What to write about the applicant. Agreement for the provision of employment services. Additional information on your resume
A. B. Lykasova*
EMPLOYER'S RIGHT TO INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICANT
The article is devoted to the employer’s right to information about the applicant on vacant position. The author analyzes in detail the employer's powers to receive, store, use and transfer information about the applicant, and the procedure for their implementation.
Keywords: right to information, employment relations, employer, applicant for a vacant position
The article is devoted to the employer's right to information in employment relations with a particular employer. The author in detail analyzes the employer's authorities to obtain, keep, use and transmit information about an applicant and order of their implementation.
Key words: right to information, employment relations, employer, applicant
Acts of an international nature1 and after them the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Part 4 of Article 29) proclaimed and normatively established the right of everyone to free expression of opinion, receipt and dissemination of information.
In Russia, in order to create a single effective mechanism for the free and unhindered implementation and protection by individuals of their right to information, a number of federal laws were adopted, in particular federal laws of July 29, 2004 No. 98-FZ “On Trade Secrets”, dated July 27, 2006 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technology and on the protection of information”, dated July 27, 2006 No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data”.
However, is the existing legal regulation relations arising regarding the exercise by subjects of their right to information, effective when applying for employment with a specific employer? Unfortunately, those provisions that are enshrined in these laws, as well as in Art. 641, 65, part 3 art. 68, ch. 14 Labor Code RF, is extremely insufficient for full and comprehensive regulation of relations regarding the exercise of the right to information in the employment process. Information, which is the most important object of employment relations, and the right to it remained outside the framework of a holistic and well-thought-out legal regulation in the legal relations under consideration. And this is despite the fact that all actions of the parties to the employment relationship are aimed solely at obtaining information sufficient for them to make an independent and verified decision about the possibility of getting a job for a specific person with a specific employer. Thus, insufficient sectoral legal regulation in the field of ensuring everyone’s right to information in employment relations has led to the infringement and impossibility of free exercise of the right to information by both the job seeker and the employer, to an imbalance of their interests, to the impediment of the applicant’s exercise of freedom of labor, and the employer - economic freedom in staffing.
So, what legal status does an employer have today when exercising his right to information in employment relations within the framework of the law?
Every employer is interested in having only those people working for him who, due to their professional qualifications and personal qualities, would be capable of performing certain job responsibilities.
* Alena Vadimovna Lykasova - student of the Ural State Law Academy (Ekaterinburg). Email: [email protected].
LABOR AND SOCIAL LAW
LABOR AND SOCIAL LAW
The normal and effective functioning and development of the employer’s organization largely depends on the choice of the employee. To make the right decision, it is extremely important for the employer to obtain complete and reliable information about the person applying for the vacant position. But in order not to upset the balance of interests of the parties to the employment relationship, it is necessary to determine the amount of information that the employer has the right to request from the applicant, the methods of receiving, storing, using and transmitting it.
In fact, the employer is not formally limited in the scope of obtaining information from the applicant. However, in order to solve the problems facing the employer at the employment stage, it is enough for him to request personal data from the applicant for a vacant position, including information that confirms that he has certain business qualities and his compliance with the requirements, mandatory by virtue of a direct indication of the law or necessary due to the specifics of the work.
Modern Russian legislation operates with several meanings of the concept “personal data”. According to the Federal Law “On Personal Data”, personal data is understood as “any information related to directly or indirectly determined or determined to an individual(personal data subject)"2. Obviously, such a definition is unacceptable for use within employment relationships, since it is extremely broad in content relative to the relationships we are considering. If an employer receives information about the place of residence, social, property status, income, etc. from an applicant for a vacant position, regulatory requirements prohibiting unlawful interference in privacy citizens. If we are talking about information regarding the age, marital status of the person applying for work, then the employer has the right to receive it only directly upon conclusion employment contract with this person upon presentation of his passport or other identification document. It follows that the employer does not have the right to request information about the age, marital status of an applicant for a vacant position at initial stage employment (for example, during an interview). The only exceptions are cases when, for example, due to not reaching a certain age, a person cannot be hired due to its special nature and conditions.
In Part 1 of Art. 85 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes a different definition of the concept in question, more specific and narrow in scope and content: “Personal data of an employee is information necessary for the employer in connection with labor relations and relating to a specific employee.” This definition is more acceptable for use in employment relationships. Among the information necessary for the employer, include the following. Firstly, the last name, first name, patronymic of the applicant, in exceptional cases - also his age and marital status. Secondly, information that confirms that the applicant has certain business qualities and his compliance with the requirements, mandatory by law or necessary due to the specifics of the work. It should be noted that today the definition of the concept “ business qualities» is contained only in the resolution of the Plenum Supreme Court RF dated March 17, 2004 No. 2 “On the application by courts Russian Federation Labor Code of the Russian Federation"3. However, its absence specific list qualities that can be recognized as business, or at least clear and precise criteria for classifying them as such, in my opinion, provides the employer with the opportunity to broadly interpret this concept. Of course, the clarifications proposed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation played a positive role in resolving the existing legal uncertainty, but practice still indicates the need for normative specification of the definition of the concept of “business qualities”.
