Should You Put Your Vaccination Status on Your Resume?
“Put that you were Time’s 2006 Person of the Year on your resume. In 2006, Time made ‘EVERYONE’ the Person of the Year.”
We have recently talked about why Employers should offer remote work. We have discussed a priority shift in Employee benefits away from long-term 401K plans. There is a demand for more immediate work-life balance and mental health options. Not ones to shy away from the tough topics, we talked about the legality of Covid vaccination mandates in the workplace. At DyNexus Recruiting, we find great talent for ERP Employers, we find great jobs for ERP Job Seekers, and we work tirelessly to bring you current and important information. It’s the elephant in the room, so let’s talk about it. Should you put your vaccination status on your resume?
The Great Resignation
In August of 2021, 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in what labor experts are calling the “Great Resignation”. Many people lost their jobs over the last year and a half during the Covid pandemic. Many others kept their jobs, but did so out of the comfort and convenience of their own homes. With a vaccine available and many businesses attempting to re-open or return to normal, you’d think there would be a line of people clamoring for those lost positions. But the opposite is true. In fact, more people are actually planning to quit in the coming months.
There are several reasons why workers are leaving jobs and not going back to their old jobs. There is a resurgence in the fight for a “livable wage”. The federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 for the last 12 years. If that kept up with inflation rates, the federal minimum wage would be at $26 an hour today. Many minimum wage workers are demanding they get paid better for their work.
Others are leaving because their companies want them to return to in-person work. The majority of those working remotely during the pandemic want to keep that option, or at least a hybrid option. If their job won’t afford them that, they’ll find one that will. And still others have taken their unexpected time off to pursue other vocations. Which is prompting more to follow their lead. Even with a labor shortage and the job seeker having the upper hand, there could be one area where employers won’t or can’t budge. Covid vaccinations.
Resume Tricks
The truth is, there are a lot of people looking for work. They’re just not looking for the same jobs as before. They are looking for better ones. That means, the competition for the jobs you are probably looking for is formidable. You need to stand out from the hundreds to thousands of applicants all vying for the desirable jobs available.
There are hundreds of blogs, articles, videos, templates, and books available with advice on writing your resume. Your resume needs to accomplish three things:
- Get noticed
- Be legible
- Make sense
First and foremost, your resume has to be seen. Most HR companies, recruiting agencies, and online search platforms utilize an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This system can look for specific keywords on a resume, years of experience, geographic location, and more. For example, if a company is looking for an ERP Implementation Consultant in Chicago, IL with 5 years of experience in the Construction Industry and familiarity with Acumatica, Sage, Netsuite, or Microsoft Dynamics ERP systems, if the ATS doesn’t recognize those keywords in your resume, it will get passed over.
Once your resume is past the ATS, a human looks it over to verify that you look like a good fit for the position and the company. If your resume is a garbled mess and not immediately readable at a glance, it will get discarded. And finally, it has to make sense. If you are applying for that ERP Implementation Consultant position, but your resume doesn’t show clearly the relevant experience, it will get passed over.
What The Experts Are Saying About Vaccination Status on Resumes
We just posted an article explaining that it is legal for employers to mandate covid vaccinations for their employees. Another thing to note is that requiring staff to be vaccinated or asking for vaccination status is not a violation of HIPAA. HIPAA ensures that confidential medical information will not be disclosed by a medical professional without your consent. Asking for your vaccination status is akin to providing proof of ID or eligibility to work as a condition of employment. You can refuse to answer or give proof, but you probably forfeit your chances of getting that job.
According to the Wall Street Journal, putting your vaccination status on your resume “isn’t a bad idea”. ResumeBuilder.com recently interviewed 1250 hiring managers across the country. They found that 33% of hiring managers would automatically eliminate a resume if it did NOT include a vaccination status. 69% said they are more likely to hire someone who is already vaccinated. I did find a few articles that said you shouldn’t put your status on your resume. However, each of the articles that said that noted the potential HIPAA violation. Again, an employer can ask if you are vaccinated and ask that you show proof. You have every right to not answer and not show proof. HIPPA comes into play when it’s your healthcare provider giving out the information about you without your knowledge or consent.
Vaccination Status Trends and Advice
Since August 30th, Indeed.com has seen the number of job postings requiring Covid vaccinations increase by 119%. Those numbers are sure to continue to go up as more companies are requiring staff to be vaccinated either on their own or in accordance with the Federal Mandate.
At this point, whether you put your vaccination status on your resume or not is really up to you. If your job is remote with no human interaction, it doesn’t matter from an employer standpoint. If you are going to be working on-site or with other people in any capacity, more and more employers are going to require you to be vaccinated as a condition of employment. And it’s not really a conversation employers want to have during interviews. Data is already showing that having your vaccination status only increases your chances of landing an interview. Now, it won’t get you past an algorithm . . . yet. But if this pandemic continues, that could be coming. Then you’d better have your vaccination status to get noticed. For now, we highly recommend it. It will do you more good if you put your vaccination status on your resume.