Mensa guy wrote:
I'm in my late-30s and needing employment. Was self-employed but this economy and a recent breach of contract has hit the home finances very hard. I was offered a top-level job while still in college and took it, so I never finished my degree. To compensate I was wondering if mentioning my high IQ OR having it on the resume might be a boost to me.
Any employers out there to give an idea on this. Too much pretense? Arrogance? Your thoughts.
No way in HELL should you mention your IQ. I can't emphasize that enough.
1) Not easily verifiable.
2) A good percentage of bosses don't want to hire people smarter than they are (those are the bad bosses, but that's still a good percentage).
3) If I saw a high IQ mentioned on a resume from a guy who didn't graduate from college I would think one of two things: A) that you were so arrogant you felt you didn't need the degree, or B) that you are a quitter. I don't necessarily think that about you after giving your reason for it, but as a hiring manager looking through several resumes to find the perfect fit I probably would.
4) Not everyone knows what a high IQ is. Most don't even know what their own IQ is, so if you say yours is 156, then how do they know if that's good or not? An IQ of 90-109 is considered average. So, if yours is just 125 you are in the "very superior intelligence" range, but most people don't think of 125 as a decent IQ score (because they don't know what's good and what isn't, or they rely on some internet IQ score that regularly spits out super high IQs when it's not warranted).
5) Focus on what you've DONE in your working life and the value you can bring to the company.
In your situation at this period in time, if I were you I'd deliver pizzas at night and go back and finish that college degree during the day.