The existing legal regulation is insufficient and ineffective to enable us to determine exactly what information, to what extent and within what limits an employer has the right to receive from an applicant for a vacant position. It seems that a clearer and more detailed legislative definition of the concepts of “personal data of an applicant for a vacant position” and “business qualities” would become one of the most important guarantees of protecting a person’s rights from discrimination, unlawful interference in his private life and violation of his personal and family secrets during employment , which is extremely important and relevant at the present time.
Modern labor legislation does not contain specific provisions on in what ways and means, subject to what conditions and requirements, an employer has the right to receive information of interest to him about a person who has contacted him about possible employment.
Traditionally, the employer uses such methods of obtaining information as interviews, testing, questionnaires, interviewing, etc. At first glance, they seem quite harmless and do not pose any threat to human rights violations. They have become so typical and familiar in everyday life that we, unfortunately, do not pay attention to the fact that these methods contain very dangerous aspects. The list of questions that can be asked to applicants for a vacant position as part of the application of the listed methods of obtaining information is not normatively fixed, nor are specific criteria stipulated for recognizing certain questions as acceptable or unacceptable. Constitutional norms and labor legislation indirectly establish only general conditions their formulation: these questions should not carry a connotation of discrimination, and the expected answer to them should not reveal the secret of private life, personal and family secrets. I think in labor legislation There should be clearer, clearer, more specific provisions regarding what questions cannot, under any circumstances, be asked of applicants during the employment process in order to obtain information about them. At the same time, it is very important to guarantee the permissibility of a person’s refusal to answer unlawful questions without negative consequences for him in the form of an unambiguous and natural refusal to hire.
When considering this issue It should also be noted that the problem that has arisen is the legitimate and acceptable use by the employer of non-ordinary methods of obtaining the information he needs within the framework of employment relations. These, for example, are collecting information about a potential employee using social networks or conducting a “shock interview.” In the latter case, the employer's representative deliberately creates a psychologically negative or even aggressive environment or situation in order to obtain information characterizing the candidate's behavioral reactions (for example, suddenly begins to shout at the applicant, pours a glass of water on him, instructs him to commit an immoral act, etc.) . It is obvious that the use of such methods of obtaining information by an employer is unacceptable, since they violate not only a person’s right to protection from attacks on his private life, but also the right to protection of honor and dignity.
Some other methods are also unacceptable if they are used without the prior written consent of the applicant in cases that must be established by law (for example, using a polygraph or requesting information about a person from his previous place of work, study, from medical and other bodies and institutions - internal authorities cases, military registration and enlistment offices, if provided by law and necessary due to the specifics of the work). It is noteworthy that some steps in in this direction are already being undertaken. Thus, in the draft federal law “On the use of the polygraph”, submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on December 24, 2010 and suggesting its extension also “to relations that are associated with conducting surveys using a polygraph in the process of establishing and implementing labor relations
LABOR AND SOCIAL LAW
LABOR AND SOCIAL LAW
in accordance with the norms of labor legislation"4, contains the following provision: "Bodies state power, organs local government and organizations have the right to initiate and conduct voluntary surveys using a polygraph of citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons with their written consent”5.
Information collected by an employer about a person applying for a job with him is rarely entered into his personal file and is stored for some time. I believe that it is legislatively necessary to introduce the employer’s obligation to store the information he receives about the applicant for a period of time. certain period. This recommendation is aimed at achieving an optimal balance of the rights and interests of the employer and the applicant for a vacant position and has primarily evidentiary value. On the one hand, this will provide the employer with the opportunity, in the event of a dispute about the legality of a refusal to hire, to document the validity of his decision. On the other hand, the applicant will also be able to prove the fact that he contacted a specific employer about applying for a job.
If we talk about the procedure for exercising other powers that are part of the employer’s right to information, then, for example, the employer has the right to use and transfer to other persons information received from an applicant for a vacant position only with the prior written consent of this person and for the purpose of possible assistance in his employment within one organization and its structural divisions.
Summarizing the consideration of issues related to determining the level of actual security of the employer’s right to information within the framework of employment relations, we note the following. Lack of proper legislative regulation in this area public relations inevitably led to the fact that the employer, during the employment process, has practically unlimited opportunities to exercise his right to information. The actual amount of information he receives from an applicant for a vacant position and is used in the future to evaluate him as a potential employee does not correspond to the goals and objectives inherent in employment relations. The employer actually receives from the applicant information that, by and large, is unnecessary and is not necessary for him to make a balanced, informed and correct decision on the employment of such a person. In addition, the employer has quite a wide range of opportunities in choosing the means and methods of obtaining information about an applicant for a vacant position. This inevitably leads to an imbalance of interests between the employer and the person applying for the job.
