Episode 303: What You Should Leave Off of Your Resume
I was working with several new Career Coaching Clients last week and as I was looking through and sharing my recommendations on resumes, it struck me that my list of what to leave off is literally larger than my list of what to include. What you include depends so much on your skill set and where you are in your career. What to leave out is the same regardless of those factors.
Here are my top Resume No-No's:
Don't have more than 15 years of experience listed, no matter how intriguing. Watch for her suggestion on how to incorporate skills from a job beyond those last 15 years that are applicable to the job you are trying to attain.
References are not necessary so take them off. If a company wants them, they’ll ask you to provide them. I promise. Plus you have limited space on a resume and all content needs to be used wisely.
Don’t use an objective at the top of your resume. A brief summary is okay and is particularly useful if you are looking to make an industry change. Some folks are doing that in light of 2020.
Hobbies are a waste of your resume real estate and the hiring manager can find it irrelevant and annoying. They can and will check you out on FB and see what you are up to there. That probably bears repeating. They will check you out on FB, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. Make sure your social media reflects what you want to have portrayed.
Don't create a resume longer than 2 pages. Hiring Managers and recruiters don't want to weed through your long list of skills. Keep it concise and direct.
Leave off weird fonts. The two fonts I always recommend you use are both sans serif. Calibri and Arial. You can’t go wrong with them. Pick one and go forth.
A resume isn’t a laundry list of daily tasks but a skilled summary of your important accomplishments. It’s what you contributed to a company.
I have more tips if you need them on all things career related. Just reach out to me at brenda@brendaholley.com to schedule a free 30 minute consult.
