Does "playing Lego" look good on your résumé/CV?

[Ralph_S]

Indeed, the resume really depends on the type of position. I'm an assistant professor (in the UK the equivalent position would be Lecturer). The CV that I submitted for this job describes research projects I've worked on, my education and specialised courses I've followed and lists my scientific publications and courses I've taught myself. It's two pages long.

Cheers,

Ralph

[gifinim]

Turn the question around a little - would you want to work for a company that didn't understand the appeal of Lego?

I review CVs my company receives for IT positions, and I'd be happy to see Lego mentioned in a revelant way. But then I do have rather a lot of Lego on my desk...

[KEvron]

as a union electrical worker, i must say i'm disappointed to see so many people willing to submit to the outdated "unidirectional flow of power" construct, rather than view employment as an equitable agreement hashed out by two parties. i'm especially disappointed to see blackbird acquiescence, given his influence on the process. i have to wonder if a perfectly viable candidate could expect his support should the matter arise in meeting, or would he allow his competitors to capitalize on a superficial bias.

they came for tinker toys, but because i did not play with tinker toys, i said nothing.... too over-the-top?

KEvron

Edited March 28, 2012 by KEvron

[Blakbird]

i'm especially disappointed to see blackbird acquiescence, given his influence on the process. i have to wonder if a perfectly viable candidate could expect his support should the matter arise in meeting, or would he allow his competitors to capitalize on a superficial bias.

Wait a minute now, I didn't say I like the business world being this way, I'm just saying that this is how it is. I also said that I personally do see the value in Technic as a technical hobby and seeing it properly used on a resume would be a good thing in my own eyes. I'd be happy to defend such a person and would certainly not disqualify them on this basis. However, the question was whether or not it is a good idea in general to include this on your resume. If you want to maximize your chance of getting a job, then the answer is no because in the majority of cases it will be counted against you (not with me!). However, if your goal is to get a job you like and you are willing to wait to get it, then it may very well be a good idea to use this on your resume to weed out employers that may not be a good fit for you. In our current global economy, most people cannot afford to do the latter.

I'm sorry if you got the impression that I thought Technic was a "bad thing" and not relevant to an adult technical job. I'm not saying that at all. But in my experience most managers don't get it. On the other hand, most engineers do. I have Technic sitting on my desk at all times, and somebody comes by to compliment me on them and/or ask technical questions about them nearly every single day. In most cases, these people are engineers. Sometimes they are even female!

The age of the industry probably means everything. If you are applying for Google, then put Technic on your resume. If you are applying for IBM (or even worse, government service), then don't.

[KEvron]

Wait a minute now

you know, i debated with myself over posting that comment. myself won. culturally-instituted bias brings out the indignant hellcat in me. of course, i'm not blaming or accusing you, or even suggesting that you're a part of the problem.

i'll say it again: one must also interview the employer. you have to ask yourself if you're willing enter into an arrangement with someone who bears stifling, superficial biases. if that's your kind of work environment, then go for it. don't spill a single bean ever. me? i gotta be me. or, at the least, myself.

KEvron

[Paul Boratko]

Everything about me basically revolves around Lego as far as a hobby, a small business, and a way of life... But Discussing Lego building as a hobby on a resume seems to me to be a little pointless unless it had something to do with sales or something of that nature because most people would really have no clue what you are talking about when you try to explain that you like to build advanced mechanisms...

I still have trouble explaining that my models are actually Lego when people see them in person...

[F0NIX]

Well the last two jobs I have put in a CV I had mentioned my LEGO hobby. And both was technical jobs as an electronic engineer.

I even took with me a little LEGO creation on my last job interview. I also explained that I think my passion for LEGO gets out the creative side of me and it would even boost my creativity in my daily work as I all the time needs to find a technical solution to building something new in LEGO. And this creativity will also be used in my daily work as I often have to find out a technical solution for solving a problem.

If you mention LEGO in the CV and explain it in the interview I think you will stand out and be remembered for that. And it is a positive thing :)

[Lipko]

you know, i debated with myself over posting that comment. myself won. culturally-instituted bias brings out the indignant hellcat in me. of course, i'm not blaming or accusing you, or even suggesting that you're a part of the problem.

i'll say it again: one must also interview the employer. you have to ask yourself if you're willing enter into an arrangement with someone who bears stifling, superficial biases. if that's your kind of work environment, then go for it. don't spill a single bean ever. me? i gotta be me. or, at the least, myself.

