by D. Warnaar

Created on: March 26, 2008

What Not to Include in your Resume

With all the tips on how to write your resume, sometimes it is easier to give tips on what not to include in your resume. Here is a list of common resume "no-no's":

YOUR MIDDLE INITIAL
Everyone wants to include their middle initial in an effort to make their name sound more professional, but it often only ends up sounding pretentious. So unless you always use your middle initial, leave it at just your first and last name.

AN UNPROFESSIONAL CONTACT EMAIL
When a resume came across my desk with an email like partygirl21@gmail.com it immediately left a negative impression. Yahoo, hotmail, and gmail all provide free emails. Sign up for a professional sounding email that is simply your name.

A PICTURE
Unless you are an actor or model, never include a picture of yourself on your resume.

HOBBIES
Contrary to popular belief, you shouldn't include a list of hobbies or interests on your resume that aren't relevant to your job hunt. The fact that you like to jog or that you're active in your church are not pertinent to your job search, so leave personal information such as this off of your resume.

HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
Only include this is you haven't completed college. If you had completed college, it is assumed you completed high school and is standard in resume writing to only include higher education on your resume.

USE OF THE PRONOUN "I"
Unless it is in your objective statement, resumes are written without use of the pronoun "I". For example, instead of writing "I handled ordering of all office supplies" simply write "Handled ordering of all office supplies".

SALARY HISTORY
If the help wanted ad requested to know your desired salary, include this information in your cover letter. Keep salary history off your acutal resume. Including this information means you might be risking being able to successfully negotiate a higher salary.

JOB DESCRIPTION
The hiring manager is looking for more than mere job descriptions under each position you've held. That information only shows what you were expected to do, not what you actually did. Try to provide specific details that show how you fulfilled your previous jobs' expectations.

REFERENCES
With resumes, less is more. Only provide references upon being asked. That being said, do have them prepared and be able to provide them if you are asked.

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