30 THINGS TO REMOVE FROM YOUR RESUME IMMEDIATELY

When you’re applying for jobs, you probably try to put on all the possible things on your resume to show your expertise. But here is the truth: Space is a precious commodity on your resume, so you’ll want to exclude many items to make space for essential ones. Here’s a list of non-essentials that we encourage you to eliminate from your resume unless it is requested and appropriate in your country:

  1. Photograph, images and charts
  2. Age
  3. Full address (Street names & neighborhoods bring up associations that may hurt you. For example, someone may assume your commute is too long)
  4. Citizenship status
  5. Unprofessional email address or an email address from your current employer
  6. GPA
  7. Multiple phone numbers
  8. Relationship status
  9. Religion
  10. Sexual orientation
  11. Social security number (Sharing this information could put you at risk for identity theft)
  12. Outdated or irrelevant social media profiles
  13. Excessive information about college
  14. Irrelevant work experience
  15. Terms, job titles, and acronyms that are specific to your previous employer and aren’t universal to the industry (This sort of jargon can be confusing to recruiters and HR managers.)
  16. Too much of the past
  17. Weird or potentially polarizing interests
  18. Praising adjectives, exaggerations or unnecessarily big words (your experience and competencies will speak volumes)
  19. Tiny, unimportant jobs from 15+ years ago
  20. Lies and fake credentials
  21. References or a line mentioning that references are available upon request
  22. Too many colors
  23. Salary history
  24. Jobs you were fired from due to ethical misconduct
  25. Outdated or universal skills
  26. Clichéd phrasing
  27. Prose or entire paragraphs
  28. Unnecessarily long bulleted lists
  29. Spelling and grammar errors (employers may believe that you’re inattentive and produce poor quality work)
  30. Technical jargon specific to one industry, especially if you’re applying for jobs in other industries

If you want to write a job-winning resume, check out our new online video course “How to Write a Job-Winning Resume.”

How to Write a Job-Winning Resume

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