Objective
During your first high school career workshop, you were probably taught to drop a line or two at the beginning of your resume stating your objective. We’ve all seen those generic objective statements that looks like “XXX professional looking for opportunities that will allow me to leverage my XXX skills.” Unfortunately, this trend is faded away.
Avoid those model objective statement and replace it with your elevator pitch. In a brief paragraph, explain what you’re great at, most interested in, and how you can provide value to a prospective employer. In other words, summarize your job goals and qualifications for the reader.
Your Age
It’s unfortunate but true, age discrimination still exit in the job market. Companies can be sensitive when it comes to a candidate’s age. If you’re too young they may have doubts about your skills and qualifications; if you’re a senior applicant, they might worry that your skills are out-of-date, or that your retirement is approaching.
If you don’t want to be treated differently because of your age, it’s time to remove your age and maybe even your graduation date from your resume. There’s no need to tell them which year you graduated or list a work experience that’s over 15 years old. Providing an exact number of years of professional experience in your opening summary could potentially attract age discrimination.
Irrelevant work experiences
Previously, you may be the employee of the year at the burger joint you worked for in high school. But unless you are applying to the hospitality industry, it is time to ditch that crown.
Go through all your previous jobs, and only list the ones that are relevant to the new position you’re applying for. At the same time, some past work experiences that are not directly related to the job at hand might also show another dimension, depth, ability, or skill that is helpful for your new job. In brief, you should include experiences that are either highly relevant to your goal, or showcases additional skills that can translate to your new position.
Personal Information
There’s no need to include personal information such as your social security number, marital status, nationality or spiritual beliefs. In fact, it is illegal for an employer to ask for these personal details. Keep in mind that employers don’t care whether you’re married or not, how many kids do you have, what car do you drive, what your favourite sport is, or which church do you go to. This kind of information will eventually slip out when they get to know you on the job.
It is also highly unnecessary to have a hobby section on your resume. Unless your hobbies and recreational activities are directly related to your target job, you’re merely wasting your precious resume space.
Previous Salary History
Also, don’t include your previous salaries on your resume. It will give your prospective employer a springboard for determining your new salary. Aim for what you deserve in the market and more, don’t give the interviewer the means to undercut your true worth. Leave that information off so you can approach salary needs from a neutral point.
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