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What Not To Include In Your Résumé

Goodwin Recruiting | | September 21, 2016

What Not to Include in Your Resume

When it comes to writing a résumé, sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of making avoidable mistakes. In an effort to go above and beyond, applicants tend to turn away employers with unnecessary and outlandish content. Résumés are essential to your job search because they briefly showcase the qualities and skills that make you the perfect candidate for the job.

In order to create a strong résumé, here are a few things to avoid:

An Objective

Objectives in a résumé are as outdated as they are useless. Employers already know your goal is to get the job—that’s exactly why you applied!

Personal Info

Do not include your relationship status, age, religious beliefs, or social security number. Not only are these things irrelevant to your job capability, they are also illegal for an employer to ask about.

Irrelevant Job Experience

Unless a previous job directly correlates with the position you’re aiming for, try to avoid including it on your résumé.

Lies

Fabricating outrageous job positions and awards will get you nowhere fast. Someone applying for an entry-level position probably didn’t win a Nobel Peace Prize.

References

Don’t include references or even a line that says “references upon request.” If an employer wants to know your references, they’ll ask you. Don’t waste the small amount of space on your résumé!

Unprofessional Email Address

If you’re still one of the few using an AIM email address from your teen years, it’s time to ditch the old one and claim a new one. Something like cutiepie2132@aol.com or goredsox21@yahoo.com will only make you look childish. Creating a new, appropriate email address is free and easy!

Salary Information

Avoid including how much you made at your previous jobs. Salary is a topic discussed during the interview.

Outdated Fonts

Try not to use serif fonts such as Times New Roman. These are old-fashioned and outdated. Try something such as Arial or Cambria. By all means, never ever use Comic Sans!

GPA

Unless you’re still a student, your GPA is irrelevant. A very high GPA such as 3.8 and above is acceptable if you’re a recent college graduate. Anything lower than that should not be included.

Unnecessary Words

In the header, there’s no need to write “phone” or “email” next to your number and email address. Employers understand what a phone number and email address are without you labeling it. This is just adding more clutter to your résumé.

Explaining Why You Want The Job

Résumés do not call for an in-depth description of why you want the job. This is meant for your cover letter and the interview!

 

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