Cv - family circumstances

Easter17

Is it correct to mention family circumstances on a CV? I have raised my two boys on my own for the past 9 years and am currently supporting them through university. I consider this an achievement and was considering mentioning it in my list of achievements on my CV. Is it politically correct to do this as I know so many people get embarrassed at the mention of my being a single parent/being separated etc. although I have no problem talking about it.

Mrs OBumble

If it's relevant to the job you are applying for, yes.

But it won't be for lots of them.

Theboinkmaster

Easter17 wrote: »

Is it correct to mention family circumstances on a CV? I have raised my two boys on my own for the past 9 years and am currently supporting them through university. I consider this an achievement and was considering mentioning it in my list of achievements on my CV. Is it politically correct to do this as I know so many people get embarrassed at the mention of my being a single parent/being separated etc. although I have no problem talking about it.

As an employer that would turn me off, no i don't think it's a professional achievement so doesn't belong on your CV.

Easter17

I agree that it's not a professional achievement but it is a personal one and from the two replies so far, it seem's the subject is still taboo. Shame. In addition to raising my kids on my own I have studied for a degree at night, held down a full time professional job throughout and am studying for a professional accountancy qualification and now applying for a promotion in my current job. Maybe people should rethink their attitude to single parents?

Theboinkmaster

Easter17 wrote: »

I agree that it's not a professional achievement but it is a personal one and from the two replies so far, it seem's the subject is still taboo. Shame. In addition to raising my kids on my own I have studied for a degree at night, held down a full time professional job throughout and am studying for a professional accountancy qualification and now applying for a promotion in my current job. Maybe people should rethink their attitude to single parents?

Again from a prospective employer that's irrelevant - if I'm looking at CVs i don't care if you are a single parent, if you've no legs, if you've survived cancer etc. Everyone has problems, issues etc. in life to overcome so it's not an achievement relevant to a CV, sorry - you're no different to the next applicant due to those circumstances.

The time to bring that up perhaps is casually in the interview, but be carefuly how you bring it up.

Just keep it professional & relevant.

MouseTail

Absolutely do not put it in your CV, nor mention it in interview. Keep your professional and personal boundaries intact. i do not see it as an achievement either, well not a relevant one in any case.
It has nothing to do with peoples attitudes towards single parents.

skallywag

No, this does not belong anywhere near your CV. If someone handed me a CV with something like this mentioned it would be going straight into the bin.

boobar

It is a major achievement and something that you should be proud of and no doubt your boys I'm sure are proud of you.

That said, it is a personal achievement rather than a work related one.

Although employers wouldn't mention it in a feedback session it is likely to put them off, in my honest opinsion.

So, my advice would be to leave out any mention of family status.

loyatemu

Companies are not permitted to discriminate based on family circumstances, so they don't want to know your family circumstances - it just leaves them open to claims of discrimination.

Danjamin1

Easter17 wrote: »

I agree that it's not a professional achievement but it is a personal one and from the two replies so far, it seem's the subject is still taboo. Shame. In addition to raising my kids on my own I have studied for a degree at night, held down a full time professional job throughout and am studying for a professional accountancy qualification and now applying for a promotion in my current job. Maybe people should rethink their attitude to single parents?

It's not taboo, it's just not relevant to the potential job applications. i agree it's a fantastic achievement but it doesn't impact on your performance or ability within the field. Nothing to do with attitudes to single parents & would hope you wouldn't consider it as such.

Easter17

Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate the feedback and will take it into consideration. Still a shame that people's personal achievements have to be pushed aside when work takes up so much time in our lives.

skallywag

Easter17 wrote: »

Still a shame that people's personal achievements have to be pushed aside when work takes up so much time in our lives.

I don't think anyone is implying that your achievement needs to be pushed aside, it's just the case that this particular achievement does not belong in a CV, i.e. it just doesn't live there, much the same way that you would not put fruit into the bread bin.

Danjamin1

I'm thinking about it more & despite not including personal achievements I'd still include a one-liner about personal interests. Not sure why but I'd consider this appropriate to show I have interests outside of work, but I'd keep it as simple as mentioning cycling or swimming, something broad. Nothing wrong with including achievements but I'd try and keep it relevant to the job.

