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January 20, 2009 8:43 AM

I am re-building my CV after 10 years of working for the same company. Is it a good idea to include my Myers-Briggs personality type in my CV? It's INTP if that matters and I am looking for senior finance roles for which my professional experience would be sufficient.
posted by Parsnip to work & money (12 comments total)

No. I would probably throw out your resume if I saw this. Focus on your professional experience—that is what a CV is supposed to contain.
posted by grouse at 8:54 AM on January 20 [3 favorites]

I would say no.

If I had a CV that came across my desk with Myers-Briggs information (as valid a tool as it is), I would immediately think, "That's TMI. Way, way too much."

I am looking for senior finance roles for which my professional experience would be sufficient

This.
posted by liquado at 8:56 AM on January 20

No. It would be as if you included your astrological sign.
posted by LarryC at 8:56 AM on January 20 [5 favorites]

I'm going to go ahead and say no. While it's good to get a feel for someone's personality to determine if they'd be a good match for your organization, simply putting four letters on a CV might encourage someone at HR to automatically judge you based on their personal impressions of an INTP.

If they don't know what an INTP is, there's a good chance they'll be encouraged to look one up, and if the rep in question happens to be an ENFP or some such, and doesn't understand how the world works, they might assume things about you based on your personality test, instead of based on their experience with you, and their real impressions of you.

Even if you're worried that you'll interview poorly and that, perhaps, the INTP would explain why and encourage them to see past it or some such, this sounds like a bad idea.

Don't give an interviewer information that they might not know how to process responsibly or which could easily be subconsciously abused. Instead, just relax and let your personality show in your interactions with them so that they can determine how you'd fit in on their own, and not on the merits of four letters they might not fully understand.
posted by disillusioned at 8:56 AM on January 20

No; that'd look very unprofessional. There's a fair amount of debate as to whether there is any scientific validity to Myers-Briggs types at all. Putting it on your resume would be a bare step above providing your astrological sign.
posted by ubersturm at 8:57 AM on January 20 [1 favorite]

I'm a big Myers-Briggs fan, but I still would not include it. Some people will think it's bunk (like LarryC). Some won't understand it. Some will think it's TMI. Some people will say "hmm... P... wonder if he can meet deadlines." Better to stand on your past successes.
posted by salvia at 9:44 AM on January 20

If I saw that on a resume, I would automatically assume that you enjoy spending your entire work day taking Myers-Briggs tests on the internet rather than actually doing your job and I would file your resume accordingly.
posted by Stynxno at 10:17 AM on January 20 [4 favorites]

In a previous life, I worked at an executive search firm. I looked at thousands of senior-level resumes and never, ever saw one with Myers-Briggs. Do not put it on.
posted by mogget at 10:38 AM on January 20

As an INTP myself, I know why you thought of including this, and the answer is no.
posted by HopperFan at 12:06 PM on January 20

We had a guy put his IQ down. We interviewed him despite that, and he turned out to be a great guy.

The key word is despite.
posted by Leon at 2:56 PM on January 20

I've had resumes with IQs.

I've had resumes with astrological signs.

I've had resumes with geekcode.

I've had resumes with _color charts_ showing various things over time ["attaboys per month, an increasing trend" level stuff]

All of these are tremendous redflags (yes, even the geekcode) since they show a total lack of an understanding for appropriateness.

It is a good idea to include it if you think it is relevant and it adds something.
posted by rr at 5:41 PM on January 20

No. Resumes are used to weed people out of the candidate pool; don't give them ammunition.
posted by northernlightgardener at 9:33 PM on January 20