KEvron

Well, that's nice and all, but life is not that simple. Especially in the Balkans (Hungary is about to fuckin collapse). Sure, I can (and did) interview the potential employer, because I'm a damn cool engineer (really, that is the only position where you have the chance to choose). As someone, who doesn't have a background (poor family), I choose to live that single bit of information if that is dangerous so that I can make a living and stay with my girlfriend (who is also unable to keep the tenement by herself).

I don't think it's denying myself or total submission. It's just leaving out a piece of information that is too easy to misunderstand.

I can talk about it on the interview if it's relevant because my interview skills seem to be very good. I said that "I don't think that I have a big future at your company, as there are many more interesting positions", but I still have a good chance to get the actual offer.

It's something like this: I just don't say to a girl on our first date that I poop and drool and snore in the morning with a stinky breath. Honesty is the most important thing in life (including work), but it's meaningless to flood the other with it at the first moment.

EDIT: okay, the analogy is not quite right... Maybe collection action figures would be a better one...

Some of you guys still seem to miss something: I have to get to that interview. That's passing trough some recently graduated Barbie girl whom has told what keyword she has to look for in the CV.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Lipko

[KEvron]

I just don't say to a girl on our first date that I poop and drool and snore in the morning with a stinky breath.

see, the impression that i'm getting from a lot of you is that your lego hobby compels you to harbor shame.

KEvron

[Lipko]

see, the impression that i'm getting from a lot of you is that your lego hobby compels you to harbor shame.

KEvron

I said it was a bad analogy.

[F0NIX]

But to make the CV stand out from the rest and give the people that are reading the CV something that they want to know more about or just want to know why you put it on the CV, then I say put LEGO as an big hobby you have.

But if you dont feel for it, then stay away. But then again, why ask here then? ;)

I know there are big cultural differences around the world for the use of a CV, but in my area (northern Europa) you have to put in something extra in the CV to stand out from the crowd and to have something to be remembered for.

[Ralph_S]

KEvron is right in that an interview works both ways, but I look at what that implies a bit differently. You might not want to work for an employer that has recruiters who think that LEGO is weird, but if my professional qualifications by themselves aren't enough to get an employer to notice me, they're not the employer I am looking for.

I'm not at all ashamed of my hobby, but I don't consider it relevant in a job application.

Cheers,

Ralph

[KEvron]

I don't consider it relevant in a job application.

as i understood the initial premise, lego would be listed among other interests, with the caveat that interests are relevant (whether or not interests are relevant in the first place is amother thread!). if interests, themselves, are somehow relevant, then why should lego be irrelevant to that list?

my last word on it, 'cuz i'm flogging the topic well past dead: if you're going to share your interests, share your interests. if you're not going to share interests at all then, yes, maybe lego doesn't belong on the resume.

KEvron

Edited March 29, 2012 by KEvron

[Ralph_S]

as i understood the initial premise, lego would be listed among other interests, with the caveat that interests are relevant (whether or not interests are relevant in the first place is amother thread!). if interests, themselves, are somehow relevant, then why should lego be irrelevant to that list?

my last word on it, 'cuz i'm flogging the topic well past dead: if you're going to share your interests, share your interests. if you're not going to share interests at all then, yes, maybe lego doesn't belong on the resume.

KEvron

I don't think that whether or not your interests are relevant is a separate thread.

I agree that if the interests may be relevant for the job at hand, LEGO could possibly be among them -although there is a risk involved- but, as I wrote before, I think professional qualifications are far more important. I've never listed my personal interests on a resume and that hasn't stopped me from getting the jobs I wanted.

Cheers,

Ralph

Edited April 1, 2012 by Ralph_S

[MetroiD]

Lipko raises a valid point which some of you guys seem to have missed.

The interview represents some level of success in terms of job hunting - it means you've passed the first step. In order to get there though, and get to speak with the actual people you'd be working with / for, you first have to pass that scrutiny conducted by none other than the respective company's HR who's most probably recently finished her Bachelor studies in some totally non-related field and has ended up "managing" Human Resources at *insert company name*, instead of polyshing her skills in Linguistics, for example. HRs generally adopt the robotic approach way too soon, and when sifting through CVs, they do have a tendency of ignoring stuff that should actually stand out and be considered as a special indicator as to the respective person's motivation / personal experience / personality, etc.