In this regard, I believe that the mechanism created by the legislator for the implementation and protection of the right to information within the framework of employment relations requires adjustment. It is necessary to create a coherent, well-functioning system of means and methods for its implementation through clear and more detailed regulation at the sectoral legislative level legal status employer and applicant for a vacant position regarding ensuring their right to information, subject to maintaining a balance of their interests.
1 Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948 (adopted at the 3rd session of the UN General Assembly by Resolution 2І7 A (III)) // Ross. gas. 1995. April 5; Art. 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (concluded in Rome on November 4, 1950) // SZ RF. 2001. No. 2. Art. 163.
2 Clause 1 art. 3 Federal Law dated July 27, 2006 No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data” // Ross. gas. 2006. July 29.
3 Paragraph 10 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of March 17, 2004 No. 2 “On the application by the courts of the Russian Federation of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation” // Ross. gas. 2004. April 8
4 URL: http://www.pravo.ru/news/view/45449.
The article explains why you need to look for information about a promising applicant. Search methods are described: blogs, web cards, articles, interviews, social services. How each of these services can be useful.
When looking for a job, every job seeker tries to use any suitable source. A person looking for a job has many opportunities to find out about open vacancies various organizations. Those wishing to find suitable job, as a rule, contact various recruitment agencies, re-read newspapers with vacancy announcements, just as a potential employer can use the same means to place an advertisement seeking an employee for a specific position. However, progress is moving forward, and even the job search system does not stand still. The possibilities for the job seeker and employer are not limited only to newspapers with advertisements or recruitment agencies with a legal address. The World Wide Web also comes to the rescue in this matter.
Today on the Internet there are many recruitment agencies, sites that provide opportunities, both, and vacancies for their services. By registering on one of these sites, a job seeker must fill out a resume, which contains detailed information about the professional skills and capabilities of a person applying for a particular position, his contact information, in general, everything that his future employer needs to know. The employer, in turn, can view the resumes of not only those who responded to his vacancy, but also other users to select the most suitable personnel.
One such site is. Each site designed for finding jobs and employees has its own resume form that must be filled out. The site developers try to add columns to the resume form that are most capable of revealing the professional data, skills, abilities, and work experience of the applicant. . There is a catalog of vacancies that will help the applicant find a job that is suitable for him. In addition, each applicant leaves here his detailed resume, which can most fully reveal personal and professional qualities applicant for a specific position. The advantage is that an employer who does not want to advertise an open vacancy in order to avoid a deluge of resumes from insufficiently professional or unsuitable applicants can independently review any resumes posted on the site and select a suitable candidate, who will then directly contact him with an offer for a vacancy. Also, to make your search easier, you can view here groups of people belonging to the same profession or occupation.
On the website, after registration, the process of searching, adding resumes and vacancies is greatly simplified by automatically substituting the data entered in the profile (geography, contact person, e-mail, for a resume - age). This site is one of the most popular and visited in the RuNet; it is visited daily by more than 15 thousand unique visitors who view more than 150 thousand pages. The monthly audience reach is more than 400 thousand people. The resource has one of the most technologically advanced capabilities for working with vacancies and resumes with strict moderation of advertisements, and an analysis of more than 60 thousand registered users confirms the literacy, professionalism and education of the audience. So every potential employer can be sure that the site will be able to find a competent, professional applicant for a vacant position. Here, each employer will receive the most complete and detailed information about the applicant necessary for employment.
But sometimes it happens that the information provided in the resume is not enough, or the employer needs to know much more than the data entered in the resume. This is necessary in order to form a conscientious team of a certain orientation, or to select an employee with certain hobbies or without any specific passions. In any case, a person providing work to a candidate for a certain position is interested, and often necessary, to know more about him than just his professional skills. Blogs, web cards, articles, interviews, and various types of social networks on the Internet come to the rescue in this situation.
Web business cards can also tell about professional skills and other data necessary for a potential employer. The web business cards provide all the necessary information about the job applicant, his professional data, contact information, portfolio and other important information. Web business cards can be completely different, depending on the wishes of its author and owner. But, for example, a web business card of a designer, web designer, or animator can simultaneously serve as an example of work, a unique example of a specialist’s capabilities. So, a web business card can provide information about a specialist in the best possible way and in full.
