Hi All,

can anyone tell me if it is necessary for me to include my birthplace on my CV? I have included my age and now also added in my birthdate, but I'm not sure if it is necessary to put where I was born.

Thanks

I've never heard of anyone being interested in birthplace. But I'm still amused that people want pictures, marital status, age, and other tidbits that aren't relevant to one's actual ability to do a job.

unless it has relevance to your work permit / status no, I wouldn't include it.

Your birthplace is I would have thought of no relevance to anyone .. but it cannot have escaped anyone's attention that anything remotely official to do with the Swiss State, Kanton level or even Gemeinde level always always seem to ask you where you are born.

It is the same in France. I have never understood it, but my instinct is that it is always always asked for, so you might as well provide it.

(In the last few weeks I have made applications for new insurance, for IV insurance, for membership of a children's club (oh yes) and for a copy of my son's Swiss birth certificate and they all wanted my place of birth. Yawn.)

Indian CV's often state blood group! I know some employers can be bloodsuckers, but

Umm. Never included Birthplace, Date of birth or age here in Europe.
I was told not to. Unnecessary. Agent from recruiting company told me.

In Asia often asked about it though.

Yes you should add the birthplace on the CV. At least I have been told to do so at school and still do. I agree that the place of birth has no relevance to your work but this is a piece of information that is generally included in the CV.

Even though legal documents usually ask for "Heimatort" and not "Geburtsort" a power of attorney or a work certificate usually state both Bürgerort and Geburtsort. Heimatort is the same as Bürgerort and refers to the place where your parents came from. This used to be important because if you had no money but needed care that place (Bürger- / or Heimatort) needed to provide for you. This has changed but the documents still ask for Bürger- or Heimatort. (see here for information in German http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimatort)

Seems to be some mixed opinion on the matter... I think where I was confusing the point stems from "Heimatort" as I have seen these on other people's CVs --I probably mistook this in my translation to mean place of birth.

I personally don't agree with having this data on my CV, but I have seen it on many Swiss CVs coming across my desk.

Since I have my permit number and nationality already included I think I'll omit the place of birth --I'm sure the reader of the CV can determine where I'm from.

Thanks for the quick feedback!

Should not the question be: Country of Birth:- ................ (Not place of
Birth) as this becomes a part of ones CV in a globalizing world?

Personally I find it strange that CVs sometime _don't_ include this information. I know that American employment practices prohibit certain types of information being requested, but I think that for many jobs one's age, for example, is extremely relevant to one's ability to do certain types of work. Marital and family status is a good clue as to one's flexibility to travel if needed, and various other 'tidbits' may also be useful. Why anyone would want to hide this information is beyond me.

Pictures, OTOH, well yes, I agree there should be no call for them on a CV.

And what about marital status? I often saw "married, one child" or similar on CV and I just checked my latest CV and it has similar info together with date/place of birth I thought it might be useful and nothing secret to share.

Are these guidlines to unclude/exclude certain personal information in/from CV general or depend on the field of work?

Really?



So far as the topic goes, perhaps it is used as a way to separate "Sally Jones" from "Sally Jones" as the first is from Liverpool and the other from Kalamazoo.

I was advised to include my marital status, as it would demonstrate stability and an intention to stay put.

A long time ago, a girlfriend started to fill in the form for a job application. She was in a particularly bad mood that day, she admitted herself, so after reading through the questions which demanded all kinds of personal information, she wrote crosswise across the form "IRRELEVANT". Needless to say, she didn't get the job

I used to have date and place of birth, full address etc on my CV but took them all off years ago. I still list my nationality (as it helps people work out potential visa issues) and my age can very easily be deduced by looking at the time I went to University.

You could include just the very basic personal details and add more in a covering letter or in the email the CV is attached to.

I think it has to do with identification.

So whereas there are numerous John Smith's, and probably still quite a few John Smith's born on 4th jan 1961, adding that he was born in Kingston upon Limmat may thin thing down a bit.

So if I put "back of the taxi on the way to the maternity hospital" for place of birth, will that be alright?

Cheers,
Nick

Just after the morning repeats of "Neighbours" and "Going for Gold" I assume.

Cheers,
Nick

PS...looking at all the responses....

The only personal info I put on my CV is name, nationality, Swiss permit type, education and summary of skills. I never put age, marital status etc - the interviewers are welcome to ask though.

Cheers,
Nick

That's not always the case for everyone. I worked for 4 years before going to University so presumably I appear 4 years younger on paper. And I find it much more direct to just state visa or residency status depending on where the job was located.

But in general, when it comes to applying for jobs, there is almost no right or wrong. If seen companies that ask for a CV with photo (Germany, 2011), age, date of birth, marital status etc. Being married doesn't mean you can't or don't want to travel. Neither does being single mean you can or want to travel. It's all a game about keeping the HR department happy to get you to an interview.