Things You Should ‘NOT’ Include in Your Resume

Unemployed from past few months? Left last job without relieving letter? Changed many jobs at short

intervals?

There may be many things in your professional portfolio which may create a negative impression on your

prospective employer and you’re hesitant to include it in your resume. What to do in such a situation?

How to include these things? The answer is simple. Do not include them at all.

Yes you have heard it right. There is nothing wrong in keeping few things under wrap while you are

creating your resume. Your resume is your personal portfolio and it is entirely your decision about what

you want to include in it and what you want to leave out. If hiding certain harmless details increases your

chances of getting a job, there is nothing illegal about it.

For example, if you have been unemployed for a certain period of time, it is not a crime. Given today’s

competitive job scenario, it can happen to anybody. Only thing you need is to be prepared with a right

justification to give during the interview. Suppose your previous boss had been mean to you and you had

to quit the job because of him. Just state clear facts about it to your interviewer. Do not bad mouth your

last company or previous boss. This will state you as a problem kid and a failed team player. If you were

laid off, just say that. The key is to prepare a verbal explanation for things you cannot include in your

resume.

If you have worked on many freelancing gigs in addition to your full time job, there is no need to include

too many of them in the resume. Including too many projects will make your resume long and (maybe)

uninteresting for the interviewer. Given the length, he may skip to overlook the entire section as well. A

good idea is to include only the best few which showcases your skills that are relevant for the current job.

This will create a good impression about your skills and will increase your chances of getting the job. If

working on a second job is in violation to the company’s rule, you can just skip the entire thing in your

resume.

In conclusion, you are allowed to leave short gaps or other insignificant details from your resume. No

interviewer expects you to give out every single detail in your resume. Only things which are important for

you to tell and for the interviewer to know should be highlighted. In today’s fast paced life, it is no longer

cool to create resumes with exclusive (and unimportant) details. So, if you are unemployed for some time,

don’t worry. Just do not mention it in your resume.