by Carol Smith

Created on: May 23, 2008

What not to include in your resume

What is the purpose of a resume? The purpose of a resume is to tell a potential employer about your ability to do the job you are applying for. This starts to give you clues about what not to include in your resume.

It is tempting to include your whole life story on your resume. But stop and think a minute. There will probably be dozens of applications for the same job. How long is the potential employer going to spend reading each resume? Chances are that the answer to that is not very long. It is said that the average resume has just a few seconds to impress. If the first half of the first page of your resume doesn't make an impact then the rest of your resume probably won't even be read.

So how do you make sure your resume isn't the first to hit the trash can? DON'T start with lots of redundant introductions, for example:

NAME: Fred Jones
SEX: Male
ADDRESS: 23 Acacia Avenue, Sunnyville, New Sussex,
TELEPHONE: 01112 567346
DATE OF BIRTH: 29 December 1966

What a waste of time and space. Just give your resume a concise heading.

Fred Jones,23 Acacia Avenue, Sunnyville, New Sussex. Tel 01112 567346

This tells the employer concisely what they need to know.

As I said at the beginning, your resume is about your ability to do the job you are applying for. If your education is relevant, put it on your resume. If you were an underachiever at school, why highlight it by putting down low grades if you have reached senior PA level. Mention your professional qualifications instead.

You might have had a great time waiting tables in your local restaurant during your college vacations, but are the details of that job relevant 10 years later when you are applying for a job as a senior paediatric nurse? Probably not.

Apart from the layout of the headings for your resume that I showed above, did you notice any other differences between them? There was no mention of your sex or your date of birth? Why not? Do they need to go on your resume? What about all the other information that people have traditionally put on their resume, such as marital status and hobbies?
Consider this:

You are a 45 year old single father with a disability. You are a Manchester United supporter and a keen bridge player.

The employer is looking for someone who will "fit in". The last person in the job was 28, married, female, childless and had no obvious disabilities. The employer is a Manchester City supporter and thinks all bridge players are anoraked nerds. Will you be offered the job?
If you think the answer is no, then that is because you think the employer will be making judgements on information that has nothing to do with your ability to do the job. Don't give the employer that opportunity.

Many of these details give the employer opportunities to discriminate against you. If you have an unusual name, is it necessary to tell the employer whether you are male of female? Is it necessary to tell the employer how old you are? If you think your age might be against you, do you need to put the dates when you obtained your college qualifications? If you have a disability, might it be better to inform the employer after you have been called for interview?

All these potential grounds for discrimination may disappear once you have had the chance to impress the employer at an interview.

Yes, many forms of discrimination are illegal. Why are they illegal? Because they happen. Don't give the potential employer that opportunity.

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