? for those that read resumes

[desertt5]

I got an invitation to join a national honor society via the university. Does that blurb on a resume actually mean anything to a potential employer? Or is it a waste of my $50

I will ( after 20 years) graduate this summer and plan to go ahead and start my graduate degree in Project Management. Will the honor society for my undergraduate work really matter?

At the present, I do not plan to change jobs ever ( 18 more years which ever comes first). I truly love my job and the money supports us just fine..... But you never know what curve balls or opportunities life will toss your way.

[cmccuist]

It depends on the company. For instance, in engineering, if you're applying to say Bechtel, or Flour, or KBR and they're looking to staff a huge, multi-billion dollar project, as long as you have a degree and a pulse, they'll stick you in a cubicle and pay you to crank out calcs or drawings or whatever. They need bodies and you're just a cog in the gear, a spoke in the wheel.

If it's a small engineering firm that doesn't hire too many engineers and is looking for a particular skill set, that stuff matters!! The small firm can't afford to make a mistake.

[widgeon13]

Don't waste the money, demonstrated success is much more valuable.

I never payed any attention to those credentials in 35 years of hiring, to me it just showed you were a pompous arse to join something like that.

No offense intended.

[VincentVega]

I'd spend the $50. It's $50.

You never know, someday you might need work and it might open a door. Might not, you can always not mention it.

[gassy]

Save the $50 but put it on the resume anyway.

[MRM]

It depends on the national honor society. Which one is it? Some are worth mentioning. Some are just money making operations that will make you look ridiculous if you join and put it on the resume. The people who read resumes know the difference between the real honor societies and pretend ones and would discount anyone who listed one of the fake honor societies on their resume.

Whatever you do, don't use improper grammar anywhere on your resume or cover letter. I know PP is very informal, but using "that" instead of "who" is one of those common grammatical errors that is like fingernails on a chalk board to the people who read resumes. Any grammatical error will almost automatically disqualify you from consideration.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I have been "invited" to join the national honor society for public administration graduate student for the last two years. It's also $50. I can't see any benefit. My work experience, grades, etc. speak for themselves. I can afford it but it seems like an outfit that was just set up to get as many people to send them $50 as possible.

[ErVikingo]

If I look at 2 resumes which are similar and 1 has been recognized (key word here...!) by an honor or other society for an actual achievement, that person will get ahead of the other in my book.

Now, honor societies and who's who type business are dime a dozen and most are nothing more than a marketing ploy just like the steakhouse adverts on the back of the airline magazines. Pay to be listed without any achievement.

If you are a real honor student, put together a good resume that states that and get your foot on the door and present your case.

In any case, I have seen non relevant things on resume's so much that it ain't funny.

[MotoSook]

As someone who reads resumes now and then, I'd think "this guy paid $50 to pad his resume."

If you're an engineer looking to get into project management, spend your money and effort to get your PE if you don't have one.

Practical experience as someone said is most critical. I've had the displeasure of working with 20+ yr engineers who lacked practical experience. There are few excuses for an engineer without practical experience. A good CAD designer is more valuable!

Also, don't gamble on being with any company for more than a few years in the consulting business, if that's what your goal is as a PM. If it works out great, but it's not what one should expect in today's market.

[desertt5]

Probably won't bother with it. I don't recall the name of the society right now, but i have never heard of them before.

Thanks

[myamoto1]

Every few years I get "recognized" by the International Who's Who society. And for a mere $50 can receive my own copy of the other "inductees." Basically, it's just a marketing ploy to get your $50. As others have stated, I see no value in giving them my money.

[Jagshund]

I've had honors and honor society blurbs on my resume for 18 months now, so they don't seem to be too helpful . . . although I'm trying to force my way into a specific industry (automotive PR and marketing) and in doing so have limited the possibilities. However, any little bit could help when you're neck and neck.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by Soukus

As someone who reads resumes now and then, I'd think "this guy paid $50 to pad his resume." .

Yeah, but you're a crotchety cynical ol' b*stard.

Seriously though, if it's one of those "OH, and then you can buy our book listing your name in it, don't bother." I'd be suprised, for example, if there wasn't a HighSchool student anywhere that wasn't offered the "Who's who among HS students book." (Which incidentally my folks fell for).

[Jagshund]

I don't think you can compare Who's Who to honor societies; the former doesn't involve gpa in the formula for acceptance, so the latter is one way to let employers know you held a particular GPA (not that it really matters past a certain point in employment) without having to brag about it on your resume.

[MotoSook]

Quote de Soukus

As someone who reads resumes now and then, I'd think "this guy paid $50 to pad his resume." .

Yeah, but you're a crotchety cynical ol' b*stard..

My wife thinks I'm turning into her grandpa, and I don't mind. I like being able to cruise around in my old rusty truck chewing tobacco and chasing kids off my lawn with a rifle

Wonder if there's an honor society for cranky old engineers. They're usual the best ones you know.


Really I could care less what society you listed on your resume so long as you show you have some aptitude for the position you're interviewing for.

If you're a new engineer, and you have all those nice sounding societies listed on your resume, but didn't had any clubs or activities that led me to believe you are anything but a book worm, I'd move to the next resume. An engineer in the real world has to be able to solve a real world problem. If you haven't got a clue how things work in the real world, I would not expect you to know how to troubleshoot, fix, design or operate anything.

Practical experience and the ability to learn quickly. Be eager and positive. A smart manager will see through the fluff that's in a resume, and if he ask you what you did as part of that honor society or howyou got in, how will you answer.

Sometimes you just have to bust someone out when your "full of ****" meter starts move pass the threshold. Better to find out in am interview than after you hire the person.

I would never want to put anything on my resume that will lead to someone doubting my integrity or ability.

[URY914]

Attach a $50 bill to your resume. Money better spent.

[unclebilly]

Staple the $50 to your resume... you'll probably be better served and will garantee your resume gets noticed...

If you did this to me, I would hand the $50 back at the interview but I'd take notice. I just hired 12 technical people for my engineering team since December. I was amazed to see so many spelling mistakes on resumes etc.

Your resume is a screamer, it has to scream "read further" before I add it to the pile in the file folder that doesn't get interviews.

[campbellcj]

It's not something I would give any weight or probably even notice.

I read a lot of resumes - sometimes dozens per day - and am constantly amazed at how pathetically bad many of them are. I eliminate many from consideration in 10-15 seconds. At the risk of sounding harsh, maybe some people deserve to be unemployed. The problem is, then they're a burden on society and we all pay to subsidize their existence, so I really wish they would try harder to help themselves or seek professional help somewhere.

Today we actually had a guy show up at our door and literally try to push his way inside, past our receptionist. She locked him out and came and told us he was in the hall. He had responded via email to a job posting and hadn't heard back yet. It's only been a week or so and we had a deluge of applications to review. Despite the ad having said NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE, he had called our office 2-3 times asking why he had not gotten an interview scheduled yet.

The classic part is that he left a copy of his resume (again) today, as one of my guys shooed him off the premises, and there was a BLATANT EFFING TYPO right in the middle of the page. Plus, his skill set did not match the job description to boot. Quadruple fail!

[desertt5]

I am pretty sure they offered me a book with my own name in it.