Redser87

Personal interests yes - as well as giving a good idea of who you are as a well-rounded individual, it could well be that the office has a basketball team and if you have put basketball down as an interest, that could be a good way for you to gain a good rapport with your colleagues, increase company morale, etc. Personal achievements, no matter how admirable they are, do not always have a bearing on how good you will be at the job. Mentioning a sporting achievement is one thing (for instance, the captain of a county football team would have leadership skills, teamwork experience, stamina, ability to deal with setbacks...) but while a survivor of an illness would also have learned how to deal with setbacks, for instance, it is none of the interviewer's business and by you choosing to make it so, it just makes life difficult for both parties.
They can choose to ask or not ask about the team captaincy, but any reference to private family or health matters leaves them open to accusations of discrimination. Remember as well that people put their own tone on things that they read, and the effect of writing that down might be entirely different to what you would intend. Unlike in-person verbal communication, the written word has no eye contact, body language, gesture, intonation etc that help people to get their meaning across in the way they want to.

skallywag

I would agree with having a (short!) entry concerning interests, but I would tend to shy away from mentioning that I was captain of X, or was master debating champion, etc. My own main take on the interests section would be that it provides some topics on which to strike up a general chat with the applicant and to aid in making a call on soft skills & personality.

Mrs OBumble

I still think there might be some jobs where it is relevant experience, eg social worker, family support worker, perhaps even SNA.

But unless there is a clear link between the job requirements and the skills that you developed raising your own children, I would leave it off the CV.

If you really want to bring it up at interview, you can use it as an example of specific skills - eg you can demonstrate your time management by describing what you did to run an home and study at the same time.



OP, you might be going to hate me for saying this ... but saying that you raised your children as a sole parent could actually be held against you by some people, who might think that you would have been doing a better thing by your children if you had formed a new relationship and thus been able to model adult-relational behaviour for your kids. Please note that I'm personally not saying this - just pointing out that some employers might think this way. So you could actually be doing yourself a disservice.

KCC

Easter17 wrote: »

Is it correct to mention family circumstances on a CV? I have raised my two boys on my own for the past 9 years and am currently supporting them through university. I consider this an achievement and was considering mentioning it in my list of achievements on my CV. Is it politically correct to do this as I know so many people get embarrassed at the mention of my being a single parent/being separated etc. although I have no problem talking about it.

It certainly is an achievement. I too consider bringing my kids into the world and raising them as the biggest achievement of my life so far.

However, I would consider it to be poor judgement to put this on my CV. CVs should be as formal as possible. It could go against you if you mention the kids on your CV as it would give the impression that you don't understand that it's inappropriate.

I don't even mention my children at work, especially to bosses in case they think I don't want to be promoted and put me on the "mammy track". The impression I want to give is that my priority is and always has been work.

Having said that, if you are asked why there is a gap on your CV during the interview, I think it's ok to mention you were raising a family but the children are now grown up.

BizzyC

KCC wrote: »

Having said that, if you are asked why there is a gap on your CV during the interview, I think it's ok to mention you were raising a family but the children are now grown up.

+1 this.

It's not as taboo as you seem to think, it's just that a CV should be kept formal and relevant.
In an interview if someone asks, which they likely will given the gap, there's no problem in being honest about it and no problem in being proud of it as an achievement.

meeeeh

Easter17 wrote: »

I agree that it's not a professional achievement but it is a personal one and from the two replies so far, it seem's the subject is still taboo. Shame. In addition to raising my kids on my own I have studied for a degree at night, held down a full time professional job throughout and am studying for a professional accountancy qualification and now applying for a promotion in my current job. Maybe people should rethink their attitude to single parentsi?

You are not competing for the parent of the year. It's has nothing to do with being single parent. You decided to have children and you want an applause for bringing them up? That is personal responsibility and I would expect it from anybody with children.

Unless you want to be childminder it is completely irrelevant. And if I would see it on cv the first thing I would think is, if she/he has any younger kids I know who will be not in work when the kids get sick.

Diziet

You should certainly mention getting your degree while holding down a job in the interview, or make it clear on the cv. But leave family circumstances out of the cv, as they are not expected there.

BTW, I would think very highly of a candidate with that amount of drive and application, well done!

Gael23

I don't want to sound as if I'm belittling you but I wouldn't put it on. Being a single parent is something a lot of people have to do and it may in fact come back to bite you because it might make an employer think you have alot of things going on at home which might distract you.
As a personal achievement, I mention a medical condition I have as it poses challenges to me in a number of ways. Not on my CV though, just at interviews