8 Things That Do NOT Belong on Your Resume

8 Things That Do NOT Belong on Your Resume Resumes are tricky to get absolutely right and although there are no hard rules about what should and shouldnt be included in it, there are a few things  that can affect how your prospective employers perceive you negatively. In such a competitive job market one slip up can be all it takes to eliminate  you from the running, so its important the you invest time in perfecting your resume and really considering what it is that employers want to read. Its likely that youve read lots of advice about what you should write  in your resume, but what about what you shouldnt include? Here are eight things that you should avoid putting in your resume, to give yourself the best chance of  being considered for the job. 1) Objective: Under objective, you state the type of job you want and what you want to accomplish. Lots of resume templates that you find online will suggest you include this; however, this information is redundant because clearly, your objective is to get hired for  the position you are applying for. A short personal summary of some of your top achievements and experiences  would be a much more worthwhile opening paragraph and will give the employer an insight into what you can offer them, rather than what you are after. 2) Personal information: Including personal information such as your height, weight, age, race, marital status,  number of children is not only irrelevant but also inappropriate. It is illegal for a  prospective employer to ask for this information during a job interview so why include it  on your resume? If this information does not directly effect your work performance or availability, there is no need to include it. 3) Salary: Listing your salary history or demand on your resume is disadvantageous to you and may  cause your resume to be passed over. The issue of salary is usually addressed during  interview or when the employer decides to offer you the job. Unless you are required by  an employer to include this information, leave it out. You  could also potentially close the door on the opportunity to negotiate a higher salary or receive the offer that you were after by disclosing salary information at such an early stage. 4) References: Listing your references or putting “references available upon request” on your resume  is a waste of space. Most employers will not check the references of their candidates until  they have had interviewed them. An employer will ask for your references if they are  interested in offering you a job and you should provide the information at this time. This being said, always make sure that you have up to date contact details for at least three references available if an employer were to ask for them at any point. 5) Links to your personal blog or social media sites: If you are not applying for a writing job, do not include this information. If you are  applying for a creative role, for example a web designer position, you can provide links to your professional website  with your portfolio, and this website should be separate from your personal website. Remember this, most employers are not interested in seeing pictures of you partying with  your friends or what you ate for breakfast. If you do choose to share this information, make sure that you come across as professionally as possible and have not posted anything that will harm your chances of being considered for the job. 6) Untruths: Its tempting to elaborate on your skills and experience when writing your resume, but I recommend you steer as close to the truth as possible when giving your resume a bit of a boost. Recruiters can often see right through any false statements and  will frequently conduct background checks on candidates. On top of this, can you imagine anything more embarrassing than being caught out in a lie mid-interview? 7) Typos and grammatical mistakes: Before you send out your resume, make sure that you proofread it several times and ask  other people to check it over for  you. Make sure that your contact information is accurate  or your prospective employers won’t be able to get hold of you. Moreover, a resume full of  grammatical mistakes won’t  reflect well  on you, as it may imply that you have bad attention to detail or arent taking the job hunt very seriously. 8) Images: It is inappropriate to include your picture or other clipart on your resume. Unless you are  applying for an acting or modelling job, what you look like has little or no impact on your  job. In addition to this, having images on your resume makes it appear less formal.