On my way to my next biological therapy today, I was thinking about how to build a perfect CV. It is quite an absurd situation, isn’t it?
I’ve been thinking a lot about what to write first on this blog. This situation is new to me. Although I love writing, I have never shared it with others. Maximum at university, because it was mandatory.
So, on my way to the therapy, I was reading online about what a “perfect” CV looks like. If such a thing even exists. While reading, one specific article caught my eye. I became curious and started researching the topic.
“Never put Mensa membership on your CV!”
This is what the article said, and then many other articles said the same. I found several Quora and Reddit posts about this. Some of the answers surprised me, and some were understandable. However, I was shocked that, according to the “world,” it is not a good idea to include this membership.
I took the test about three years ago. I qualified, but I am not an official member because I never paid the membership fee. My goal wasn’t to show off; I was just curious. In the “About me” section, I wrote that I’ve always felt like an outsider, and I wanted to know if this could be one of the reasons. Is that stupid? Maybe, but what did I have to lose? Nothing.
Before that, I used to take all kinds of online tests when I was bored. I always got good results, but I knew they weren’t official, so I decided to try myself in real life. I got the result, accepted it, and didn’t really deal with it anymore. Maybe a few family members knew, but I never bragged about it. In fact, I mostly kept it a secret.
I felt it would be more of a curse than a blessing—that it comes with more negatives than positives. Of course, it could be good to be among people who think similarly, and it’s not bad for networking. But these people are often strange or arrogant. This is what I experienced with the people taking the test, too. That is why I never became an active member.
However, I thought it could be useful in a CV for jobs where you need to learn new systems or solve varied, sudden situations. After all, it doesn’t mean someone is smarter than others (because that’s not true), only that they can adapt, react, and perhaps learn faster.
In contrast, I read very few places where this had a positive effect. It was mostly mentioned for Engineering or IT positions, where they were eventually hired after being asked about it.
I also read the opinions of several HR professionals, and they were all negative. It’s understandable that there is a prejudice against Mensa members. I have lived with this prejudice too—it’s true for many of them, but not everyone. But isn’t that true for every prejudice?
They explained that these people cannot give useful or valuable information about themselves, so they include the membership to replace actual skills or qualifications. Maybe they have experienced this, I don’t know, but I would never have thought of that. On the other hand, many expect “weird” people who can’t take criticism and always argue with their bosses. People who have trouble fitting into a team.
There might be some truth in this. I am an introvert too, but at every job I’ve had, I was described as a funny, friendly, and helpful person who became part of the team quickly. But of course, we are not all the same. I don’t want to praise myself; I’m just trying to understand why they have this opinion.
Several sources mentioned they expected a “weird” person, and in the end, they were right. I can understand this; there are indeed many strange people, and many truly see their membership as a symbol of superiority.
So, in summary, I realized it’s a good thing I didn’t become an active member and that I keep this whole thing a secret from the people around me. It really would have more negative consequences than positive ones. It’s lucky that I never included it in my CV before.
What is your opinion on this? Have you ever been in a similar situation during a job interview?