Everyone worries about his or her resume. It is this piece of paper that will give a first impression of you to your potential employers. What should you put on it? What should you not? Is it better to follow a template or go with something new and fresh?
While many concentrate on what to include in your resume, here we will explore the 9 things that you shouldn’t put on your resume.
Too Far-Fetched Objectives
Many people are achievers and want to constantly push themselves to be the next biggest thing, or to achieve something great. That, in most cases, is admirable and a wanted quality. However, there is a fine line between being an achiever and being too outlandish.
Statements like “I want to help the company earn $10 million dollars from my first project” are too overconfident and “out there” that will almost always ensure that the rest of your resume isn’t going to be read.
Irrelevant Job Experience
One of the worst things to do is to send the same resume to every single employer. You should always try to cater your resume to what your potential employers are looking for. For example, if you’re applying for an IT job, don’t include that summer internship as a stagehand.
Sure, it is good to have different experiences and past jobs but irrelevant job experiences will only clutter your resume and take away the emphasis on what’s important, like your previous jobs in IT, for example.
Non-Achievements
We try our best to be better than the other candidates, and one of the ways we do it is through our achievements. Many people like to throw in extra achievements or fabricate an achievement like how they won “fastest typer” in a company competition.
False achievements are easily spotted and will only reflect badly upon you. Only use professional and community service awards in this section of your resume.
Physical Characteristics
The people who are going to employ you don’t care how you look like – unless you’re trying to be a model or actor or you’re applying for a physical labor job. Skip physical descriptions like your height or your weight. It is a non-factor when it comes to hiring.
Weird Hobbies
We all have things we enjoy and hobbies we do. It is okay to include one hobby or two in your resume, as long as they are not “extreme” or “taboo”. Avoid interests like “baking cakes for my dogs” or “cross-dressing” and stick to more generic hobbies like “reading”, “playing tennis”, etc.
Generally, if you have an interesting hobby that is not something common that other people enjoy as else, try not to list it down. You can always express and share your hobbies with your colleagues later on if you wish to.
Private Matters
These will include your religious and/or political affiliations, sexual orientation, marital status, how many children you have etc. It is better to leave these out of your resume because some issues are controversial and/or completely irrelevant. Some points may also influence the hiring manager unknowingly. You can always answer these questions in person if the hiring manager brings it up.
Bad Grammar and English
This is one of the worst resume crimes that you can commit. Always use spell-check and have a friend or two read your resume thoroughly before you send it to potential employers. Bad English in general will always leave a bad first impression and will have you seem like someone who is incompetent.
Try to stick to simple English and shorter sentences. You don’t need big words to try to impress. No one wants to or will take out a dictionary to read your resume, so, don’t try.
Unprofessional Contact Information
We all have our personal email addresses. We may have “fun” emails we use for our friends or other personal uses, but always use a professional email for the contact information on your resume. A good email address will include your first and last name, or an abbreviation of your last name.
Attention-getting Tactics
Some people try different tactics to get their resume to stand out from hundreds of others applying for the same job. Again, there is a line. Don’t use different fonts or bright neon colors, scented papers or other adornments in your resume. It will make you stand out – but for all the wrong reasons.
In Conclusion
First impressions are important, and your resume is going to help make that first impression for you. Avoid these mistakes and you’ll have a bigger chance of having your resume read, and you being considered for the job.