Things To NOT Write On Your Resume

If you are an experienced working professional or a fresher looking for a job, you would surely know the importance of a good curriculum vitae or a resume. A good CV or resume must convey every relevant detail about the candidate to the interviewer. For instance, the educational qualifications, on-the-job or internship experiences, achievements or awards, contact details, personal information and so on.

But, are you aware that there are certain details that should not be included in the resume. Many of us have the habit of adding irrelevant information on our resume that may be of little or no use to the interviewer. Through this article, let us understand some of the pointers that should NOT be included in the resume.

1. Labelling The Resume

No need to write "Resume" on top of the resume, since it is obviously a resume! Instead, it could be replaced by your full name. It may be more impressive to add your basic contact information such as direct contact number and email ID below your name, only on the first page.

2. Multiple Contact Numbers Or Email IDs

It is best to mention only one or maximum two contact numbers or email IDs that you may be directly reachable at. At times candidates write additional contact numbers of their parents, siblings or any other relatives on their resumes. That should be avoided totally!

3. Proper Email ID

The email ID should look professional. As freshers, a lot of us might have created fancy email IDs such as [email protected] or [email protected] or any such email ID conveying immaturity. These kinds of email IDs should not be put on the resume at any cost! A professional resume should include a professional email ID.

4. Unimportant Personal Data

Please refrain from mentioning any personal data apart from your contact details, e.g. your height, weight, religion or the names, age and profession of parents, spouse, children, etc.

5. References

There is absolutely no significance of writing references on the resume. At times people mention 'References - Available upon request'. Even this is not required. If the employer needs you to provide references, they would definitely ask for it as and when required. A mention of references would only take up unnecessary space on the resume, and would in no way be helpful in getting your resume shortlisted.

6. Unconnected Work Experience

If you have a total experience of more than 10-15 years, and in the beginning of your career you did some ad hoc jobs that may be irrelevant to the current job opportunity, those ad hoc jobs could be skipped from your resume.

However, if your total experience is less, and you have experience of certain unrelated jobs, you could figure out a way to explain to the interviewer how those jobs helped you develop your skills. Also, while leaving out any jobs from your total experience, you need to be careful that it doesn't show gaps in your resume.

7. Hobbies

It is good to possess hobbies, but it is not advisable to mention each and every hobby on the resume. Only those hobbies or extracurricular activities should be added that give a deeper understanding into your overall personality, interests, skills, etc. and are relevant to the job position.

8. Salary Details

The company HR would discuss the salary anyway. There is no need to specifically add the current or expected salary. The resume needs to be shortlisted first for the interview process to be initiated. Conveying salary-related information before that is a bad idea.

9. Inconsistent Formatting

The overall appearance of the resume should be appealing to the hiring authority, even before they read it. The formatting, including the font type, font size, borders, colour, logos, etc., should not have any inconsistencies.

These are some of the aspects to be careful about while writing your resume for the benefit of the prospective employer. It will give them a good professional and formal impression of you if they find job-specific details on your resume with no irrelevant information.