Q: I was born outside the United States. Should I include this information on my resume? Should I talk about it in my cover letter?

A: Unless the prospective job deals with your country or region of origin, avoid referencing it on your resume or in your cover letter.

Because ethnicity/race/national origin raise sensitive issues, you do not need to open the door to unnecessary inquiry around topics of this nature. Even if the job seems to require cultural competence or familiarity with a particular country or region, keep references to your birthplace brief, targeted and relevant to the position you seek.

Less is more. Keep the focus of your application on your core competencies, willingness to relocate if necessary and the ways in which you will add measurable value to operations at a new organizations. Extraneous, irrelevant or random references to your origin, religion, personal affiliations or health status should be avoided.

Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.

ExecSearches.com is a job board for nonprofit job seekers interested in fundraising, management and executive nonprofit jobs.

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Last updated on September 19th, 2012 at 11:39 am