4 things to leave off your resume
You spend hours agonizing over your resume. You overthink every bullet point. You wordsmith every verb. You spellcheck 5 times and mess with the formatting until you go cross-eyed. And after all that effort, you only have 6-10 seconds to grab a recruiter or hiring manager’s attention.
6-10 seconds is short. And as folks who have looked at thousands of resumes on the other side of the hiring equation, we know what makes a resume stand out in the right ways, and what makes a resume stand out in the wrong ways.
The bottom line is that less is often more. But it can be tough to know what to cut, and what to include. So, here’s our two cents on 4 things you can absolutely, unequivocally, definitely, forever leave off your resume.
1. Your picture.
We thought this one went without saying, but since every template in Adobe and Canva seems to have a person’s face on it, we thought we’d say it anyways in case the message has gotten muddied. Don’t put your headshot on your resume, unless it’s a job where what your face looks like matters (and let’s be honest, most of us are not Zoolander). A good recruiter may even screen you out based on the fact that you included a photo, as it opens things up to potential discrimination claims down the road. For real. Recruiters shouldn’t care what you look like, so as tempting as it may be, omit your photo.
2. Every detail of every job you’ve ever had.
Edit, edit, edit. Did we mention edit? By including too much information on your resume in solid walls of text, you’re making it harder on the person reading it to pick out what’s most important and quickly compare that information to what they’re looking for. The fastest way to get the hiring manager on your side is to spoon-feed them the information they need to screen you in. Tell them that you’ve read the qualifications list on the job posting, and then explain to them exactly how you meet those requirements. Nothing extra.
3. Unnecessary personal information
This one goes hand in hand with #1. Personal information about your hobbies, your interests, and your age are best left off your resume. As a human, I’m glad you have hobbies outside of work. I’m sure it makes you interesting and well-rounded and keeps you happy and healthy. But save the personal tidbits for future chats around the water cooler with your new colleagues after you start.
4. Typos
We’ve all been there. You hit “send” on your application, only to immediately realize you spelled your last name wrong, or forgot to complete a thorough “find/replace” for the name the last organization you applied to. Ugh. It’s so hard to spot your own errors. If you can, let your application sit for 24 hours before you hit send so you can do a quality assurance edit with fresh eyes. If you can’t wait, have a trusted pal or family member edit for you (or reach out to us!)
Your resume is one of the most important pieces of paper you’ll ever put together. After all, it can land you your dream job, it has the potential to earn you hundreds of thousands of dollars.