Do Religion or Politics Have a Place on Your Resume?

Job hunting can be stressful, but before you get too deep into the job market, it's smart to retool your resume contents to ensure they accurately reflect your experience and capabilities. With that in mind, many inquisitive job seekers often wonder if it's appropriate to include religious or political affiliations on the document.

Keep in mind that you're creating a document that gives a human resources professional a quick snapshot of what makes you stand out from other applicants. Whether you're making improvements or creating the document from scratch, take the time to make sure that your resume gives prospective employers a good sense of what makes you hireable and doesn't contain anything that could cause you to be passed over.

Human resources experts may not want to spend more than a minute looking over your resume contents. That's why it's so important to cut out fluff and make sure every word helps tell the story of why your qualifications set you apart from other hopefuls in the candidate pool.

If religion or politics are a significant part of who you are as a person, some job hunting gurus say to mention them, but with caution. Before making a decision about whether to discuss religion or politics within your resume contents, remember that people often take sides about both those topics, sometimes without even realizing it.

Sadly, in those cases, your resume contents may cause you to miss out on moving further in the recruitment process simply because the hiring manager has some sort of unconscious bias against people who follow a certain political party or religion.

After thinking carefully about whether to include political and religious background in your resume contents, ask yourself if there are feasible ways to leverage those affiliations in ways that showcase your readiness to excel in a job. For example, if you taught Sunday school for preschoolers at your church for a decade and are now applying for a job as an instructional aide at a day care, you can highlight how your Sunday school duties have prepared you well for any sort of similar position that involves interactions with young people.

Similarly, if you worked as a grassroots political organizer in your town, including that work in your resume contents may be a good idea if you are applying for a job that requires a creative thinker who can work well under pressure, often with limited input from others.

Finally, remember that any of your resume contents could be brought up during an interview. If you're not comfortable talking about your religious beliefs or political leanings with an interviewer, steer clear of mentioning them on your resume.

There's no clear-cut answer to whether it's best to mention politics and religion when you're trying to make sure a hiring team sees your best qualities. As with most things related to getting a job, use your best judgement about whether it's wise to include those factors in your resume contents, and don't be afraid to ask a trustworthy colleague or friend for feedback.

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