Most should be aware that people in charge of
reviewing your resume only take a quick glance
at it before they move on to the next one; one
simple unpleasing anecdote, and your resume
will find itself in trash. Therefore, you must set
up your resume in a fashion where any bit of
unprofessionalism is nonexistent. There are
simply certain things that many people
incorporate in their resumes that simply have
no place – to many, not including these things
may seem like common sense but many still
continue to add them in. Here are some things
to NOT include in your resumes.
Private Information
Private information includes anything beyond
your contact information – phone numbers, e-
mail, and address. Things like marital status,
age, race, ethnicity, etc.; simply put, it’s
anything that could be used to discriminate
against you. Photographs are another item in
this criterion you want to stay away from
incorporating.
Irrelevant Work Experience
This is a tricky scenario; on one hand,
displaying experience in various avenues could
work well for you as it will make you look
versatile, but on the other hand, placing it in to
fill in the empty space will only work against
you. The best way to go about this is to only
include your 2-3 (great) experiences from your
recent past; if you are of a significant age, say
30, and you’ve had numerous jobs since you
were the age of 18, then you simply want to stay
away from inserting the early job experiences
you may have had. You can discuss your past
experiences in more detail if/when you get
asked about it during the face to face interview.
Unprofessional E-mail Address
We all have that email address from our
younger days that we simply can’t let go –
classy_girl_1994@blah.com is not a phrase your
potential future employer wants to see. Stick to
the basics; simplify your email address to your
proper name and a decent domain name.
Current Business Contact Information
Jumping from one job to another is an
experience that will be faced by most people.
But, the last thing you want to do is make your
current employer aware of your intentions. This
could be your office e-mail ID and office phone
number – most employers can access all your
office emails and receiving a phone call from a
potential future employer while you are at work
is like asking to be fired.
Salary Information
Including this information on the resume used
to be quite a thing but it’s considered repulsive
by today’s standard. Most jobs you will be
applying to will display how much they are
offering right from the get go so for you to have
your desired salary in your resume just comes
off as arrogant. You might get the chance to
negotiate your desired salary during the
interview so save this conversation for then.
Only include it if it is asked!
Boring Fonts
The main idea behind this tip is to avoid using
the overly typical sans serif fonts; these are your
Arial and Helvetica. Many recommend using
Times New Roman but this font is now overly
used and too commonly seen. Calibri,
Garamond, and Georgia are a few great
professional alternatives worth trying out
instead.
GPA
For the most part, you do not want to include
your GPA in your resume; there is however one
exception. If you have just recently graduated,
then of course it makes sense to include your
GPA, but, only include it if it is higher than 3.8.
If you have worked a few years after graduating
and are looking to switch jobs, there is simply
no need to include your GPA. Employers really
only care about the most recent of your
endeavors and most likely will not care about
your college performance and including it
makes it seem that your still stuck in the past
(the glory days).
A Bad Objective Statement
The decision over whether a resume should
have an objective statement has been debated
for quite some time now. But, if you are
planning to place it, then it is best you write the
best one possible and not some lousy filler. Two
important things to keep in mind: 1) don’t
sound overly confident and 2) make it about
what you are bringing to the company vs. what
you plan on getting out of the job. Objective
statement is practically the first thing your
potential employer will look at, and if it doesn’t
win them over, then it’s the last thing they will
read from it.
Unrelated Hobbies
This is tip is more for those who feel compelled
to incorporate hobbies that have nothing to with
their field what so ever. For example, if you are
into photography and you’re applying for a job
in journalism field, then yes, by all means,
incorporate links to your photography/media
related portfolio in your resume. But, leave all
unnecessary – inapplicable – hobbies out your
resume.
References
In a lot of situations, a reference (good or bad)
can be a major decisive factor in whether you
will be getting hired or not. Many people like to
include “References available on request”; this
is not necessary either because interested
employers will ask you for such information if
they are interested. The reference portion of
your resume is simply unnecessary in today’s
day and age; if you are asked about presenting
a few references, think of it as a good sign that
your employers are interested in you.
Bad Grammar
Proofreading your resume is a must! Don’t just
check for errors yourself; show it everybody
you know of that is good with the language. It
should go without saying, but many people
often submit their resumes without verifying it a
few times before submitting and the result is a quick dismissal.
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