Another source of information about a person is social networks, and they can tell not about professional skills, but about the person’s personal qualities, his hobbies, his social circle, and passions in any area. Social networks on the Internet are a structure consisting of a group of nodes, the representatives of which are a certain society - people, organizations, etc. In such social networks registered huge amount people, leaving some information about themselves. On a social network, each person creates a certain image for himself, communicates with friends, acquaintances and strangers, fills out a profile about himself, starts a blog, uploads his photos and videos. Based on all this, you can get a clear and detailed picture of any person. Such social networks have the necessary audience of users and functionality that facilitates the search process. Social networks on the Internet are created to unite people of different interests, to find old friends, classmates, and for entertainment.
One of these sites is the Runet giant in this area Odnoklassniki.ru (odnoklassniki.ru). The number of registered users of odnoklassniki.ru exceeds 20 million people. Here a huge number of people find their classmates, fellow students, old friends, fellow countrymen, new friends and acquaintances. Each user of Odnoklassniki (odnoklassniki.ru) has his own page, which contains information about him, his photographs, a forum with friends, acquaintances and people simply visiting his page. How can Odnoklassniki (odnoklassniki.ru) help in finding information about a person? Each user registered on Odnoklassniki (odnoklassniki.ru) has free access to the page of any user, view his photo, blog, information about himself. He can also write any message to a person without fear, knowing that he will most likely receive a response. Most importantly, on such sites a person is not afraid to post information about himself, which can help an interested potential employer form a certain opinion about a particular person. Also, with the help of Odnoklassniki (odnoklassniki.ru), you can learn about a person’s hobbies, hobbies and interests. The so-called “groups” in which he may be a member will tell about this. People unite in groups based on interests and hobbies, belonging to some activity. For some potential employers, this information can be very useful in order to either sort out people with suspicious preferences, or, conversely, if they become interested in a person, invite them to a certain position.
Another representative of the social network is VKontakte (vkontakte.ru), the purpose of which is for registered users to communicate with each other, find new friends, maintain friendly relationships and, of course, have fun. Just like on Odnoklassniki (odnoklassniki.ru), a VKontakte user (vkontakte.ru) leaves almost all the information about himself that may be useful to an employer. Here you can also view user pages, his photos, who he is friends with and how the person lives. Unlike Odnoklassniki, here the user can upload not only his photos, but also videos, which anyone can view if necessary. The VKontakte website (vkontakte.ru) may contain data about the user’s friends and communication with them, interest groups, meetings with friends and acquaintances on the site. These and other similar social networks can be very useful to potential employers. As mentioned above, using all the information that users post on such sites (vkontakte.ru, odnoklassniki.ru) you can get a fairly complete picture of the user. In part, most social networks work to find personnel, since many use them for this very purpose.
Such sites are also used. Usually it goes like this. The HR manager first finds people of interest to him (who are already in thematic communities or who communicate on professional themes), looks at their profiles and pages, invites them to a community, group, offers to add them as friends, and communication begins. Then, during the correspondence, as if by chance, they begin to become interested in the work of the interlocutor, the possibility of changing the workplace to another, and if he is interested, they are invited to an interview. Thus, an HR manager can process dozens of people at the same time and the probability of finding several suitable candidates is very high. In addition, people themselves actively use their social connections to find a new job. So, the candidate for a vacant position can find his employer. Often, superiors also register on such social networks, and sometimes they may want to know what is going on with their subordinates, and quite often various interesting details are discovered.
In a word, today there are practically no barriers to finding information of interest about any person. And the World Wide Web provides many opportunities for this. On the Worldwide Internet you can find out about almost any of its users, since today almost everyone who has at least some access to the Internet will definitely take advantage of the opportunities provided on the Internet. Even if a person does not have his own blog or web business card, most likely he can be found on social networks, because a person is inherently sociable, looking for new acquaintances and maintaining old friendships. And then everything depends only on the potential employer himself, how he will act to attract an interested applicant to his company and how he will use the information received.
The summary suggests laconic style providing information about professional activity applicants for vacancies: you must correctly reflect what position you are applying for, correctly present the facts of your “work history” in the relevant sections, informing potential employers of information about your education, previous work experience, indicating the contacts of colleagues who can give you recommendations. Each section of the resume has a clearly defined format, which it is advisable to follow so that recruiters, when looking through applicants’ profiles, can select from the general flow those information in which meets all the requirements for the applicant for the available vacancy. After all, it is much more convenient for employers to “work” with clearly structured and logically constructed documents that allow them to track those details from the professional life of candidates that should be characteristic of a potential employee. Only the last column of the resume does not have strictly defined rules for presenting information about the applicant, and in most cases, even the possible nature of the content is not specified. Additional information can include everything that is not included in the main sections, but which, in your opinion, is directly related to the proposed position, will help to present your candidacy favorably and achieve a solution to the main task facing the applicant at the first stage of the job search - receive an invitation to an interview. Therefore, you should take filling out this section very seriously, trying to use another opportunity to demonstrate your individual traits that characterize you, on the one hand, as a specialist, and on the other, as a person with both advantages and disadvantages, and not only having at its disposal a “standard set” of personal qualities that migrate from one resume to another.
