes daydreaming easier - just look at the wall - there's meagre excuses for windows ok!

Now I'm dreading the 'tell me something about you outside work' introduction, break the ice (no pun intended) yada yada:

"Oh yeah so something I like out of work, well yeah, I like climbing"
(while in my head I try not to say "I fall asleep thinking about moves on rock and am rabid when I don't touch a rope for three days straight")
"Really?! You're crazy, like that dude in the poster?"
"Not quite. Yet."

Sigh!

Apologies if anyone knows anyone photographed or the photographer of those particular posters, I've seen ones with herds of zebras ('Cooperation') and a tree with a droplet about to fall off a leaf ('Perseverance'). Perhaps it's my cynical sense of humour but they tend to make me laugh rather than inspire me.


wallwombat

12-Mar-2009
8:54:52 PM

miss crag

12-Mar-2009
8:57:49 PM

HA! Love it!


ajfclark

13-Mar-2009
10:47:27 AM

Despair.com sell a large range of demotivational posters. One of my favorites:


dave h.

13-Mar-2009
11:07:41 AM

One of my favourites is "Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea."


IdratherbeclimbingM9

13-Mar-2009
11:22:38 AM

The small writing under 'Ambition' reads;
Aspire to climb as high as you can dream.


Capt_mulch

13-Mar-2009
1:21:59 PM

Brilliant!


wallwombat

13-Mar-2009
3:24:57 PM


pmonks

13-Mar-2009
4:31:19 PM

motivatedphotos.com has stacks of user generated ones. Just a shame you have to wade through a bunch of lame soft p0rn to get to the good ones...


pmonks

13-Mar-2009
4:40:01 PM

miss crag

13-Mar-2009
8:53:28 PM

i never knew all this motivational poster pi**takes existed... thanks for the chuckle :)

There are 38 messages in this topic.