To be surprised to see "bought a house" listed as an achievement on a cv

[addictedtopoas]

Am recruiting for professional roles at the moment and a CV that had plenty of impressive achievements had also listed "bought a house". It just surprised me as it would never have crossed my mind that this was relevant but then a work colleague said her daughter listed it on her CV recently too.

I bought a house without help and I am proud about that but I also know how lucky I was to have good health etc etc and I it wouldn't cross my mind to put it on my CV.

But am happy to be told it is normal now!

How weird - I wouldn't expect to see that on a CV at all.

Well, it's made them stand out from the crowd and caught your attention
Job done

Come again?

Yes I will admit I find it very odd

managed to open a jar? worked out a year 7 child's maths homework? worked out that actors voice on one show is actually the killer on another - these are achievements! (I am joking!)

CVs are about professional and academic accomplishments only imo. Buying a house isn't 🤷🏻‍♀️ And it's not even a vaguely useful "skill" to a job like having a driving license or a first aid qualification could be.

How very odd. I've not seen it before and I hope it's not the norm.

It's not really relevant to the role is it. I cant think of any job where being a home owner is an advantage over not.

As somebody who ‘bought a house’ I think it’s crass and actually comes off as pretty ... classist? There are plenty of people who work bloody hard (harder than me for sure) who are not in a position to buy a house. I can’t see how it reflects on you as an employee and therefore it has no place on a cv.

As a recruiter (I’m not one) I would think wtf and bin the cv.

They could follow it up with ‘got a dog’ or ‘first met my dh’.

Standing out from the crowd isn’t always a good thing!

Perhaps I should start listing my random achievements too.

• Brushed my hair to go to the supermarket
• Kept dog alive for over 2 years so far
• Got my 500m swimming badge

Definitely weird! Tbh, it would put me off a bit...

I think they're confusing their CV with Facebook!😆

I've seen it used to fill a gap before. E.g. someone who had a period as a sahm might include project managing the refurbishment of a house. Actually that's quite common on applications I see.

I think if the applicant is young and single it is a big achievement, shows early independence etc.

It kind of make sense to me. It shows they were able to prioritize saving and sacrifice other things for the sake of saving for their deposit. That they did not fritter away their money on frivolous things instead. That they have a level of focus on achieving their goals. That focus can be applied to their work.

At least it beats “reading and watching films” as interests

It’s only weird if you don’t also list when you lost your virginity, otherwise it makes no sense at all.

Unless the role is buying houses for people I can’t see that it’s relevant, surely you only put information relevant to the job on your CV.

Maybe there’s something on you tube about writing CVs that suggests putting a non-work related achievement on your CV to show you’re a more rounded person or something (off to add 25m swimming certificate to mine now).

I can see that they might think it shows a level of discipline, budgeting etc but I agree it does not belong on a CV. Very cringey.

I've seen it recommended as an example of what to use for "tell me about a time when you had to make an important decision" etc. so maybe they're mixing it up with that

@PileofToss

Standing out from the crowd isn’t always a good thing!

Perhaps I should start listing my random achievements too.

• Brushed my hair to go to the supermarket
• Kept dog alive for over 2 years so far
• Got my 500m swimming badge

Interesting I'd see it as they have commitments and responsibilities so are more likely to stay in the job

It shows they were able to prioritize saving and sacrifice other things for the sake of saving for their deposit.

Or that mum and dad have savings? Or that they had a huge inheritance? Or that they have a rich partner?

I can't say that an employee's spending habits (or financial circumstances) factor into decisions I make about whether to employ them.

That's not normal in the slightest. It's weird and yeah it caught your attention, but for the wrong reasons.

It shows that they haven't been capable enough to understand what goes on a cv and what doesn't. If they can't do that, which would only take a simple Google, but as its a professional role they should know already, then what else have they perhaps lied about on the cv? You should know these things at that level, the fact they don't isn't good.

I know of someone who would do this as they'd think it would make them look even more important than they think they already are. They are irritating to work with, lazy and aren't as knowledgeable as they think. I'd bin the cv too to be honest.

“ It kind of make sense to me. It shows they were able to prioritize saving and sacrifice other things for the sake of saving for their deposit. That they did not fritter away their money on frivolous things instead. That they have a level of focus on achieving their goals. That focus can be applied to their work.”

Wow that’s really clutching at straws 😂😂

@Carycy

It kind of make sense to me. It shows they were able to prioritize saving and sacrifice other things for the sake of saving for their deposit. That they did not fritter away their money on frivolous things instead. That they have a level of focus on achieving their goals. That focus can be applied to their work.

Although I wouldn't have thought about putting it on a cv, I was going to say the same thing. We had our mortgage approved on Friday and it was bloody hard work to be strict and save the deposit etc. It shows hard work and determination.

You get people listing sporting accomplishments, they arent directly relevant to the job either but you can see from them that they are hard workers/team players etc.

Many years ago, when (shockingly of course to the modern me) disability on application forms simply meant mobility problems I inadvertently checked the disabled box on an application form. In the list of hobbies I wrote that I taught dance. I got the interview, largely, so I was told later, because they wanted to know how someone in a wheelchair Could teach dance!

buying a house can be a nightmare with a lot of pitfalls so in some circumstances someone could learn a lot and gain new skills and experience through that process which might then be useful in the workplace. however that's not always going to be the case so just having bought a house isn't the relevant fact. in some job recruitment circumstances the questions like "tell me about a time when you..." might be well answered by an anecdote about resolving something to do with a house purchase. If the cv style is more discursive, or in a paragraph on an application form, you might have a "transferable skills" section where you might say "my recent house purchase gave me the opportunity to develop my negotiation and communication skills and to learn more about close reading of complex paperwork and contracts"

in some house purchases though, all the difficult issues will be dealt with by someone other than the person whose name is going on the paperwork, so just the fact of having bought the house is not a worthwhile thing to put on a CV.

I’m a bit on the fence. It’s not something I’d write on my CV. However if a twenty something wrote bough a house on a CV I’d think the person had good organisational skills and good with finances and some good luck.

Lots of communication, processing of information through surveys, practicalities of packing and moving