Recruiters spend on average no more than 15–20 seconds looking at one CV.
When Alexey Izvarin was compiling a resume, he did not take into account the fact that recruiters spend on average no more than 15–20 seconds looking at one CV, so his efforts to create a 3-page autobiography did not produce the expected result. Two-thirds of the total volume of the resume was not occupied by information relating to professional knowledge, skills and achievements, but by the column “ Additional information", in which Alexey, claiming to be a physicist, listed in detail all his hobbies - from ballroom dancing to hitchhiking around Europe. After posting the document in this form on one of the job search sites, there were practically no responses from employers and recruitment agencies. And those recruiting managers who were interested in the applicant’s candidacy, in most cases offered positions that were in no way related to Alexey’s professional interests. “When I once again received an invitation to work as a bartender or DJ, I realized that my resume needed serious adjustment,” he says.
Our hero made one of the most common mistakes: instead of indicating the personal qualities and soft skills necessary to perform functional responsibilities, he provided potential employers with a description of his hobbies, which had nothing to do with the purpose of posting the resume. Head of Automotive Industry Department recruiting company MarksMan Anna Kruchinina has encountered similar situations more than once in her practice. Thus, one of the candidates listed all his free time activities: “Guitar, professional sound recording. Video shooting, creating a family film. Among my favorite sports, I would like to highlight ice hockey.” Olga Demidova, head of the “Jurisprudence” department of the recruiting company MarksMan, recalls the following resume of an applicant for the position of financial analyst: “... graduated from ballet school, studied acting, played in musical theater and in the KVN team, sang in a student academic choir; favorite dog – Bim.”
When creating a resume, it is better to concentrate only on those qualities of your personality that can convey to the employer useful information about you as a specialist.
Very often in this section, many candidates indicate their personal characteristics, such as determination, hard work, diligence, stress resistance. Such descriptions have turned into clichés, which, as if written as a carbon copy, are found in every third CV, so most recruiters no longer consider this “list” seriously. Therefore, when creating a resume, it is better to concentrate only on those qualities of your personality that can tell the employer useful information about you as a specialist: about your style and working methods, about your professional preferences, about the pros and cons. This “recruitment” will allow recruiters to create a fairly complete picture about you, and some facts will remain to be confirmed during the interview process. It makes no sense to include information about personal interests and hobbies, zodiac sign, height and weight in this section, because indicating such information can even work against you, reducing the overall information content, and, accordingly, the effectiveness of your CV.
Under no circumstances should you completely copy your responsibilities in this column. Firstly, there is no point in posting the same information in two different sections. Secondly, the recruiter has already familiarized himself with the list of your functional responsibilities and, seeing that the information is duplicated, will most likely skip this column without trying to find the additional information that you intended to convey to the employer. In addition, copying partitions spoils general view document, giving the impression of being carelessly filled out: either the applicant did not have enough time to think through all the details, or he simply has nothing more to say about himself.
And you certainly shouldn’t offer your professional services in this section, for example: “ Comprehensive service legal entities in the field of intellectual property, the time for registering contracts is 50 days.” Employers will not appreciate this form of self-presentation. For consideration commercial offers There are other departments in companies.
A competent specialist, or What to write about
In the “Additional Information” section, it would be good to focus on professional skills and competencies.
All information contained in the resume is intended to characterize the specialist as the best applicant for a particular vacancy. Anna Kruchinina believes that in the “Additional information” section it would be good to focus on professional skills and competencies, for example: “I have experience in restructuring companies, conducting HR audit; experience in developing and implementing a job grading system.” The meaning of the column in question is not that after reading it, the recruiter will clearly imagine your detailed personal portrait, but to supplement your resume with the information necessary to obtain the desired position. Typically the following information is included:
- Marital status.
- PC level.
The gradation “user”, “confident user”, “advanced user” is quite acceptable, but it is advisable to list those in brackets computer programs that you own. For example, “computer: confident user (I have skills in working with Adobe PhotoShop CS, Macromedia Flash MX 2004, 3DMax, CorelDraw 12).”
3. Degree of knowledge of foreign languages.
The generally accepted gradation is:
- basic level (Elementary, Pre-Intermediate);
- technical, or reading professional literature (Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate);
- free (Headway Advanced).
It is advisable not only to decipher what you mean by the degree of foreign language proficiency you indicate, but also to indicate the availability of certificates, if you have any: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), CAE (Certificate in Advanced English), CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English).
4. Availability of a driver’s license and a car, as well as general driving experience.
This data should be indicated if the proposed work involves driving personal or company vehicles.
