I am a BYU alumn, and I am an exmo. When combined, these two simple pieces of information cause me endless grief. Obviously I have to put it on my resume when applying for jobs, and where you went to college is a natural topic of conversation. How do you other exmo BYU grads handle this? I feel I am judged negatively by nevermos because they think I'm a religious fanatic, but I also feel I am judged negatively my TBMs who know I'm a BYU grad but obviously don't live their "standards." I don't like to discuss my religious affiliation period, past or present, if I can help it. But being a BYU grad makes that damn near impossible sometimes. I'd like to hear how others handle this.

This is a heated topic that comes up repeatedly on this board. Some people are adamant that having BYU on your resume should NOT hurt you one bit. Others, myself included, have INDEED been hurt by having it on my resume. And, more precisely, the fact that BYU is on my resume has caused countless awkward conversations during interviews. You know how asking one's religion is supposed to be off limits? Yeah...not so much if BYU is on your resume.

But in all fairness, it depends a lot on where you live, and what career field you are applying to. I live in the West where mo'ism is very common, and most interviewees know mormons. Interestingly enough, the times I get grilled about being mormon is from the mormon employers. But hey...that is just my experience.

My only advice would be this, format your resume in such a way that the skills/experiences/etc. that make you most qualified for the job just POP out from the page. Draw interviewers' attention to your marketable skills. Despite my experiences, I know many employers who, during interviews, simply gloss over your education history just to make sure you have actually graduated. So, educational history may not even be discussed in an interview. IF, however, your most marketable skills were garnered from BYU itself (e.g. externships, internships, study abroad, etc.), don't be afraid of listing them.

Good luck!

My personal view is that exmos tend to be too self-conscious about their former association with Mormonism. We know about Mormonism, we know about BYU, we assume other people know what we know, and we assume it makes us look bad. In reality, the majority of people you will deal with fall into two categories: people who know virtually nothing about Mormonism and BYU, and people who know quite a bit about them. The majority of the former group may have positive or negative prejudices toward Mormons in general but usually will focus more on the individual than the background. The majority of the latter group understand that some people quit the church and that there is a spectrum of belief even among BYU alumni. The people who will outright pass negative judgment on you based simply on the fact you went to BYU and/or are now an exmo are the minority, even amongst Mormons. Certainly, there are people who are going to be extremely and irrationally judgmental but that can't be helped. You can't please everyone.

Really, all you can do is be yourself - the person you are now - and let the chips fall where they may. The only type of person that is consistently liked and respected over time is a genuine person. People who fake it to make it are almost always found out and lose the respect of the people they've tried to convince to like them.

Personally, I try to avoid discussing religion with people I have just met, as it's a terrible topic of conversation. But if someone's insistent, I will usually preface the conversation by politely saying something like, "Do you want me just to tell you what you expect to hear or do you want me to tell you what I really think and risk offending you?" I try to let people know that the conversation might go out of their comfort zone and that I might not think the way they might expect. If they want to go on, I try to be honest but not argumentative.

Agree with J. Chan. Outside of Utah, no one cares where you went to school. I went to a prestigious gentile school over 20 years ago ...

Where I currently live, (the South US), this means nothing. Do you support Alabama or Auburn? Now that's a topic that will lose you a job if you answer incorrectly! ;)

Both Mormons and non-Mormons have their prejudices but most fall into the two categories I mentioned. In Utah County it may be a big deal to a larger portion of the population but there are too many non- and ex-Mormons in Salt Lake County for any serious-minded person to reject them out of hand (except maybe in the political arena).

I've always had the Zoo on my resume'. Didn't help, didn't hurt..sometimes led to conversations about football and Mormons. I just tell the truth. Went to BYU, then on a mission, came back and went to grad school. I have no earthly clue why others have problems admitting they went to BYU.

Besides, any interviewer knows damned well he/she can't ask religious questions. So, where's the rub?

I don't get it. Maybe it's because I went to another MBA school.

ron

Also include in your resume that you are a member of the Exmormon Foundation.

That should take care of it!

RPackham Wrote:
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> Also include in your resume that you are a member
> of the Exmormon Foundation.
>
> That should take care of it!


++++++++++++1 This suggestion!

I would say that outside of Utah, the fact that you were a mormon and aren't one anymore wouldn't strike any non-mormon as being odd.

People change churches all the time, it's viewed by those bound for eternal darkness as normal.