Should I mention my genius IQ on a resume?

Don't worry. As soon as the rebound starts, the 'masses' with resume giving the 'thieves' their money. It happens every time!!

um hey wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

1) Not easily verifiable.

Maybe you missed his name? I'm fairly certain it's easy enough to verify Mensa membership.

I saw the name. If he actually means he's a member of Mensa, then I suppose that might be easy to verify, but I wouldn't put a Mensa Membership on a resume either. First of all, it isn't THAT impressive -- top 2% of IQs are able to be members of Mensa. Some will be turned off by the fact that he decided to join Mensa (not everyone who could be a member of Mensa IS a member of Mensa), and still others will be intimidated (those who don't know better). I can't imagine anything more boring than being in a club that is based solely on your IQ.

Nope, it still annoys the heck out of people. It took me a long time to understand that it just annoys people to find out iq and test scores. Hopefully you've put that brainpower to good use in a way that will show on your resume. It would definitely be ok to emphasize your problem solving abilities with concrete examples

I don't think mensans just sit around and talk about how smart they are. They do social stuff, too. Some of it is pretty geeky... about 20+ years ago a friend of mine who is a mensan tried to get me to join based on SAT-GRE scores, but that was so I could join their ongoing game of Dungeons and Dragons. I never did join, but I'll bet those same smart guys are still sitting in a basement somewhere playing World of Warcraft.

First off, thanks for all the responses, even the ones that called me names or made fun of me. Yeah, I can laugh at myself, too.

I just didn't want to be this guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjCVfcCIkqc

Although most of you would recognize me if I posted under my real name, so I am glad for anonymity here at LRC. Ernest T. Bass, I appreciated you first post when I caught it after the interview. Glad I know where those county fairs are.

I actually agree there is more to street smarts than a high IQ. If anything that is a fault I possess, but my previous business successes are pretty great, too. All my friends and my wife have Masters and Doctorates and I never before felt beneath them until just recently. It's just a little humiliating going from being the "go to" guy for answers to now being in "soup kitchen" lines.

BTW I did ask some interviewers at the job fair about the IQ mention (they don't list my actual score) and the HR people said it was fine to list it.

I qualify for Mensa based on a few of the metrics they use, and depending on the job I'm interviewing for I might put it on the resume.

Re. Mensa membership, it is limited to those who score in the top 2% on qualifying aptitude tests. On the two most popular IQ tests (Stanford-Binet and Wechsler) a score of 132-134, is normed to be 2 SD's above the mean, and those who score this are above 98% of the population. An LSAT score of 170+ is also sufficient for membership IIRC.

The reason Mensa/high IQ societies are generally off putting is simply because by their nature they are exclusionary to all but a few who, rightly or wrongly, set themselves apart as 'superior'. I'm guessing most HR people for large companies don't fall at the high end of the bell curve, and they might subconsciously ding you off the bat for seeming 'pretentious'. For an academic or private tutoring gig, though, I would definitely include Mensa, as the interviewer would probably respect something like that.

"g" loaded test wrote:

I qualify for Mensa based on a few of the metrics they use, and depending on the job I'm interviewing for I might put it on the resume.

Re. Mensa membership, it is limited to those who score in the top 2% on qualifying aptitude tests. On the two most popular IQ tests (Stanford-Binet and Wechsler) a score of 132-134, is normed to be 2 SD's above the mean, and those who score this are above 98% of the population. An LSAT score of 170+ is also sufficient for membership IIRC.

While an LSAT score of 170+ would almost certainly qualify you, the standard for qualification is 95th percentile or better. Usually, this would include those with scores of 166 or 167 and higher, depending on the average scores for that particular administration of the test.

That said, have any of you Mensa members derived any benefit from membership? In other words, is it worth having LSAC send them a copy of my LSAT results? Mensa members are almost universally derided as pretentious losers, but there must be some reason to join.

"g" loaded test wrote:

Re. Mensa membership, it is limited to those who score in the top 2% on qualifying aptitude tests. On the two most popular IQ tests (Stanford-Binet and Wechsler) a score of 132-134, is normed to be 2 SD's above the mean, and those who score this are above 98% of the population. An LSAT score of 170+ is also sufficient for membership IIRC.

