Do you admit you're a skydiver in job interviews?

[Dutchboy 0]

It is all in the presentation. You need to relate skills learned in skydiving to your job performance. Some of the easy ones that come to mind:
1. Understands hard deadlines
2. Works well under pressure
3. Knows how to manage risk
4. Doesn't let fear control their life
I don't normally bring it up, unless they ask what I do when not working or will bring it up casually and related it to why I'm right for the job.
If I told them I was a flight instructor and skydiver who likes to fly around in planes I built in my garage without some explanation they'd think I was suicidal for sure.
The Dutchboy
Phil's Flying Enterprises, Inc.

[SBS 0]

Paul,
On one hand, I agree, and I totally see where you're coming from. At the same time, though, there is any number of things that the first person you talk to may or may not appreciate. If they have a family member that died in a macrame accident, and you happen to mention that that is what your passion is, then who is to say that that is not going to affect the decision that the person makes regarding whether you will be hired or not. It's an exaggeration, but point is, where do you lie and where do you not? Something that may be completely normal to you may not be normal for the person to whom you are speaking.
I maintain that honesty is the best policy, especially when the skydiving has been a part of your work experience, as in my case, and not just a weekend hobby.
Steve

[nacmacfeegle 0]

The other thing is, well lets face it skydivers are simply not everyday people, we are actually quite rare.
It might help get you remembered/noticed/stand out from the crowd kinda thing.......It also gives you a chance to talk about some of the things I mentioned earlier like team work attention to detail etc etc etc.
Cya
D
GR# 37
Remember how lucky you are to see and touch the sky; the blind may only dream.

[gemini 0]

Uh oh! I think we won't get along if we ever meet. I was transferred from infantry to intel.....
Gemini
... Let go dude! I can't land with you hanging on!...

[gale 0]

Intersting thread. I just started skydiving so I haven't come up against this yet but I am going into a bunch of juob interveiws soon (I'm graduating from university). I think I would tell the interviewer. In fact, I would put it on my resume. (It is one of my proudest accomplishments after all)
I'm of the opinion that with the propper spin it should be seen as a positive. Plus, I just don't like to lie. Well, unless it's about the actual qualifications of the job...
Gale
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?

[skybytch 273]

So Paul. Can you get me a job there?
pull & flare,
lisa
"Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda sez

[quade 4]

Why would you ever want to leave the super cushy job you already have?!?
Holy crap. Can you get me a job there?
quade
http://futurecam.com

[skybytch 273]

Quote

Can you get me a job there?

You saw the ad all over the dz - I coulda pulled strings for ya for that one if you'd asked before.
pull & flare,
lisa
"Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda sez

[quade 4]

Well, I was just kidding about that.
Ever hear of something called "golden handcuffs"? I have too much invested in this particular gig. Way too much.
There was a time I actually considered chucking it all in and becoming a DZ bum. I honestly don't know how you folks do it, but I admire you.
quade
http://futurecam.com

[bbarnhouse 0]

Well humph and I really wanted to be Tinkerbell too@Quade.
Nike loved the fact that I was into "extreme" sports (sorry Bill)
but at the Airlines..........NO WAY girl you going with the plane!
You want to do WHAAAAAAAT?

[divejunky 0]

I haven't heard anyone consider some of ouer other positive traites that a potential employer may know about. Like:
beer drinking
more beer drinking
those spontainieous vacation day requests cause we don't want to leave the boogie
talking about boobies all the time
etc.
Of course this stuff isn't all bad.!

[jncoughlin 0]

I'm a newbie. just finished level 4 AFF. Been stuck for 2 weeks because of weather and work schedule but hope to get through Level 6 this weekend (if I can stop losing my heading!).
I'm also CEO of a medical instrument company so I can give you the perspective of an interviewer and employer.
I look for people who are risk tolerant. That does not mean careless; it means calculated. Business is all about balancing risk and reward; you can't have one without the other. Sounds alot like skydiving.
I look for people that can think and act independently. It's tough to do in an interview (everybody's on best behavior) so I like to focus on what they do when they're not working. I ask about hobbies, outside interests, athletics, etc. It does not matter what they do as long as there's a life after work and it demonstrates a certain aspect of their makeup.
As for skydivers, I was attracted to the sport because of the people (plus it's fun). The skydiver's I've met are not reckless daredevils; they're calculated risk mitigators. They demonstrate planning, decision making, teamwork, personality and the ability to perform in stress situations. Skydiving lends balance to their lives. (I have three kids; don't think for a minute that I'm reckless just because I've decided to take up skydiving. I studied the risks and I'm signed up for the rewards).
So............Not everyone might see things as I do but I'll take a company full of skydivers over a company full of opera fanatics every day (no offense meant to those who like opera). I'd highlight skydiving as an accomplishment and let the interviewer draw their own conclusions. If they consider you too "reckless" then it's probably a shitty place to work anyway.

