Humour and Jokes on CV? You’ve gotta be kidding me!

Sobhan Mohmand, Career Expert          1 Jan 2021

‘What harm can a tiny little joke do to my CV, anyway?’

Unless you’re applying to be a stand-up comedian or a joker at your local circus, your CV is definitely not the right place for jokes and humour. It is a big no-no, and it will most definitely make you seem unprofessional and immature.

Humour is a seriously subjective thing and since you have no idea who will be reading your CV and whether they have a similar sense of humour to you it is best not to take any chances. If recruiters want to have a laugh and a good time they would be watching comedy shows and not reading CVs with half-baked jokes.

The reason why they don’t like some humour or jokes on CVs is not that they are boring people. It is because their jobs rely on selecting the best of the best and if they persistently pick the wrong people they will end up in the job market themselves!

Examples of jokes on a CV

Here are some of the real-life examples of applicants trying to be funny on their CV:

• Under interests: “football, football and more football!”
• I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.
• My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I possess no training in meteorology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage.
• A Reason for leaving: “I thought the world was coming to an end.”

Guess what? These candidates didn’t get the job.

Employment is a serious business so make sure you treat it as such.