The Wechsler scales (mean 100/SD 15) use a standard score of 130 and above for the "Very Superior" classification, while Stanford-Binet scales (mean 100/SD 16) use 132 and above standard scores for this classification.

Just in case anyone was a 130 on a WISC...

sort of wrote:

While an LSAT score of 170+ would almost certainly qualify you, the standard for qualification is 95th percentile or better.

No, it's the 98th percentile or better.

It doesn't matter here what the numbers are or what % of population qualifies for Mensa membership. What matters here is emotional intelligence:

Boasting about IQ on a resume => Not a Team Player

Even worse, claiming a high IQ and then not having a degree implies lack of work ethic to employers. Keep the IQ/Mensa stuff out.

If a genius is a master of the obvious, then I'm a genius and the OP is not. I at least know how wrong-headed it would be to put either an IQ or any reference to MENSA on a resume.

You have few things going against you ...

1) Boasting that "most of us would recognize you if you posted under your real name" ... what does that have to do with anything?

2) Having a person who is poorly compensated doing your resume for you ... you are not working but have no time to do own resume? As so-called Mensa member, I would think that you would want to do own resume.

3) " I actually agree there is more to street smarts than a high IQ. If anything that is a fault I possess, but my previous business successes are pretty great, too." You are admitting that having high IQ trumps everything else regarding "street smarts."

4) "All my friends and my wife have Masters and Doctorates" - that is a crock - I don't care who you hang around with - not all your friends will have Masters and Doctorates

5) You are asking people at job fairs about this. AND ... people here? That is asinine.

6) You were the "go-to" guy? How could you ever have been the "go-to" guy? You are relying on resume writer to write your own fricking resume, you are asking people on running chat forum whether you should put idiotic IQ mention on resume, you are asking people at job fairs when they are usually poorly trained.

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.

keep your iq to yourself. people save their worst contempt for those they believe are smarter than them.

hello troll wrote:

sort of wrote:

While an LSAT score of 170+ would almost certainly qualify you, the standard for qualification is 95th percentile or better.

No, it's the 98th percentile or better.

I wasn't sure on the LSAT number, but 95th percentile (166 or so) would make sense as the test-takers are not representative of the general population (ie college grads interested in professional school are those who take the LSAT).

The club element of Mensa doesn't appeal to me because, as others have mentioned, it seems to attract the socially maladjusted. There are plenty of groups and causes that attract intelligent people who have interests outside of their own supposed intelligence. I don't think there is any tangible benefit to joining Mensa outside of associating with high-IQ people.

cockerspanielcute wrote:

HR Dept. wrote:

More practical to list your 5k time. Everyone we hire is a Menses member.

All female office?

I like the motto of "Show, don't tell." If you're a genius, you should be able to figure out a way to get them to understand how bright you are without stating the obvious. If not the number is not really significant of much anyway.

um hey wrote:

Earnest T. Bass wrote:

No way you are mensa. If you were you would not be dumb enough to be having financial problems,

And you have no idea what you're talking about. I have an IQ of 144 and I've had my share of financial problems before. Good friend of mine is in Mensa and he's had his share as well. Shit happens. At least we're not arrogant pricks.

Ok, then so if being "smart" doesn't mean that you are smart, then why the heck would it matter to your potential employer? Serious question.

I read 1000s of resumes every week and it does not matter if you list standardized test scores or GPAs on your application or resume. I regard "IQ" tests as a misnomer and not a test of intelligence but of taking that particular brand of test. We look for people who can operate in the real world. Who is to say that the intelligence it takes understand and quantum physics is more or less important than the intelligence it takes to coach an athlete to an Olympic Gold medal in the 110HH/110H ?

hello troll wrote:

sort of wrote:

While an LSAT score of 170+ would almost certainly qualify you, the standard for qualification is 95th percentile or better.

No, it's the 98th percentile or better.

Check the link. As the person below stated, LSAT takers are not representative of the general population. I guess the Mensa people decided that the top 5% of LSAT takers are in the top 2% of the population. Seems about right. I placed a little higher among SAT takers than LSAT takers.