The job market is getting competitive. Whether you are looking for a first job, an additional job, or a better job than the one you have now, you need a great resume.
A well-crafted resume can be the key to unlocking your next career opportunity. This short but important document is a crucial tool in your job search. Your resume introduces you to your potential employer and communicates a lot about who you are.
You want your resume to include your experiences, skills, and accomplishments. Every single line on your resume should be working for you! But what you don’t want to do is clutter your resume with information that is unnecessary or outdated. Worst of all, you don’t want your resume to include unimportant details that crowd out more valuable information!
Let’s look at 10 things you should NOT include in your resume.
1. Irrelevant Work Experience
If you are brand new to the workforce, your main goal is to show you are highly employable and willing to work. That means including any jobs you have had in the past, including things like babysitting, part time jobs, volunteer positions, etc.
But if you have been working for a while and have worked in several different industries and roles, your resume should only include jobs relevant to the one for which you are applying. For example, if you are applying for an industrial job, your job as a summer camp counselor probably isn’t relevant to note.
That said, sometimes you can make the case for transferable skills from one position to another. Suppose you apply for an administrative assistant position. In that case, you should include your past job as a retail sales associate and point out that you have extensive experience working with the public, solving problems, and interacting with IT platforms.
2. Outdated Skills
Some skills are just no longer relevant in the workplace. Someone may have been the best fax machine operator in a huge company, but that doesn’t mean they should include that skill in a contemporary resume. Similarly, you wouldn’t include your skills with obsolete technologies and software.
In general, job seekers are expected to be proficient with email platforms, basic computer skills, mobile devices, and other standard, everyday technologies. This means this information can be cut out of your resume, especially if it is taking up space that could be given to something more important.
3. Objective Statement
Not only does the objective statement on a resume take up valuable space that could be used for more relevant information, but it is also a sign of an older resume style. You may accidentally send a message to the hiring manager that you are not up-to-date on what employers are looking for.
4. High School Information
The only people who should include high school information on their resumes are those who have just graduated from high school. If you are a new graduate, then your graduation year is relevant because it helps to explain why you have a shorter, less detailed resume. If you graduated more than four years ago, skip the high school information.
5. Personal Interests and Hobbies
Even though you want your resume to show your potential employer who you are as a person, hobbies and interests don’t really belong on a resume.
The exception is if your hobbies and interests relate directly to the job or demonstrate relevant skills.
6. References
In the past, job seekers were encouraged to include their references on their resume. However, that isn’t necessary today. In fact, staffing professionals are more likely to emphasize that you shouldn’t include references.
Today’s employers ask for information about your professional and personal references late in the application process. If they want to speak with the people who will vouch for you, they will ask you for that information when they need it.
If you want, you can include a line like this at the end of your resume: References available upon request.
7. Salary History
Your salary history and salary expectations should not be included on your resume. First of all, this is premature disclosure of information that should come into salary negotiations at a later time. Second, it prevents you from having flexibility in the face of changing employment trends and shifts in your industry.
8. An Unprofessional Email Address
Provide an email address that is professional and straightforward, such as your full name, rather than something overly cute, outdated, immature, or (even worse) crass and offensive.
You should also avoid using an email address associated with any current employers. If you need to, you can create a brand new email address at Gmail to use for your job search.
9. Unrelated Professional Certifications
Forklift operators should definitely put their forklift certification on their application for a warehouse position, but they really shouldn’t include their Food Safe certification.
Reverse that: if you’re applying for a summer job at a restaurant in a popular tourist destination, that Food Safe certification makes a lot of sense, even though your forklift certification doesn’t.
Make sure that any professional certifications and courses are relevant to the job or the industry of the position you are applying for.
10. Big Long Blocks of Text
You want to include as much white space as you can on your resume. Short sentences after bullet points are your friend.
Avoid lengthy blocks of text that dominate your resume. Big paragraphs will make your resume cluttered and harder to read.
Liberty Staffing Can Help You Find a Great Job
Liberty Staffing is Southern Ontario’s leading staffing agency. We help people find great jobs every single day!
Ready to apply to our great job opportunities? Reach out to us today!
