16 Things You Absolutely Don’t Want On Your Resume

The job market is competitive. There are often hundreds of applicants for every job listing. How are you going to make it to the interview round? The ticket to get there is your resume.

How does your resume look? What would a career expert say about it? We found a great post on Business Insider about The Worst Resume Ever. It asks career experts about the worst resume mistakes ever. You might be surprised by what these resume experts consider to be major mistakes.

We like to call these resume mistakes, the “Don’ts.” The following don’ts are from the Business Insider post. These are things you don’t want to do to your resume:

1. Don’t include an objective – If you’re applying for a specific job, it’s easy for the recruiter to guess your resume’s objective.
2. Don’t go over 1 page – We’ve heard this rule forever. The key is to not tweak your fonts and margins to cram everything onto one page. Try to be concise and make every word count.
3. Don’t use strange formatting – Eliminate extra spaces, weird fonts, or distracting pictures. It doesn’t help sell you as a professional.
4. Don’t write in full sentences – Most recruiters spend less than 10 seconds reading your resume. They aren’t going to read it word for word.
5. Don’t use an unprofessional email address – If you haven’t gotten rid of your old junk email, now is the time to do so. We mean right now.
6. Don’t write in third person – You are writing your resume about yourself. Use “I’ not “he.”
7. Don’t use too much jargon – Use specifics that show why you are valuable to the company.
8. Don’t list every job you’ve ever had – Irrelevant work experience is useless on a resume. It takes up space and does help to sell you as a star employee.
9. Don’t over do your designing – Yes, you want your resume to stand out, but you also don’t want it to be an eyesore. Simple is better. Use your experience, skills, and certifications to impress the recruiter.
10. Don’t list your hobbies – Unless your hobbies relate specifically to your job, you don’t need to tell the recruiter.
11. Don’t attach a photo – Your personal appearance should not matter in your job application.
12. Don’t include unnecessary information – It does not matter if you are a brunette, married, have 2 lizards, or are a Catholic. Don’t add it to your resume.
13. Don’t list your references – The recruiter will contact your references when or if they are ready.
14. Don’t include your current employers contact info – A recruiter does not need to call you while you are at your other job. That’s a silly thing to include.
15. Don’t send resumes in odd formats – PDF files are the only way to send a resume.
16. Don’t send in a hard copy – Everything is digital these days.

All of these resume don’ts came specifically from career experts – the guys and gals that stare at resumes all day. Listen to what they have to say. They are the ones that decide if a resume gives you a pass to the interview round.

Is it time to update your resume? It’s easy to do – especially if you use the Resume Manager on JobMonkeyJobs. Take 5 minutes and get your resume dialed in right now.