Does religion belong on your CV?

I think we both know the answer to this question. The answer's yes or no.

I was on a chat board the other day and somebody asked this question. 99:1, people said no. Some of them even called me names for thinking otherwise. I may be naive, but I'm actually pretty glad I'm in the other 1%.

My professional career is 9 years long. I've had several entry going up to mid-senior level positions. I have my education, leadership training, specialized skills. I also have a section on community service, volunteer work, and other paid and unpaid positions that show I can recruit, train, lead, motivate, deploy and be accountable. One of the areas I find particularly easy to do that is church, partially because I love it there and partially because I've had the profound good fortune to be part of congregations led by visionary ministers who empower laypeople.

I said yes, it belongs, because I feel what I bring to my church is pretty applicable to my skill set at work, or at the very least reveals some interesting and appropriate references to my character. The part of me that would say leave it off is the same part of me that would say leave anything off that doesn't directly benefit your employer. I'd even take that a step farther and add, if your religion is important to you in a way that it will probably come up in conversations with coworkers, you should put it on intentionally to see your future employer's reaction. People will tell you that the most important part of a job interview is getting the offer, but I disagree. I think it's only fair that you interview the company back. You're going to be spending 40 hours a week, maybe more, and maybe much more with these people. You may travel for them. You may commit to late nights working on projects or give up time with your friends and family for this job. Don't you owe it to yourself to make sure they're a good fit for you?

I actually like interviewing, both sides of it. I like meeting new people, I enjoy the conversations around what makes people tick. And overwhelmingly, I like to figure out if the person who's going to hire me shares my values, has their own big dreams, and is someone I would consider a mentor.

If you're just a pew-filler, of course leave it off your resume. If any activity doesn't directly add value, it doesn't fit. But my challenge to you is why would you be part of anything and not connect to their vision? Not everyone can (or should, or wants to) lead everything they're a part of, but get off the sidelines of life. It's a big world out there and you'll enjoy everything about it more if you can say what you're doing and why. You're more likely to find success and better still, find the connections who know why what's on your resume is just a sliver of everything you have to offer.