You said WHAT on your resume?

Posted October 25th, 2009 Category: resume development

Your prospective employer, a recruiter, or hiring manager is not your best buddy and not your confidant.

Yes, these people want to know about you, your background and your achievements, but they don’t need to know all about it!

Many people writing their own resumes think everything needs to be explored, without knowing that every revelation can be an act of self-sabotage. So let’s look at items regularly included on do-it-yourself resumes that should be shared only with your best friend.

Reasons for leaving. People still regularly include this potentially self-sabotaging information on resumes as incredible as it may sound. Frankly, it doesn’t matter whether you were made redundant, you chose to resign before the company went broke (imagine how this would look if you were the Chief Financial Officer), or you had a difference of opinion with the supervisor. It doesn’t matter what you write or how innocent you think it is. Someone will twist the meaning and it won’t be in your favour. The resume is not the place for this information.
Salary Information: Another inclusion in do-it-yourself resumes that can stop your candidacy in its tracks. Too high a figure and you can be discounted from roles before you even get to prove your worth; too low a figure and you have lessened your value for roles paying more. (Note: some advertisements ask you to include salary information: if that’s the case, put in a figure range wide enough to cover all bases and include in the cover letter, never the resume).
Personal Information: Unless you are a model or an actress the employer does not need to know your height and weight. The employer also does not need to know your religion, your birthday or your place of birth (at least in Australia and the US. Check the requirements of other countries particularly in Asia and surrounds). Similarly the decision maker is not interested in a dissertation on your feelings about existentialism, your adoration of your new puppy, or that you love walking along the beach with the wind in your hair and digging your toes in the sand. Unless sand toe-digging is your occupation and you are an expert in the field, you sound like a Miss World contestant.
Clichés: We have talked about this before and it cannot be reinforced enough. Scrap the clichés unless you want the reader of your resume to roll around laughing at the thought of yet another candidate patting himself on the back for having: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, a solid work ethic and a strong team spirit, as well as being hard working and reliable.
Personal situations: Not too long ago I saw a resume that began the current employment with this: “Secured role as Office Manager, after leaving my husband after a brutal nine years of marriage. Relocated with children to a different area and despite threats, calls to police and continued violent episodes, settled into the new role quickly. With daily beatings no longer part of my daily life, I successfully committed myself to the job, learning many new skills”. This provides personal information no-one needs to know. It also gives the decision maker the opportunity to pre-judge the candidate based on his or her personal beliefs and perhaps, potentially be concerned for the wellbeing of existing staff. Madness.

Resume self-sabotage goes on every day and most people don’t even know why their applications were ignored. Are you one of them?

http://injenuous.com/ Jen

I would have thought all this was obvious but I still manage to be surprised at the number of people who include their hobbies and relationship status on their CV.

Recently a friend asked me to look over her resume. She was aghast when I told her to remove a section about a recent four month international holiday and plans for her next one. She ended up ignoring me and was not granted an interview despite perfectly meeting the criteria. Do people really think employers want to know you’re planning to rush off on holiday as soon as they hire you?

I always struggle with the birthday one. At the moment I’m not including it but everytime I apply for something new I ask myself if I should. I have, in my humble opinion, a fairly well-rounded CV with extensive achievements and education. I wonder if pointing out my (relatively) young age proves that I’m committed to my work, or if it tells the potential employer I’m not experienced enough.

http://www.topmargin.com Gayle

Most of it does seem so obvious and yet despite that, a lot of people don’t seem to get “too much information”. The resume is a handshake, not a full-on discussion. Throwing information at a decision maker on the first glance is like some of those horrendous people one meets from time-to-time who sidle up to you at the bus-stop or at parties and tell you their entire life stories as you stand there awkwardly looking for a quick exit! As for your birthday issue I would not include it. If you see it as a potentially self-sabotaging issue, then err of the side of “if in doubt don’t”. If they want to admire how much you have done at such a young age, then they can do that personally at interview!

http://injenuous.com/ Jen

I would have thought all this was obvious but I still manage to be surprised at the number of people who include their hobbies and relationship status on their CV.

Recently a friend asked me to look over her resume. She was aghast when I told her to remove a section about a recent four month international holiday and plans for her next one. She ended up ignoring me and was not granted an interview despite perfectly meeting the criteria. Do people really think employers want to know you’re planning to rush off on holiday as soon as they hire you?

I always struggle with the birthday one. At the moment I’m not including it but everytime I apply for something new I ask myself if I should. I have, in my humble opinion, a fairly well-rounded CV with extensive achievements and education. I wonder if pointing out my (relatively) young age proves that I’m committed to my work, or if it tells the potential employer I’m not experienced enough.

http://www.topmargin.com Gayle

Most of it does seem so obvious and yet despite that, a lot of people don’t seem to get “too much information”. The resume is a handshake, not a full-on discussion. Throwing information at a decision maker on the first glance is like some of those horrendous people one meets from time-to-time who sidle up to you at the bus-stop or at parties and tell you their entire life stories as you stand there awkwardly looking for a quick exit! As for your birthday issue I would not include it. If you see it as a potentially self-sabotaging issue, then err of the side of “if in doubt don’t”. If they want to admire how much you have done at such a young age, then they can do that personally at interview!

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http://www.linkedin.com/in/lightshipresearch Jim Edwards

Resumes only became customary after World War II, as a means for employers to eliminate unqualified candidates among scores of GIs looking for new jobs. Not much has changed. Nowadays, nearly every individual, starting a job search, begins by developing a resume, but decision makers only spend and average of ten seconds scanning them. A resume cannot do the heavy lifting in a job search. Its purpose is strictly to function, in conjunction with a follow-up call, as a marketing tool to initiate a conversation with the decision maker. Your goal should be to present your background and accomplishments in a visually appealing, reverse chronological order, with dates, succinctly and honestly. Stay away from functional resumes, extensive formatting and leaving dates off to hide age.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lightshipresearch Jim Edwards

Resumes only became customary after World War II, as a means for employers to eliminate unqualified candidates among scores of GIs looking for new jobs. Not much has changed. Nowadays, nearly every individual, starting a job search, begins by developing a resume, but decision makers only spend and average of ten seconds scanning them. A resume cannot do the heavy lifting in a job search. Its purpose is strictly to function, in conjunction with a follow-up call, as a marketing tool to initiate a conversation with the decision maker. Your goal should be to present your background and accomplishments in a visually appealing, reverse chronological order, with dates, succinctly and honestly. Stay away from functional resumes, extensive formatting and leaving dates off to hide age.
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