Top 10 things to leave out while writing resume
5 minutes read
Writing a resume can be a tough job. It doesn't matter if you are a fresher or an experienced individual. Everyone gets confused with what to include and what all to leave in their resume.
After all, it's the only ticket that can lead you to your dream job. Therefore, it's important that our resume is perfect. But how will we know what are the things to omit?
Some things just have no place on a resume. Putting them on your resume can get it thrown out of the running for a job before it gets a good look.
You may think that you are giving the employer a lot of reasons to hire you, but there is such a thing as too much information on a resume.
When looking at a stack of resumes, employers are looking for ways to eliminate applicants so that they can interview a manageable number of people.
Make sure you don't include the wrong information, which is anything that could make the company think you aren't qualified or motivated to do the job.
Before you start working on your resume, you should read up on how employers decide who to hire. Then work on updating your resume so that it includes information that will help the hiring manager notice you.
To make your job easier, here are the top 10 things you should leave while writing your resume.
Contrary to popular belief, having your picture in your resume (unless the Job Description asks for one) is a bad idea.
We all agree that it should be your qualifications and skills that should get you a job, not your appearance. But in the end, we are all humans.
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Having your picture can create unwanted bias in the recruiter's mind. They might not like the way you look or judge you on your appearance.
Even if they find you good-looking, they might think you are a party animal and not interested in hard work. It's better to avoid a situation like this. Hence avoid putting your picture while writing your resume.
Now let's make one thing clear. Your resume is not your Tinder profile. Your recruiter doesn't need to know about your relationship status or date of birth.
They are not going to match horoscopes with you.
Including your date of birth is telling them your exact age. This can again lead to unwanted bias. If they think you are too young, they might think you are inexperienced.
Also read: Need for a Tech Resume
If they think you are too old, the question of retirement might come up. The same goes for marital status.
If you are a married woman, the prejudice of women to focus more on family can come up. Therefore, it's better to exclude date of birth and marital status while writing a resume.
The recruiter or the HR will scan through your resume in just 7 seconds. That means you need to include all relevant information in a compact manner such that it catches the eye at first glance.
It also means you are tight on space. Wasting it on things like hobbies and interests, especially if you have experience and achievements that you can talk about, can lead to your rejection.
Again, HR is not your friend and doesn't need to know what you like to do in your free time. It's better to use this space to write relevant skills and work experiences instead of your interests and hobbies.
Also Read: How to Craft Best Internship Resume in 2023
One old habit that has been built in us from our school days is writing legal declarations in our resumes. Anything similar to" I hereby declare everything stated above is true to the best of my knowledge " is a big no.
First, why will the recruiter believe you? Second, we are already tight on space, so why waste it on things that are already outdated? No one needs your declaration.
The company you are applying for will anyway run their background checks to assure what you say is true. Therefore, never put legal declarations in your resume.
I think we all will agree here that your resume is a professional document and not a wedding invite. It doesn't need to have fancy graphics or designs.
However, adding a table might make your resume look presentable. But here is the thing, 99% of Fortune 500 companies use a software called ATS (Application Tracking System) to help streamline their recruitment process.
Most of the ATS, including the very popular iCIMS and Jobvite, can't parse tables. Hence it won't be able to identify your skills or your degree.
Most jobs have a minimum educational qualification requirement. Imagine you have a Master’s degree but get rejected because the ATS couldn’t read your degree details hiding inside of a table. Therefore, don't use tables in your resume.
Another bad idea is to rate your skills yourself in your resume. You might think this will make your resume stand out or attractive, but the truth is quite the opposite.
The first question that arises here is, with what authority do you rate yourself? If you rate yourself very high with no experience to back it with, one might ask about your credibility.
If you rate yourself low, why will someone hire you? To avoid such a situation, it's better to stick with categories or create buckets for your skills. You can easily find HR-approved formats for free at HyreSnap.
Your resume is like your advertisement. You don't want to highlight your flaws in it.
Putting information such as the reason you left your previous job is not relevant to the job you are currently applying for. So, it's better not to include such details that might lead to your rejection.
Salary is a topic that can be difficult to approach. But your resume is not the place to negotiate your salary details.
The recruiter might simply reject you because of the salary expectations you wrote. It's best to reach the interview stage and negotiate these details there.
As mentioned above, your resume is just like an advertisement. You have to highlight yourself as the best candidate available.
Therefore, it's best to avoid information that can make you look bad or get you rejected. Hence if your college GPA is not very good, it's better that you don't include it in your resume.
You can include your other achievements in college while writing your education section.
Referrals are the best way to show the recruiter what you are telling is authentic and that you are the best candidate for the job.
But attaching a long list with your resume isn't the best choice. Chances are they might find something you don't plan for them to see. It's better to just say referrals are available on request.
If they want, they can request it. Anyway, it's an outdated technique and the best way is to avoid it.
Wow, that's quite a long list to remember. But don’t worry, HyreSnap is here to help. Our resume formats are ATS friendly and have been approved by more than 40 HR experts.
We make your resume-building process easy and efficient.
You can write your job-winning resume in just fifteen minutes. Not only that, it helps you present your skills and accomplishments in an optimal manner that matches the job description.
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