Biggest downside?
When the New World Order is in place, they’ll round all the smart people and shoot them. The MENSA membership list will just be a big help to them.
I’m joking, of course.
Benefits of joining? Instantly be regarded as:
[ul]
[li]lame[/li][li]a pretentious snob (or snit)[/li][li]a braggart[/li][li]elitist[/li][li]a conceited prick[/li][li]having low self-esteem[/li][li]an asshole[/li][li]unemployable[/li][/ul]
I can’t imagine why Mensa-types would need a social organization.
So let me get this straight…you based your opinion of a world-wide social club on your encounter with ONE member? :dubious: I don’t know how to break this to you, but sometimes, even in the best organizations, pricks/assholes/jerks manage to get in. I don’t think that any past or present Mensa member will deny that some Mensans are conceited. However, in my experience, I’ve found that there’s a lot of funny, unconceited, genuinely nice people in the groups as well. However, the nice ones are probably not likely to go around announcing their Mensa memberships to people who presumably are not interested in such things.
If anyone is interested in joining Mensa, I’d suggest calling the local chapter and asking if you can attend a couple of meetings. Most groups will be glad to welcome a new potential member. In the groups that I’ve been part of, spouses, SOs, and random dates were always welcomed, too, without anyone asking whether the escort was qualified to join.
Some people really enjoy being a part of it. However, there does seem to be considerable prejudice against Mensa members, without justification as far as I’m concerned. I’d advise against including it in one’s resume.
Give me a break. Most of us here talking about resume advice are not prejudiced against Mensa members. We don’t give a shit one way or the other. We lumped it into a long laundry list of organizations that are, in our opinion, inappropriate for resumes.
Haj
Did I just hear a whoosh?
It’s really a shame that this society feels that way about intelligent people. I am lucky enough to have a lot of knowledgeable people around me that share my interests. If that weren’t the case, I’d be looking for a social organization where I could find such people. Mensa just might be the ticket. Isn’t it sad that if I joined for that reason, I’d have to hide the fact that I associate with smart folks so that I wouldn’t get branded with one of those nasty labels you’re throwing around?
Dead wrong. First up for lead inocculations are those who wear their baseball caps ass about.
I may be joking, perhaps.
And I can’t imagine how you came to such a ridiculous conclusion about members. You paint such people with quite a broad brush. Perhaps certain intelligent people join groups like Mensa to avoid socializing with narrow minded people such as yourself.
From what I’ve read throughout this thread it seems that some members of Mensa are pompous asses. It can also be said that some of the academics I’ve known are also pompous asses. So are some of the persons of “average” intelligence.
Jesus Christ, why is it that intelligent people are treated like pariahs?
At least Invisible Wombat considered the possibility he/she had been whooshed. 
Hint: Review thread, then compare to my previous post.
Just join if you want - screw what anybody else thinks. It can be fun but you have to get involved – .
Second, I suppose the benefits / issues with indicating Mensa membership on a resume varies with the resume reader. For example, Google Labs (Google) has place a couple of ads in the Mensa Bulletin which are comprised of a number of questions. If answered correctly in sufficient number – Google Labs say they’ll call you regarding employment. The last one was an inserted ‘fill in the bubble test’ located in the September edition. So I suppose Google is looking for the sort of thinking that’s required to do well on an IQ test. Now the Google ‘sales department’ is probably looking for other qualities - Again, it depends on the personality of the reader and the position sought -
Actually, there are several benefits to Mensa besides communicating with other members. You can actually get discounts from Dell, Hertz, have free subscriptions to scientific magazines, get scholarships, and even find specific job listings for Mensa members. Mensa has been developed to help the gifted and talented because public schools generally do not have sufficient funds or programs to challenge these individuals and help them reach their full potential. Not to mention, it can get lonely when one tries to talk about their interests and very few people seem to understand. Mensa is there to help. Yes, if you can get into Mensa, DO IT! It should go on your resume ALONG with any other organizations that apply to the job you are seeking. I hope this helps.
But responding to zombie Mensa threads still won’t get you much here.
Well, the thread has been bumped.
Anyway, I think I’m with a lot of people when I say it can be a good place to network. E.g. you might not get “extra points” on a job application by listing Mensa membership, but, if not for Mensa, you might not have learned of the opportunity.
Are there any employers or schools that have publicly admitted that they give preference points to Mensa members, e.g. to make up for a deficiency or to boost you ahead of the competition?