Writing a resume can be a difficult task. Making it even harder there are several resources that tell you what to put on a resume, but hardly do you find an adequate resource that tells you what you shouldn't put on a resume. This information could be the critical component to getting a call for an interview or not. Not knowing what to leave off leaves many job seekers with ineffective resumes that will land in the do not call pile.
- Putting a picture on your resume. In theory, this may seem like a great plan. It could tell the recruiter what you look like and possibly give you a more familiar feeling when you interview; however this is also an open case for discrimination. Many employers will not accept resumes with a picture on them for legal reasons, so you should never include a picture. It sends up two warning flags… you either don’t know about hiring practices or you are looking for a lawsuit; either way you will probably not get the interview.
- Your inappropriate personal email address. Many of you have read this from me before, but I will stress it again because I still have students who submit a resume to me with a personal email address. An employer doesn’t want to hire sexycarebear@.... It is unprofessional and makes an employer wonder what type of employee you will be.
- Disconnected phone numbers. This is probably the number one way to get tossed. Even though I have attended career fairs for more than 6 years, it is still shocking to see the number of people who hand out resumes with disconnected phone numbers. As a recruiter, I am not going to track you down. If you don’t have a valid phone number, or didn’t update your resume regardless of the reason, you are getting tossed.
- Spelling and grammar errors. This is the number one pet peeve of most recruiters. Spell check your document and have a minimum of 3 friends read it for you. You should read your resume before you give it out…every time. A reason is a reflection of you. If it has typos and grammatical errors you either don’t have a solid command of the English language, lack communication skills, or don’t care enough to proof read your document. Either way… you are going to get tossed.
- To much personal information. Religious statements, religious affiliations, personal hobbies, birth date, social security number, number of children, marital status, etc. should not be included in a resume. As a recruiter, I would hope you could fill a resume with information that shows me your work history and what you can do, not what you like to do when you are not working. Having to much personal information can lead to discrimination (read #1) and can cause an interviewer to not go any further in the interviewing process. Leave it off; it doesn’t help you and will only hurt you.
Finding a job can be a full time job. Don't waste your time and energy by providing ineffective resumes to employers. If you are going to take your time to hand out a resume be sure you are giving the best resume you can. Check back for future career coaching articles.
Suzanne is a career coaching specialist and contributing writer to Computer Coach. She possesses more than 10 years career counseling and coaching experience. Helping more than 5000 IT Professionals, throughout the US and the Caribbean with their computer and administrative careers by earning valuable computer certifications, increasing general computer skills thorough affordable online computer training solutions and increasing job search skills., Suzanne prides herself with her knowledge, skill and dedication to her client's success. For more information about career success check back on www.computercoach.com/articlemain.php for other interesting career coaching articles and tips. Email Suzanne@computercoach.com for more information.
Coach - www.computercoach.com - offers online IT Certification training and software skills training to thousands of individuals and company's throughout the world. Providing flexible, interactive courses at affordable prices, Computer Coach exceeds its client's expectation by offering online computer training classes that help individuals get the skills they need to be successful in today's rigorous and changing workplaces. For more information about Online Computer Training Classes check out Computer Coach online.