5. Preferred operating mode.
Olga Demidova adds: “I would recommend indicating your readiness for business trips. This also applies to readiness for irregular working hours.” It is advisable to specify an acceptable work schedule (from 9.00, 10.00, 11.00, 2/2 days, 1/3 days, etc.), if this issue is of fundamental importance to the applicant. The type of employment should be mentioned if the desired position has various options: full-time, part-time (indicating the number of hours you are willing to devote to work daily/weekly and the time convenient for you), remote work, freelance.
6. Priority directions and reasons for looking for a job.
According to consultants, in the “Additional information” column you can provide information about priority areas of activity and the reasons for leaving your previous position. The first point is especially important for applicants for the positions of project managers, as well as top managers. The second is for candidates who seek to expand their functional responsibilities and move up the career ladder. You can also indicate that the applicant was in maternity leave for child care, and this will immediately explain to the recruiter the break in labor activity.
7. Points of pride.
It makes sense to indicate the most striking projects, achievements, awards, titles that you have been awarded. Provide information about social activities, publications, patents, membership in any professional association. List your public appearances at specialized conferences, seminars, and forums. At the same time, you should not indicate publications and reports that are not directly related to the proposed work.
8. Receipt additional education .
If you are currently receiving a second higher education, attend any specialized courses, improve your knowledge of foreign languages, work on a dissertation, then all this information can be reflected as additional information. However, when you are just planning to enroll in advanced training courses, this is not worth mentioning. Employers are only interested in your knowledge and skills that you currently possess, and the recruiter may ask about your immediate and long-term plans during an interview.
“Each resume is individual, just like its owner,” sums up Dmitry Orlovsky, leading specialist in the HR department at Foxtrot. – Additional data should be meaningful and not overload the resume. The candidate should reflect only the most important thing - that which can influence the decision-making on his candidacy. And information such as “gender”, “age”, “health”, “hobbies”, “marital status”, “citizenship”, etc., are purely personal, and each candidate has the right to write them or not.”
You should not hope that incorrectly filling out the “Additional Information” section will not in any way affect the decision regarding your candidacy. As a rule, this column completes the summary, and the “last words,” according to psychologists, are remembered more clearly than others.
Providing additional information about yourself is the finishing touch to your resume. This section helps the recruiting manager determine what kind of person you are, to see you from the side opposite to work. Leaving a section blank means showing that you have nothing to say about yourself, and thereby missing an opportunity to draw attention to your candidacy.
The main task of this section is to interest the employer, to persuade him to choose in your favor, so it is worth paying special attention to it. In the section additional information about yourself, you have the opportunity to indicate information that cannot be contained in other points of the applicant’s application form. The main rule is not to deviate from the purpose of your resume, so all additional information in the resume should relate only to those factors that will help you get the desired position. Here you can better characterize yourself, and therefore present your candidacy more favorably.
Example of additional information for the position of chief accountant:
Additional information:
Marital status: married, two children.
Driver's license: yes.
Possibility of business trips: yes.
I periodically publish in the magazine “My Accountant”.
Here are a few points you can use on your resume:
Marital status. This information is very important, it makes it possible to determine that you are not a flighty person and want stability in your work, or vice versa - you have the opportunity to devote more time to work, are ready for changes and moves.
Hobby. This point will allow you to reveal yourself as a person, show that you have other interests besides work, that you are a comprehensively developed person, thereby winning over the recruiter.
Possession of a driver's license. For some positions this is one of the mandatory conditions employment (driver, taxi driver), and for others an additional advantage, for example, if the work involves constant business trips, be it sales representative, or purchasing manager.
Also, in your information about yourself, you can indicate the possibility of business trips or moving to another city. For a particular vacancy, this can be a very significant factor.
Additional information on your resume
Including additional information in your resume can add weight to your professional image.
This section provides an opportunity to once again focus the employer’s attention on those aspects of the candidate’s personality and competencies that will help quickly achieve success in a new workplace.
Since this additional information section is less important than the professional experience and education sections, it is located last in the resume.
Additional information includes information that is not directly related to your professional experience, but can harmoniously complement information from other sections (for example, work experience).
It is important to avoid several common mistakes when completing this section. One of them involves describing your “non-work” hobbies. For example, “growing roses and tulips” or “cycling and football” would not be useful complementary information (unless you are a florist or fitness instructor).
It is important to understand the appropriateness of providing such information. It is unlikely that mentioning your hobby or describing your behavior in your personal life will be of interest to employers at the stage of reviewing your resume. Write about your hobbies only if they directly affect your work responsibilities. The employer can find out all additional information from you during the interview.
Also, the “Additional information” section should be used to indicate your age if it is “critical”. Employers will at least read about your experience first and may be more interested in it than your age.
An important point regarding the indication of personal information.
