Ask HN: Do you put Mensa membership on your resume? - miguelrochefort
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brainfog
No, because it does not take much to become a member, and listing it screams
"I think I am very smart look at this badge that I got".

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miguelrochefort
> it does not take much to become a member

beside being in the top 2%...

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mgkimsal
Yep.

I don't think the OP really gets what mensa is or what it takes to become a
member (whether s/he is a member or not).

I don't think it 'screams' anything, although many insecure folks might take
it that way.

A basketball player would probably list their height on their stats/resume -
it's a validated, measurable aspect of their biology. IQ tests are as well,
and mensa membership is one signal of that measure.

It doesn't mean that you will _definitely_ be a total success at any job
requiring brainpower, but it's certainly _an_ indicator. People might read a
lot more in to it than you intend, but... you can't anticipate every possible
objection anyone might have and just leave parts of your life off. If you put
a certain school down, people might think it "screams" that you're some sort
of elitist, for example. Do you leave that off? It's harder to get in to mensa
that it is to get in to most universities.

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fergie
A professional basketball player earns entry to a guild of high ability
players after a lifetime of competing against their peers. Since they must
continually prove their worth in a public arena, and they are competing
against such a high percentage of the population (everybody who wants to be a
pro), their status is validated.

If Mensa was set up as an open competition which everybody (or at least a
majority) participated in, then it would have more credibility.

At the moment most people are fine with the idea of Mensa as a club, but not
as a guild of "special people".

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jcadam
Yes. At the very bottom of my resume where I list all of my completed MOOC
courses, side projects, and other random stuff. Just checked: actually my
Mensa membership _is_ the very last thing on my resume. No idea if it helps or
hurts when I'm trying to get hired.

I've been a dues-paying member for years but don't go to the meetings (who has
the time?) and the monthly magazine/newsletter is terrible. The AG is even in-
state this year for me (Florida), but I don't plan on going.

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ajeet_dhaliwal
You don't seem to give it much weight, what motivated you to apply, did you
just want to see if you could get in? I am not a Mensa member, I'm just
curious about what makes people join.

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mgkimsal
Not the OP, but I joined partially for the benefit of my in-laws, to give them
something to 'brag on' their new son-in-law. Sort of joking, sort of not -
they're british, mensa was from the UK, and it felt like a nice thing to do.

I already 'knew' I could get in because I had the appropriate test scores, but
actually applying and paying the dues... I went through the process.

Went to a few meetings, but generally lame (well, the dinners were). You don't
have much in-common with folks. I view the IQ stuff as inherently biological -
it's sort of like joining a "tall persons" club, or a group of left-handed
people. It's a rare biological condition, but not much you can do about it.

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Rainymood
Yes. I put on my resume that I can solve a Rubik's cube in less than 20
seconds. It makes you stand out from the crowd. It literally got me multiple
interviews where people asked me if I could solve one for them but of course
who the fuck brings a Rubik's cube to an interview ... I should really start
brining it.

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tedmiston
I was lucky to qualify for Mensa at a young age through a test given in
elementary school but didn't see enough benefit in joining to make it
worthwhile. Luckily after you qualify once, I believe you can join anytime in
your life without doing the test again. I list that I qualified in the random
achievements section on AngelList
([https://angel.co/taylor);](https://angel.co/taylor\);) I hadn't previously
listed it on my LinkedIn or resume but I just added it for kicks.

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idoh
No - show you are smart by what you do. Smart is as smart does.

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kleer001
No, but it's on my linkedin profile.

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mattbgates
I like your thinking. Not direct, but if someone is snooping to learn about
you.. they'll discover it.

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id122015
Yes, I write it on the back of my CV using a small font so nobody could see
it.

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Abdur91
can some one tell me what is Mensa?

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redmaple
a circle jerk