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

...say anything with the word "first" in it I'll jump up, knocking over my chair, point and shout "BEER!"

In reality, I have to consciously bite my tounge when someone says 'first-whatever' at work. I've actually slipped and exclaimed "Beer!" a few times and got the strangest looks. Oh, how this sport corrupts us innocent people!
ltdiver
____________________________________________
LightDiverCam

[Snowbird 0]

What timing! I'm just starting to look for new work, and I've been debating this. I don't mention it on my resume - although I will add it once I have an actual license - but I think I will probably mention it in an interview, if asked. I say probably because if I feel the interviewer is clearly a stick in the mud I won't risk the job. I need work.
Although, if they ask about the days I'm available, I won't have much choice but to mention it. I need work to afford to jump, but I can't let work interfere with jumping!
Seriously though, any job I get should be a result of my experience, knowledge and character. Skydiving is part of me now (did that ever happen quickly!), as much as writing and hiking and martial arts, and they're all on my resume because they're a big part of my life. Not mentioning skydiving would almost feel like lying, to them and to myself.
And yes, I know I'm a bit of an idealist. Been told so many times.

[PhillyKev 0]

SBS...I guess it has a lot to do with how you want to present yourself at work. Personally, what you see is what you get. I've worked in a number of corporate positions in the past few years, from Wyeth Ayerst to Johnson and Johnson, and I've just cut my hair from hanging down to my waist about a year ago. I figure if they don't want to hire me based on their bias, then I don't want to work there. I don't care if it is some shmoe in HR, if that's the kind of people they have doing the hirng, imagine the kind of people you have to work with. I guess it really has to do with comfort factor though. I'd rather pump gas and get paid diddly, then have to put up with meaningless BS. I don't mind playing the corporate political game when it comes down to it (in fact, sometimes I enjoy it), but I won't ever compromise who I am. My stance is, "This is me, and this is what I can do for you..." If they don't see value in me during an interview, I don't want to be around to see what they think of me when raise/bonus time comes around.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

[rhino 0]

No.. Don't tell them.. People mock what they don't understand..
Blue Skies .....

[fastmartin2002 0]

yeah, what he said!

[indyz 1]

When I applied (via email) for a job last fall at the university I gave the guy doing the hiring the web address of my resume. Of course, my student site had skydiving pictures on it and he found them. He was actually very interested and I got the job even after I admitted that I was working mostly to keep me in jump money.
--
Brian

[Jasmin 0]

I thought about applying to be climbing leader for Sydney's Habour Bridge. Now, whilst they might not have a problem with me being specifically a skydiver, the BASE jumping buddies issue might have been a problem...

[JohnnyD 0]

There is actually a rule of thumb that I use. If I am interviewing for a management position that I am sure very few people are interviewing for and the process is lengthy, I will avoid it. If I am interviewing for a position that I am sure many people are interviewing for (in the first round) I will throw in a story of how my analytical skills saved my life during a skydive or something similiar. It could be the difference between being asked back for further interviews or forgotten. I would avoid it in later interviews.

[Scratch 0]

A man that works the system........I like.
I wish the real world
would just stop hassling me~~~matchbox20

[airborne31582 0]

I admitted it to my boss that I was a skydiver, that happens when you have a closing pin necklace on your neck and a cut up nose from running into somones altimeter in freefall. I got the usual stuff about "always wanting to try it". I even told my boss I was unavailable to work on Saturday and Sundays until after 1700 so i can still skydive!!
Chris Ramirez
New Mexico State University

[gus 1]

I've only ever had one negative reaction to telling an interviewer that I skydive. Luckily the job really sucked so I wasn't too bothered but they did offer it to me in the end so they can't have been that worried about it.
Other than that everyone else has been really interested and pretty cool about it. Whuffos don't often meet actual skydivers so it makes you more memorable and I think it suggests more positive character traits than it does negative.
So it's on my cv and that's where it's staying.
Gus
"Sex? Once every six seconds. Skydiving? Five times, every six seconds."

[Emma 0]

I used to think telling people in interviews that I skydived was a good thing. I told my boss at my current job, for instance. And then I realised I had made a grave, grave error. Now, every time the sky is blue and I'm out of the office ''sick'' or ''at a meeting'' my boss instantly disbelieves me and accuses me of disappearing off to the DZ! Of course this is an outrageous slurr and I would never DREAM of nipping off to squeeze in a couple of sly jumps on corporate time on a sunny day....
But nevertheless, that reputation as an alititude addicted work-shy skyslut has stuck, and caused me untold problems. If I change jobs, believe me, I'll try and keep it quiet for as long as possible.....

[E150 0]

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Gees, what country do you work in?