Your resume is an important tool in your search for a new job. It presents your work history, the experience that you possess and, more importantly, the specific employable skills you have that a hiring manager is looking for. The information in your resume can make the difference between getting an interview for the desired position and being ignored. There is such a thing as too much information, however. The more bloated your resume, the more likely an employer will put it to the side and out of contention. Here are ten things to consider leaving off your resume:
Career Objective
The career objective is typically the first words on your resume and often fails to say much more than “seeking gainful employment.” A better use of the space is a personal profile that says who you are, your professional background, and the skills you have that make you an obvious choice for the position.
Lengthy Work History
Your resume should be focused when it comes to your work history. Provide previous regular work experience for the past 10 years and remove any earlier positions. If you’ve worked at a position for five to 10 years, it is best to limit your past work experience to four jobs.
Weak Descriptions
How you describe your job may be one of the weakest parts of your resume. Your general job description may not catch a hiring manager’s attention, but what you did in the position and how you made a direct impact in the role will catch their eye. Your job description should tell the employer at a glance how you achieved results and what skills and assets you used to accomplish those goals.
Long Paragraphs
A hiring manager may spend less than a minute reading your resume, which is likely one of many from the stack on their desk. That leaves little time to make an impression. Leave out the long, dense paragraphs that take too long for a person to read through. Use bullets to highlight relevant points, break up the dense text, and make an immediate impression.
First Person Perspective
You’ll find yourself using “I” a lot in your resume because you’re promoting yourself. When revamping your resume, leave out the first person. Start your statements with action words to direct the attention to your qualifications for the position instead of yourself.
Photos
The use of photos on resumes has grown in popularity, but unless you are applying for a job as a TV reporter, model, or actor, it’s unnecessary, especially if the resume is printed. If personal appearance is part of the job, better to direct the hiring manager to your LinkedIn profile or portfolio.
Exaggerations
According to a recent survey, 75 percent of human resources managers say they’ve caught a lie on a candidate’s resume. That’s good enough of a reason to leave embellished details out of your resume. There’s no reason to exaggerate your career experience to a hiring manager if you’re confident in the work you’ve done.
Irrelevant Information
You should leave out of your resume information that employers may consider irrelevant to the position you are applying to fill. Personal information, hobbies, your military background—unless it relevant to the position—all make you appear to be a well-rounded person but mean little to an employer building a pool of candidates. Stick to your work record on your resume.
College Work
You may be proud of your academic achievements, and there are hiring managers and recruiters that take into consideration a GPA or a spot on the dean’s list as an area of strength in a candidate. Unless it is specifically requested in the job opening, there’s no point in having your GPA on your resume. The more work experience you have, the less space your college background should take up on your resume.
References Upon Request
It is typical for a job seeker to include a line promising to supply job references upon request. This is understood, so it is better to leave it off and use the space on your resume for more important information useful to the hiring manager. You can furnish a list of references in the job application.
If your resume needs a makeover and you are in search of professional resume writing services, the experts at Creative Resumes can be of help. Contact Creative Resumes at 1-877-259-8556 to discuss what their staff can do to help your career.