At the end of the day, they want you to write word for word (and then spell it out for them, if possible) that you're a creative, flexible and positive person, a great team player and a stickler for professionalism. But if you use analogies that scream out "I'm creative" such as "I build with LEGO", there's a very limited few HR's who'd actually get what it is what you're trying to tell them. That said though, perhaps the best position for you is someplace where you can actually be appreciated for what you are, and not a company that wants you to fit their mould, so that's worth considering as well.

Either way, I personally would never take my LEGO hobby out of my CV. I'm honoured to have been able to contribute in my small way, and also believe it represents a great chunk of who I am as a personality. The same applies for most other hobbies too, for that matter. In my experience, once you go get to the interview part, people very often lead the discussion to your Hobbies in order to get a sense of what it is that motivates you about those things. Besides, I personally firmly believe that "Hobbies" is the part of a person's CV which actually matters a great deal - and luckily, there are lots of managers who do agree with that. The stumbling block, as discussed above though, is the potentially narrow-minded liaison, so really finding a way to work through/with them first is the best solution. I don't believe it should involve getting rid of info regarding your hobbies, LEGO included, or considering them irrelevant though.

[cpw]

I've noticed that a European's resume is are more likely to list hobbies and interests than US resumes. They'll often include a personal section which has things that a US employer wouldn't ask about. In general, I think the whole section just gets ignored here.

I work as a software developer, and my resume is 2 pages. When I was applying for jobs after receiving my Ph.D.; I had one that was significantly longer, because I listed my publications (5-6 pages). I feel no need to make my resume short; but I only am going to list what is relevant. If I am applying for a generic software development job I'll probably keep it to 2-3 pages, if I were to apply for another job as a research scientist I would list my publications and patents. In either case, I probably would not list interests on there, since they are not relevant to whether I can do the job; and I probably having something better to write using the 2" that it would take to have the personal section.

[AndyC]

Tale from a recent interview: I didn't have any personal interests on my CV and one of the things the interviewer mentioned was that he didn't like CVs which didn't tell you something 'real' about a person beyond their skills. So we talked about hobbies in the interview and Lego collecting was a big part of that. I got the job and I don't think it made much of a difference either way, other than to show something of a more human side - nobody really wants to be working with personality-less robots all day.

[KEvron]

conducted by none other than the respective company's HR who's most probably recently finished her Bachelor studies

wow. simply.... wow.

be sure to touch on that in your interview....

KEvron

Edited April 2, 2012 by KEvron

[Shu]

If you are applying for an engineering or architecture position; you should surely mention LEGO. If you are applying fo a position that is not related to LEGO, don't bring it up.

being an architect, i agree to this statement. many of us are lego fans, whether technic or not. but i personally prefer lego technic and lego landmark scale models

Edited December 27, 2012 by Shu

[nerdsforprez]

I am a neuropsychologist. I only say this b/c LEGO would seem completely irrelevant to my field right?

True story: When I was applying to graduate schools, I was asked in my interviews what I liked doing in my spare time; and did I have any hobbies. Being completely surprised by the question, I indulged my interview with my LEGO habit. She was thrilled! Long story short....I got accepted into the program. So, I would respond to this post with a resounding yes!

[Heppeng]

Might be a bit late for that, doubt that they are still recruiting nearly two years later...

[Technyk32231]

Turn the question around a little - would you want to work for a company that didn't understand the appeal of Lego?

I review CVs my company receives for IT positions, and I'd be happy to see Lego mentioned in a revelant way. But then I do have rather a lot of Lego on my desk...

Sorry, OT, have u ever seen the show called The IT Crowd?

[SNIPE]

I just put 'engineering' on my CV

Because its true.

It's important to put hobbies and interests on the CV

As it can give you an advantage if its either part of the job, or a side skill which the employer may find useful.

If somebody whos just as good as you does a just as good CV for the same company but leaves out the interests/hobbies then you might get the job instead if you do put them in.

Regards, Snipe

Edited October 25, 2014 by SNIPE