Consider if race on résumé helps, hurts

By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service

When a black client asked me if she should put accomplishments and activities that will identify her race on her résumé, I didn't have a black-and-white answer.

In a perfect world, it shouldn't matter. The employer on the receiving end of her résumé should be interested in her purely because of her experience, knowledge, potential and education. In other words, her qualifications to do the technical aspects of the job should tell the story of whether she was potentially right for the position.

But because not all employers see things that way, she didn't want to be possibly weeded out or considered because of her race. She wanted to get the job because she was the most qualified candidate for the position. So why would she offer the information by putting it on her résumé?

In her case, though, she had some pretty incredible experience that speaks volumes about her. She established several diversity training programs that became the benchmark for diversity training in other companies. She created and delivered training programs that acclimated minority employees into the corporate culture. She initiated black employee groups within her company that became the model for other employee organizations. These achievements demonstrated her ability as a leader, a trainer and her success in working on diversity as a corporate initiative.

So as to whether or not she — or others — should put race-related information on a résumé, well, it depends on:

• How do you want to be seen?

I had a client who was targeting black-owned businesses and he wanted to keep race-related activities on his résumé to make sure the firms knew he was black.

If, though, you're like another one of my black clients who wanted to be considered for a position strictly on his technical knowledge and experience as a scientist, you'd leave off race-related information. There's no telling whether the information would be used to discriminate against him. The same goes for reference to religious affiliations.

• What is the company looking for?

Diversity is important to many companies. So being a minority or person of color and letting that be known in your résumé helps them.

With that in mind you could tailor your résumé to the companies you know are looking for a diverse work force. That's what my client who was wondering whether to give clues about her race did by creating two versions of her résumé. Version A included information about her diversity experiences. Version B made no mention of race.

All of this could be moot, though. If you've been building relationships throughout your career, you'd rely on strong relationships to speak on your behalf. And with their word as an endorsement, your skin color won't matter.