Often, the phrase “35 years old, not married, no children” and similar phrases force one to refuse further communication with a candidate. This applies to both male and female applicants. This kind of information turns off potential employers. If you have nothing to boast about in your personal life, then this type of information does not need to be provided. HR officers are very suspicious and the first thing they see in such situations is any problem. It’s easier for them to invite a candidate with a more positive resume than to waste time finding out why.
Graduates should reflect their achievements in this section. It is clear that they will be very modest and it would be a stretch to call them professional achievements. Therefore, their location in this section will be most adequate. Celebrate your achievements in sports and all kinds of competitions, contests, and participation in voluntary social movements. Indicate any incentives and awards received during your studies.
If you are willing to consider related positions, and not just the purpose you described in the appropriate section, indicate related areas of activity here. This move will help demonstrate that you are truly a professional, since you still strive to improve in one direction, while other, related positions are less desirable for you than those indicated in the “Resume Purpose” section.
A big plus could be mention of participation in any professional movements, clubs, or associations. Employers are interested in candidates who have business contacts in their industry.
If you have a driver's license, personal car or international passport, and your future position involves travel or business trips, also do not forget to mention them. You can indicate your readiness to work with irregular working hours and the presence of business connections. This section can also include opportunities to provide recommendations and feedback.
Playing sports and leading a healthy lifestyle (absence of bad habits) is very important additional information; be sure to include it in your resume if the vacancy announcement contains such requirements or it may be useful for a future position.
What additional information should not be included in a resume?
1. You should not write about why you would like to work in the company and other information related to motivation. To indicate this information, there is another document - a cover letter, which must also be attached to the resume. It can already reflect what you consider most important for yourself in your future work, what long-term goals you would like to achieve, what new skills you would like to master, and what sets you apart from other candidates.
In addition, the presence cover letter indicates the candidate’s seriousness, interest in the position and professional maturity. In this case, the chance of receiving an invitation to an interview increases several times. This is especially important for graduates and young professionals!
2. You should not write in your resume about the presence or absence of any documents - a military ID, registration certificate (or that you served or did not serve in the army, unless the vacancy requires it), pension certificate, TIN, passports, etc.
A resume is intended only to demonstrate to the employer your intention to compete for a vacancy. If necessary, when inviting you to an interview, the employer will inform you what documents you need to take with you to the interview.
Therefore, use a small rule: write only about what meets the requirements of the vacancy - this is reflected in the advertisement. Well, if you are a professional and know all the nuances and “ bottlenecks» of your business, then your competence in these matters should be reflected in the section on professional achievements.
3. You should not indicate personal information (gender, religion, criminal record, children, living conditions, etc.) if they can be considered unfavorable (this has already been discussed above). Again: if such data is needed, the employer himself will say so.
Remember the rule: Don't answer a question you weren't asked! During employment, you cannot be absolutely honest and open - the employer does not need this - he is only interested in one thing: whether you can do the job or not. You need to be somewhat of a diplomat when you talk to an employer about yourself. Provide only the information who present your candidacy favorably! This will help you both when writing a resume and during an interview, which we will talk about in a separate post.
Additional information on your resume
The last paragraph of the resume - Additional information indicates information about the applicant that is not included in the remaining sections of the document:
Provide relevant data here that is relevant to future work. Indicate only information that can advantageously present your candidacy and distinguish it from competitors. In the Additional Information section of your resume, there is no need to emphasize or place information that may alert the employer. For example, you should not indicate your residential address if you live very far from your place of work.
Example of additional information in a resume
We will provide a sample of additional information in a resume for the position of sales manager:
What additional information should be in a resume, recommendations for compilation
Correctly writing a resume when looking for a job is an important point. Here you can find information about the applicant, describing not only his personal data, but also his professional skills. Properly filled out this document sets the goal of conveying to a potential employer information that will persuade him to provide the seeker with the desired position.
The form of compilation mainly presupposes conciseness of presentation. And while the basic information, which describes education, previous work experience, and the like, usually does not cause difficulties, not everyone is clear on what the additional information in the resume means.
Usually, this section contains things that do not fit into the rest according to the format, but, in the opinion of the applicant, the employer needs to know. Most often this concerns personal qualities. It is not recommended to leave this column empty, since this can only mean that there is nothing more to tell about yourself, but the main purpose of a resume is to provide information in such a way as to interest a potential employer, so that he will single out this particular candidate from many similar ones. Therefore, some highly value originality and creativity in this section, especially if the future position requires the presence of these qualities.
However, for many resume components, additional information is the presence of such personal qualities as accuracy, resistance to stress, punctuality, etc. Yes, of course, all this is important, but such filling out is more like a banal formality, while in no way characterizing the applicant, and without revealing his personality.
Additional information about yourself in your resume should be relevant and relevant to the intended position. So, here it is necessary to indicate the level of knowledge of foreign languages, marital status, computer skills (indicating specific specific programs required in future work).
