Mentioning family research on a CV

[hurworth]

not so relevant for a mechanic, salesman or scientist!

IMO not true - I was a laboratory scientist and many attributes of a conscientious family history researcher are extremely relevant  for instance attention to detail, double or triple checking every fact, always including a reference...if I had been interviewing an applicant I would have been impressed to see this as a hobby.

Josey

I agree.  I managed to make contact with a distant cousin because he used part of his/our family history for a lecture (although at that time I was simply wondering whether our ancestor Henry was the brother of his ancestor Patrick).  He's well published in his field (pharmacology).  For research of any sort you need an enquiring mind (in other words, nosiness) and to consider all possibilities no matter how outlandish.  And best of all, he has the discipline to write it all up and has privately published books on the family.

[BettyofKent]

But what would you do if the interviewer had a fairly unusual surname that just happens to be one of the main lines in your tree...could you stop yourself from asking if he/she was related to the Sussex/Kent xxx? 

I agree, it could well be worth mentioning on a CV as long as you stick to the disciplines and skills you have developed through genealogy and don't go into detail about your family tree!

[Familysearch]

It's too late for me, but I have been wondering about the pros and cons of mentioning family research on a CV.

Positive things:  Diligent, detailed, persistent, logical, affable, structured.

Negative things:  No time for the day job, obsessive, easily distracted, smells of musty papers, likes old churchyards.

Does anyone have any views, comments or experiences?  Would you recruit one?

Martin

My training taught me that a CV should be pertinent to the job one is applying for. So, in some cases the mention of family research would be appropriate.
Employers will not bother to take a second look at a CV that is obviously duplicated many times whatever the Job.

[pharmaT]

not so relevant for a mechanic, salesman or scientist!

IMO not true - I was a laboratory scientist and many attributes of a conscientious family history researcher are extremely relevant  for instance attention to detail, double or triple checking every fact, always including a reference...if I had been interviewing an applicant I would have been impressed to see this as a hobby.

Josey

I agree.  I managed to make contact with a distant cousin because he used part of his/our family history for a lecture (although at that time I was simply wondering whether our ancestor Henry was the brother of his ancestor Patrick).  He's well published in his field (pharmacology).  For research of any sort you need an enquiring mind (in other words, nosiness) and to consider all possibilities no matter how outlandish.  And best of all, he has the discipline to write it all up and has privately published books on the family.

Oh wonder if I know him.  My cousin and I both started in pharmacology although I have moved away from it to an extent.

I have only mentioned it once when I was straight up asked about my hobbies.  Ended up having to defend myself when the follow up question was "so you're a weird loner?"   You have to be very aware of potential prejudices with anything on a CV no matter how misguided they may be.

[Treetotal]

I don't think I would include it in a CV...I would make reference to it if I was asked about my hobbies....but....it might be useful if you were hoping to become an investigative journalist or a detective 
 Carol

[groom]

.                               
I have only mentioned it once when I was straight up asked about my hobbies.  Ended up having to defend myself when the follow up question was "so you're a weird loner?"   You have to be very aware of potential prejudices with anything on a CV no matter how misguided they may be.

.

Sometimes though an interviewer will ask that sort of question to see how you cope under pressure with having to defend your actions or beliefs.

Betty, yes I might be tempted to ask, but not during the actual interview, and then only if I was only being interviewed by just that one person.

[Mart 'n' Al]

Some interesting views.  I'm 59 so it is no longer relevant to me, but I thought it was an interesting idea.  I liked Betty's quandary.

Martin

[Jomot]

Depending on the job I think it could be a bonus. 

In my last job I was always on the lookout for people who (to quote the job spec') could 'identify important facts and information from large pools of data' and were 'able to draw conclusions and make decisions using incomplete or conflicting data'.  Sound familiar? 

[josey]