It's a Sunday and as church bells ring, I started thinking about how important it is to keep religion separate from your job search. No matter what year it is, religion is a polarizing topic, so do yourself a favor and leave it out of your next interview for your dream job.
If an interviewer ever asks you in an interview what religion you are, don't answer the question and after the interview, report that person and company to the Equal Employee Opportunities Commission (EEOC) because it's completely illegal to ask that in an interview. While you're in an interview keep your thoughts on religion to yourself. Once I was interviewing a candidate for a Graphic Designer position and the candidate pulled out a bible from his briefcase, set it on my desk and said a prayer out loud during the interview. Now I believe in the power of prayer, but not while saying the prayer out loud on an interview. I pray a lot but I believe it is such a private choice to do so. So enjoy your time with God with you, your family, your congregation and friends. Now back to your regularly scheduled program...
You're probably wondering what happened to this candidate.. Well he was actually a great match for the job so I coached him and shared how he needs to keep church separate in interviews. He went for the interview and sure enough did the same thing. The interviewer was a huge atheist and was so turned off, he rejected the candidate. You just never know what people believe and you need to be careful.
If you wear a religious necklace keep it covered under your clothes or don't wear it in an interview. Not everyone is as open as I am. Just like we shouldn't talk about religion and politics at dinner parties, we shouldn't overtly show our religion in interviews either.
Remember in my article on cover letters when I used the acronym, KISS, please still keep this in mind here. Keep It Simple. You don't want anything to overshadow your strengths that you're trying to showcase in your interview. Also, when signing off from your cover letter don't say "God bless" or something to that effect because you want to stay as neutral as possible.
Obviously there is a caveat. When I had Hadassah and Catholic Charities as clients, wearing religious jewelry during interviews were reflective of the missions of these organizations so my earlier suggestion on religious jewelry is a moot point. Also, if volunteering comes up on an interview and you volunteer for a religious organization, that's another caveat.
The song by Ziggy Marley, "Love is my religion" is today's ear worm. I truly hope whatever religion or lack thereof you believe in helps you in life and of course in your next interview...just don't slap a bible down on your next interviewer's desk and you will do great. Well, the church bells stopped so I better get ready for the next service. I hope you have a nice Sunday!
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