When you are writing a resume, you are not writing your autobiography. It is simply unnecessary to include every little detail of your work history. What the resume should be is a marketing tool: a “sales brochure” about you. Their job is to get you a job interview. Therefore, it is important that you be careful about inclusions on your resume, as well as what you decide to omit.
The following things should never be included in the vast majority of resumes:
1. Dates that indicate your age. Age discrimination is too blatant and can work against you. You can avoid showing your age by skipping the year of graduation and not listing all of your work experience. Instead, include only the most recent and relevant to the position. If the position requires a substantial amount of experience, it may be appropriate to disclose your age, but if you are unsure, avoid this problem.
2. Hobbies. The only time listing hobbies may be relevant is if they relate specifically to your career choice. If you indicate that you have many interests, it may suggest that you may be distracted from your work. This space is best suited to show off your skills. There may be time in the interview to talk about hobbies – this is the best forum to show how well trained you are as a person.
3. “References available upon request.” This is a waste of time as most job application forms will include a section where you can list your references. A better use of the space would be to discuss job-specific information.
4. Generic and vague objectives. Goals like “… get a challenging position at (company name)” don’t say anything to the recruiter. Instead, you should tailor the mission statement to the particular position, perhaps using a skills brief or a professional summary.
5. Short-term jobs. Most employers will shy away from prospective employees who have had many short-term jobs as they want someone who will last long enough in the position to recoup money spent on training. Don’t include jobs you’ve only had for a few months. If you have completed multiple assignments with an agency, list the agency as the employer for each assignment. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to list all of your employers when you complete the job application and any issues can be addressed at the interview stage.
6. GPA. After a few years, the GPA loses its relevance. The exception to this are positions where education is emphasized. Even in this case, if you did not achieve a high GPA, do not include it.
7. Omit any reference to your religion, gender, sexual preference, political party, or anything else that could be construed as remotely controversial.
8. More experience than the job dictates. If the job requires 5 years of experience, make sure the resume indicates 5 years of experience. It would be a waste of space to list 20 years of experience, especially if most of it is irrelevant to the position. You can list the additional experience, but only after you have listed the most relevant experience. In the event that your resume is lengthy, remove any “additional” job information that is not related to the specific position.
9. High school information. If you have college grades, your high school grades are not required. The only exception to this rule is if you attended a well-known or well-respected high school and where mentioning your attendance could give you additional credibility. Take care that this does not cause problems with the recruiter, who may not have attended the same school and not share their positive experiences. If you have not been to college, refer to this section as “Training” and list any job training or post-school qualifications you have earned.
10. Anything negative. This is an obvious problem. Never, under any circumstances, include something on your resume that could be construed as negative. Remember, the point of a resume is to get you a job interview, not to prevent you from achieving that milestone.