Emma Marital status on the CV: how to decide whether to insert it or not? Is it important for a recruiter to know if we are married, divorced or single? In this guide we will help you decide if and when to enter this information on your CV.
Marital status does not have to be entered on your CV
If the marital status should be entered or minus on the curriculum vitae is a highly debated question that does not require a single answer. The marital status is part of the long list of sensitive data relating to the person which, such as race, gender and date of birth, do not necessarily need to be made public and for this reason must be treated with extreme care and extreme delicacy. The choice of whether to enter the marital status on one’s CV must be carefully considered. Added to this is the fact that the law does not oblige you to give this information, thanks to the fact that it is sensitive data.
Being discriminated against because of your family condition
It is not uncommon, even today, to be discriminated against because of one’s marital status. This should not happen as in Italy there is an absolute prohibition by an employer from selecting candidates for a position based on race, marital status, gender (Legislative Decree 276/03). In fact, however, this still happens and, according to the latest Eurostat research on the subject, it is above all women who are discriminated against, who are often denied access to certain positions if married or if they have children. Italy is in fact the penultimate place in the Eurostat ranking for female employment.
Discrimination at work is still strong in Italy and according to Eurostat women are the most penalized.
Insert the marital status on the CV: the pros
Your personal life remains personal but entering information about your marital status in your CV can show some openness and not having difficulty sharing more detailed information about your life.
This is in most cases does not affect the outcome of the selection but there are situations in which showing a little of yourself and your life can help.
A practical example
Let’s think about a job position as manager of a wedding catering agency: in this case, insert your sentimental situation can direct the recruiter towards the best or most appropriate choice.
Enter marital status on the CV: the cons
A potential employer receives daily lots of CVs and, when he opens a job position, he receives at least twice as much as normal.
His aim is to find the best candidate and to do so he must adopt a quasi-scientific approach, automatically rejecting CVs that are too redundant or full of irrelevant information for the position.
A potential employer does not need to know if you are single, married, engaged or cohabiting, if you have children or would like to have them: they need to have information about your experiences and your professionalism to assess your application.
When to enter marital status on your CV?
In light of the above, the question you need to ask is this:
Is my family situation relevant to the job position? Could I be discriminated against for this position, based on my personal situation?
According to Italian law, factors such as race and age should not be taken into account when evaluating a candidate for a job marital status; however, there are actually some positions that require some flexibility.
The inclusion or not of the sentimental status on your CV is, therefore, completely linked to the job position for which the CV is sent.
- If you are applying for a job which implies travel, even continuous, entering your marital status can be an excellent move to make the recruiter understand your availability and your lifestyle, making you attractive or not for the position in question.
- If you are applying for an office job, on the other hand, entering your sentimental status is not essential and, in most cases, it is not interesting for the selection.
- Marital status on the CV to be sent abroad, if in Italy the choice to add one’s marital status in the curriculum is subjective, abroad it is completely discouraged.
Considered irrelevant for the selection, a curriculum vitae in another language, let’s think of English which is the most common one, and designed to get a job outside Italy, it must not contain information on your sentimental situation but focus more on work and personal experiences, a real element of distinction between the various candidates.
What other elements can be omitted from the CV?
Together with the marital status, there are other elements that can be omitted in the CV because they do not constitute an indication to be selected or not for a particular position.
Among these, one’s sexual orientation and religious orientation: in fact, they are two elements that are not relevant when looking for a job and that could lead to discrimination that, although illegal, is difficult to identify in the case of the first selection.
Another data to omit is your home address, together with details on the salary required.
Date of birth and gender are optional but easily identifiable by recruiters, simply by checking the dates on the CV and the name. As for the photo, please read our detailed article to make your own decision.
In summary
- Marital status is not information that we must necessarily include in the CV;
- Discrimination based on one’s marital status is, still today, particularly important in Italy;
- There are some jobs for which it is good to specify your own personal condition;
- As with marital status, there are other data that can be omitted from a CV.