Johnston Group International LLC

A Boutique Recruiting and Career Consultancy Firm

RESUME TIP: 10 Things Not to Include on Your Resume

Your interview weighs heavily on your ability to sell your skills and tell

people who you are —and this has to happen within a few seconds. Statistics

have shown that recruiters can spend as little as 10 seconds reviewing your

resume before deciding if you meet their needs. You need to keep your resume

sharply focused on your skills and qualifications to get their attention quickly.

Here are ten things that should not be included on a resume. Don’t clutter your

resume. (Note: these tips are written for the U.S. job seeker. There may be

international differences in how you write resumes.)

15 Things Not to Include on Your Resume

1. Long paragraphs without bullets: Long paragraphs makes it too easy

for a hiring manager to skim over sections and they might miss your key

qualifications if paragraphs are too thick with text. Use bullet points when

you can.

2. An objective: We all know your objective is to get the job. Use a career

summary instead.

3. Descriptions rather than achievements: Employers don't want to see

your job description, they want to know how you added value.

4. Phrases like Responsibilities or Duties Included: Make your resume

about what you accomplished and not what you did in terms of duties.

5. Spelling error or grammatical errors: Check your resume twice and

have someone else check it as well.

6. Personal information like height, weight, bir th date, age, sex, r eligion,

political affiliation, or place of birth. Keep your resume focused on the

facts relevant to the position.

7. Hobbies or interests which do not bear any relevance to the

job. Candidates, especially experienced individuals, should have more

compelling information to share in the limited space of their resume.

8. Photographs: Unless you are a model, there’s no reason to have a

photograph on your resume.

9. Space fillers like “References Available upon Request”: This takes up

space and may cause you to leave off more relevant information. It goes

without saying that you will furnish references if requested.

10. Names and contact information of former supervisors: Furnish a

separate list of references, when requested.