Number and age of children on CV?

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
hi job and HR experts,

should I specificy on an CV in english for an english-speaking company the number and age of my children and my marital status (as I would on a swiss CV)?

I'm not sure if this information is required at all and if it could be even counterproductive. on the other hand, I don't want them to "discover" the bitter truth later on

I couldn't find this specific information on all our job search threads, sorry.

thanks a lot in advance!

2
Depends on where the English speaking company is located. For an American employer, It's illegal to make hiring decisions based on marital status or whether you have kids or not, therefore the CV/Resume typically doesn't mention this.

3
this sounds wonderful - why don't I look for a job in the USA?!

the latest prospective employer told me he liked me and my CV but couldn't give me the part-time(!) job because he thinks my (teenage!) children need me 100% and he doesn't want to be second on my list of priorities

anyway, the company is originally USA or UK I think, but acts globally.

what about UK laws and customs? any need to specify this information in UK?

4
Are you sure, that he just didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you the real reason?

5
well if a 65-year-old supersenior swiss manager from a very competitive industry doesn't find the guts (or the nuts ?) to tell a poor little "mami" what he really thinks after initiating an interview himself... maybe he should find a good therapist??

I'm afraid the the truth is much more bleak and depressing. I'm not usually a fan of political correctness, but traditional thinking is a big obstacle to economy.

6
That really stinks. I did a two year HR rotation with a previous employer as one of several people who did the initial interview/hiring decision for a big company and we hired lots of working moms (like I said, in the states, you couldn't ask, but it usually came out conversationally anyway).

If it's any consolation, It's really short sighted of them and probably indicative of how unpleasant the work environment would have been if he thought that he knew better than you what was best for your family.

7
yes, that's what I thought. I just find it somehow ironic that, having mostly worked full time since my my kids where just months old, NOW, when they really finally do not need me anymore and I should be starting to relax and not justify every single action, I get this kind of feedback...

8
As far as I know (I'm from the UK), no, you don't need to tell them. I would not put my marital status on my CV, and certainly not any children (if I had any).

Having looked through some old application forms, I was occasionally asked about marital status on the form.

I wouldn't mention it, unless you're asked on the application form.

9
In the UK a CV is used to who you are in relation to the job you are asking for. So includes such things as Education, Employment, Extra-curricular activities (i.e. taking adult education classes), relevant information (e.g. language skills, driving ability) etc. Of course it's dependent on the job.

What it is not is a description of you as a person, so, no photo, no marital status, no religion, no race, no age (although it's work-out-able) and def no children.

It's an arguement I have all the time. A CV, in my view, should be a blind indicator to the employer of what you can do, not what you look like. I assume they were introduced as a way to get around bias. i.e. you can't tell the skin colour of a John Lee. Could be black, like Spike, White like Mike or Oriental like Bruce. So you look at their CV and see that they are good and invite them to interview. Racism has to be face-to-face then.

But in Switzerland............ meh.

10
Been there - which is why I decided not to put any information of that kind in my cv any more. My last employer thought I was single when he hired me LOL was quite surprised to find out I wasn't but couldn't back out and I worked there for 12 years. My new employers asked me about my personal situation at the interview and of course I told them the truth. They hired me.

I'm of the opinion it has nothing to do with my professional skills, no matter what people usually do here. If you, as a woman, tell them about your kids in your cv, you won't even get invited for an interview.

11
Interesting to know that. The funny thing is, these companies are missing out. I don't want to pound my chest and act like I am all that - cause I can't do it all. But there are some things I can do well, better than my career path husband even So not even being able to get in the door to tell them these things is a bit frustrating. And I am sure that is true for many of us women who gave up a career to raise a family. At least I have given future generations part of my genetic make up, maybe that is all I can hope for in this life

I think I have given up the idea of working (shame all those years slaving away!) although I may try at hubby's company as the boss boss inquired last time he was around what I was doing (to my husband, I have never met the guy) and if I wanted to work part time. Now, I have no idea if he was just being "pleasant" but when the time comes, I will be firing him off an e-mail!

12
How the hell am I supposed to know that?

Or as the Romans put it: The mother is always certain...

13
thank you all for the comforting answers!!! I've been definitely living way too long in the german world... time to look forward!

I think I'll leave the whole lot of them out of my CV and pretend I'm young and full of chances all over again

(you've already made me feel better!)

14
I never put age or marital status on my CV.

15
then, have you got any interviews for jobs in Switzerland?

16
as I understand it, if applying for a job with a swiss job in Switzerland ( with a German CV ) you need to include the full information: marital status, children and age (I have even seen CVs with exact DOB of the children )

I have already been called for interviews by prospective employers who already had this information. since I know (and my recent experience only confirmed this) how important they consider this information for a female apllicant to be I think it is certainly more realistic to play with open cards from the start rather than risk an unpleasant "showdown" in a personal interview.

17
I would not mention my children in my cv and IMHO

I think it would look odd to an international english speaking company to include such details. I also think mention of marital status and including a photo is odd but i have included this information on my cv in an attempt to conform.

Depending on rapport with the interviewer, I might mention my children in the interview in passing, mainly to indicate that they exist already and are no longer babies requiring intensive minding. Good luck in your job hunt.

18
Christ, I'm surprised the Swiss don't require you to include on your CV the number of sexual partners you've had.

19
in what way should that make you look bad?

it's far worse to have a couple of hungry kids at home than 3 lovers hidden in the cupboard, of course

20
I was advised last summer on a CV/Interview techniques course organised by the RAV/ORP to include a photo and to put my age (because recruiters will want to work it out anyway, so you might as well save them the additional time and effort), but that marital status and children were not required or useful in any way.

So at least "officially", you don't need to include this information.