With only two or so pages to impress a potential employer, you definitely want what you write on your resume to count. That said, there are certain things that you should avoid. If you want to pass the initial read-through by a hiring manager or applicant tracking system, you’ll need to focus as much on what not to include as what to include.
12 Things to Leave Off Your Resume
1. High School Information
Even if you’re fresh out of college and lacking additional educational experience, you shouldn’t include where you went to high school on your resume. If anything, an employer is looking for a college degree, completing trade school, or even some college classes. Skip the high school information and start your educational experience with college, technical schools, or the like.
2. References
If an employer is interested in you, they’re going to ask you for references. That’s why you shouldn’t include “References available upon request.” Doing so could date your resume—and make you lose out on precious real estate you could use to expand the information in your skills or work experience sections.
3. Personal Information
Employers aren’t allowed to ask for certain kinds of personal information during a job interview, so why should you offer it up on your resume? Don’t include:
- Your marital status
- Sexual orientation
- Religious or political affiliations
- Social security number
- Anything else that a prospective employer can’t ask about
4. Your Age
Although you might not explicitly state your age on your resume, there are other ways that you might be revealing how old you actually are.
For example, you might include the year you graduated college or cite job experience that’s well over 30 years old. While employers can’t legally discriminate against a candidate because of their age, that’s not to say that it doesn’t happen. So, if you think ageism is or will be a barrier in your job search, look through your resume and see if you’ve left any telltale signs of how old you are.
5. Your Exact Street Address
Older resume formats often included a header at the top of the page that had the job seeker’s name, address, and contact information on it. But now, there’s no reason to include a home address, particularly if you are applying for a remote job. Although some employers might need to know where you live if the job has a location requirement, it’s common practice now to just add the city, state, and zip code where you reside. Leaving off your street address (and other personal information) can also prevent the possibility of identity theft, should your resume wind up where it doesn’t belong.
6. A Career Objective
The objective of your job application is simple—you want to get hired! Even though career objectives were popular at one time, they aren’t anymore. If you feel that you need one (e.g., you’re changing careers), you can always address that issue in your cover letter.
Instead, use that space for a killer summary of qualifications to help the hiring manager quickly understand what you’ll bring to the role.
7. Your Current Work Contacts
Let’s say that you’re job searching while still employed. Be sure not to list your current job’s contact information (such as your work email or phone number) on your resume.
While it’s doubtful a prospective employer would intentionally use your work email or phone number to contact you, accidents can happen. Remember, employers can (and sometimes do) peruse your email and potentially have access to your voicemail.
If you don’t get fired outright for the offense (you’re using company property to conduct your job search, and most likely on company time too), it could cause some serious tension between you and your current boss.
8. Your Personal Email Address
All job seekers should have at least two email addresses: one for professional purposes and a personal one. Applying for a job with the email address luv2crochet@gmail.com or yankeefanforlife@yahoo.com doesn’t look professional and could negatively impact how an employer perceives your job application.
Use an email address specifically for job searching; that way, you’ll never miss an email from a potential employer for a job interview.
9. Hobbies or Interests
Having hobbies and activities is, for many, essential for work-life balance and to avoid burnout. And while your hobbies help make you interesting and unique, they don’t necessarily make you a more qualified candidate for the role. So, as a rule, leave hobbies off your resume.
The exception, though, is if your hobby is relevant to the role. For example, if you’re applying for a social media role for a restaurant, you can mention your cooking hobby or the wine-tasting classes you’ve taken.
10. Endless Soft Skills
While your soft skills can give you an edge over other candidates, too many soft skills start to become a bit unbelievable. For example, if you say you’re a problem-solving, independent, motivated self-starter who loves adapting to change because you’re flexible, an employer may wonderif you’re just fluffing your resume.
Instead of stating that you possess all these soft skills, focus on the top two or three that are relevant to the role. Then, use the STAR method to explain how you used those soft skills to benefit your employer.
11. Pronouns
If you have a specific set of pronouns you prefer, you can make that known to the employer. However, pronouns do not belong on your resume.
When you write the bullet points for your work experiences, it’s understood that “you” did the work. So, there’s no reason to say, “I led a team of 10 direct reports.” Instead, start bullet points with an action verb: “Motivated a team…”
12. Every Job You’ve Ever Had
If you’re a recent graduate, you probably don’t have much experience, so you’ll include most, if not all, of your work history. Likewise, if you’re a senior-level executive and have been in the same industry for decades, you may want to include your entire work history (but on a CV instead of a resume).
For everyone else, though, you generally don’t need to list every job you’ve ever had. The last 10 to 15 years of work history is sufficient. The exception might be if you worked for a very well-known company more than 10 years ago, or an older job is relevant for a career change you’re making now.
Edit for Impact
Deleting these things from your resume does more than help you regain valuable real estate. It helps show that you’re a savvy job seeker who uses their resume to convey their true valuein a small but powerful package.