In addition, the “additional information” section in the resume involves a description of the desired work schedule, you can note your readiness for business trips and irregular working hours. Here you can also indicate whether you are currently receiving additional education or taking courses in your specialty. However, this is stipulated only if training has already been completed; you should not reveal your plans to the future employer and write about what is planned; he is unlikely to appreciate it.
Some applicants believe that additional information on a resume includes a description of their hobbies. If it in any way relates to future work and can characterize job seeker as a specialist, it is worth mentioning him. For example, an applicant for the position of florist may mention his passion for indoor flowers. However, if free time has nothing to do with future work, then it’s not worth talking about. Thus, it is unlikely that most employers will be interested in the fact that a manager candidate loves diving or mountaineering.
It is not recommended to write in very detailed terms. It must be remembered that the main thing here is brevity, since the recruiter usually spends less than a minute reading it, especially if there are a lot of applicants for the position. Consequently, a large amount of information should fit in a few phrases, correctly and clearly composed, giving an idea of the writer as an individual and unique person suitable for the position.
Additional information in the resume may include achievements and awards, titles, bright and successful projects that the applicant led. Papers or presentations at various conferences may also be listed here. However, you should not mention anything that is not relevant to the intended work.
CV paragraph “Additional information”: how to get hooked?
Writing the perfect resume is only half the battle. Whether it will “hook” the future employer or not is a big question. Are there any tricks to do this?
Professional experience and education are integral parts of any resume. But for some reason they completely forget about the “Additional information” section or fill it out quickly, without paying attention to it special attention. But in vain. This is what will help you “hook” the employer.
What is usually indicated in this paragraph? Firstly, the level of proficiency in foreign languages, and secondly, personal qualities, sometimes computer literacy (which is often indicated in the “Skills” section), having a driver’s license, marital status, date of birth, hobbies... Agree, everyone has at least something to write about. Let's look at some points in more detail. How can they help us?
- Foreign languages
Of course, the more the better, because knowledge of foreign languages not only shows that you are a well-rounded person, but also that you care about developing your career. Just don't try to sugarcoat it, because everything is easy to check. A couple of questions in a foreign language, of which you only know the name, and you won’t see a job in this company like your ears. One of the main requirements modern society to a person - possession English, an international means of communication. As a rule, the resume indicates the level: “fluent”, “understand”, “reading and translating with a dictionary”, etc. But if you want to focus HR’s attention on this, write in Latin letters: advanced, intermediate, elementary, etc. Just don’t forget to check what language is indicated in the vacancy: if the company needs a specialist with knowledge of German, and you have been studying all your life French, then your resume will end up in the trash. Of course, the realities of modern society are such that often specialists with knowledge of the language working for a Russian employer have, at best, to translate letters and documents, and not negotiate in the language itself. But even despite this, you must indicate your level.
- Driver license
A hundred years ago the pace of life was slow, and people could do everything during the working day. Now there are problems with this. The standard of living is increasing at an incredible rate year after year, and accordingly, greater mobility is required from us. A car helps provide freedom of movement. In most vacancies, having a driver's license is a mandatory requirement, and its absence is a serious obstacle to the desired position. Therefore, if we have rights, we write. This is another competitive advantage for you.
Your hobbies can tell a lot about you: both as a person and as a professional. For example, you like to travel or collect works of art. In the event of such recognition, an HR specialist may well think that you will also qualify for a higher salary compared to other candidates and, perhaps, your hobby will take up a lot of your time: of your own free will (of course, if you have sufficient financial resources) no one returned from, say, Paris. If you have any sporting achievements, be sure to include them. Even if it’s a rank in volleyball or a prize-winning place in a university chess tournament. However, be careful with revelations: some HR people, for example, believe that fans of wrestling and martial arts are aggressive in nature and therefore should not be hired into the company.
It would seem that everything is simple: if the candidate is suitable in age, then the selection specialists will consider his candidacy. But what about those who are slightly younger or, conversely, older than the desired position? There is an opinion among HR people: if your age is not between 27 and 39 years old, then the trick is to indicate your age not at the beginning, as many usually do, but at the end of the resume. In this case, the HR specialist, being impressed by your work successes and achievements, will remember your age already in last resort. No one, of course, is immune from bureaucrats, who, if they are looking for a candidate who is 28 and a half years old, will only invite such people for an interview, but nevertheless...
- Marital status
As a rule, considerable attention is paid to this point if the candidate belongs to the fair sex. There are employers who prefer not to employ young mothers, others are looking only for specialists with two children, others are generally unmarried... Although the marital status of men also comes under close attention. Especially if the company has rules not to promote, for example, unmarried people.
In conclusion, I would like to note: since resumes are viewed on average for 7–8 seconds, do not be lazy to do everything possible to “catch” the attention of HR. The “Additional Information” block is a great opportunity to do this.
