Here we list what should never make the final cut of your resume:
Every red flag is just another reason for an employer to skip you. Don’t give them the ammo before they even meet you. In the past, everybody including myself has been guilty of being apart of something we hear on TV, or acting on something our friends say… Unfortunately for resumes, we can’t do that. This article is here to debunk some of the myths you may have heard about what to put on your resume.
1. Following trends
Continuing from above, don’t fall for trends. Just because someone you know thought it’d be a good idea to add excessive keywords or share their Facebook profile link, doesn’t mean you should follow suit. Adding excessive keywords may help recruiters find your resume online. However, when the time comes for a recruiter to actually read your resume, they’ll be put off by the fact that you won’t sound natural.
If “not” sharing your Facebook profile isn’t obvious enough, I’ll tell you why. All personal “shares” and “likes” are public for most people to see. This gives your potential employer a chance to judge you, and they’ll judge everything they can. So don’t give them that chance.
2. Listing high school jobs:
If you’re moving into your lifetime career, or at least moving out of the $9/hr job; there’s not need to list your high school jobs. I only recommend 2 most recent/applicable jobs anyway, so there’s no need to post you were a dish washer when you were 16 years old. You have more to show your employer than the jobs you had when you were younger.
The only situation I’d recommend putting these jobs on your resume is if you’re applying for college jobs, or might still be in high school looking for another high school job.
3. Overdoing creativity:
I’m the first person to tell you that separating yourself should be your first priority… However, there’s no need to have an all colored resume. There’s no need to have a resume that’s a different size than printable paper. If your printer can print your resume on a regular sheet of paper (8.5″ x 11″), you’re good.
Some people make resumes that are the size of a postcard, or the size of a paster board. Some people will put perfume, or glitter on their resumes. These types of resumes should only be considered for an extremely specific job in a creative field such as fashion design or something similar. Even then, i’d say it’s extremely unnecessary to do so.
4. Including photos:
How many resumes have you seen with photos? Countless right? Well there’s a few reasons why that’s a bad idea.
- It’ won’t look good when it prints. Unless your recruiter has a good printer, or you make sure your resume prints color in CMYK (which even still might not work).
- People may judge you for it… And we couldn’t say this enough; but people will judge you every chance they get. So whether or not they like the fact that you put a picture in there, why take that chance? You’re just as likely to get an interview without it.
5. Write more than 2 pages:
Recruiters are looking at 30-50 resumes per day, and that’s a low rounded number. I know this because that’s how my job was while running a recruiting firm in Baltimore, MD. We were a small recruiting firm too… So pages start to blend when looking at 50+ resumes. Imagine all the resumes had 3 pages; as a recruiter, you’re looking at 150 pages of peoples information.
Recruiters will look at these resumes, and decide whether or not they’re going to put you in a (maybe) pile, which could lead to an interview. Be the person that’s concise on 1-2 pages, which won’t drive the recruiters insane.
6. Using slang or cursing:
If this is common sense to you, good! The only time you should use any type of jargon, is if it’s industry specific and you’re only applying for one industry. For example, the term “congressional appropriations” may only be a term used for a political campaign, or financial analyst.
