Updated: Sep 19, 2021
Putting your resume together can be difficult and daunting. While you’ll want to give the hiring manager every reason to consider your resume, there is such a thing as too much information in the world of resumes. Rather than looking for reasons to hire you, potential employers are really screening out resumes that are not ideal in their effort to collect a reasonable group of candidates to interview.
Focus your resume primarily on providing details of your skills and qualifications that are necessary for the job for which you’re applying – and leave the added background information on the cutting room floor. We’ve compiled a list of items that you can skip when writing your resume. Including any of these ten things can get your resume knocked out of consideration for a job before a thorough review.
Irrelevant Experiences
Stay laser-focused on the qualifications you possess that will make you a perfect fit for this job. Every statement should lead the recruiter to come to this same conclusion. Apply the same approach to listing your skills. Only offer the recruiter reasons to hire you and leave out your irrelevant experiences.
Photographs
While acting or modeling job postings may require a headshot, most employment opportunities do not. Your potential employer doesn’t want to risk accusations of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or age.
If you are applying for a job for which your appearance is part of the criteria and for which there is a headshot requirement, then provide the requested material. Otherwise, you can keep your pics for yourself.
Personal Information
Just the facts! A potential employer shouldn’t base decisions on birthdate, religion, height, or weight. It’s best to leave out these details along with your age, political affiliation, or place of birth. A recruiter may think you’re tempting them to discriminate.
Hobbies or Interests
While it may be interesting for the hiring manager to learn a little more about you, there’s simply not enough room on a resume to include details of your hobbies and interests. Your number one priority is using every inch of your resume to convince this hiring manager that you are the ideal candidate for the job.
Misspellings or Grammatical Errors
This goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: Check your resume for spelling and grammar and ask a couple of your friends or family to do the same. Not only will spelling or grammatical errors indicate that you are not detail-oriented, but also your resume is the first sample of your work ethic. Show that you put in every effort to ensure your work is as good as possible.
References
Once part of the resume formula, references on a resume are now considered outdated. They are a remnant of a bygone era. Of course, you will need references once you reach that stage of the process. Keep your list of references up-to-date and ready for the hiring manager when they make the request. You can also leave off the old phrase “References Available Upon Request”.
Long Paragraphs Without Bullets
Make it easy for the recruiter to scan your resume. If you weigh down your resume with long paragraphs, it makes it difficult to quickly read, and that alone may be a reason for the recruiter to pass on the whole thing. Use bullet points followed by action verbs to efficiently and effectively summarize your experience and skills.
Reasons for Leaving Previous Employers
If you reach the interview stage, the hiring manager may ask why you’re leaving your current position. But until you reach that point, you don’t need to provide background information about your current or previous employers. In all likelihood, you won’t need to justify your career choices at all. But you definitely don’t need to do so on your resume.
Objective
Along with references, you can also skip the objective. When a potential employer reads the first line of your resume, take advantage of the space to introduce yourself and tell a little more about yourself. This is your single-page marketing campaign, and you’ll need every line to sell yourself, sell your experience, and sell your skills to a recruiter or hiring manager. Make every line count and skip anything that doesn’t convince a potential employer that you’re the best fit for the job.
Let Optimum Staffing Solutions Guide You
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