I will always remember sitting in on a hiring interview and being invited to ask one question of the candidate. I was quickly shown the candidates resume, which rambled on about all kinds of private issues including the proven fact that they did not smoke and that they enjoyed using Facebook. At the top of the opening page was apicture of them next to apony with a rosette in it’s bridle. My sole question was clear : who taught you to write a resume?
Writing the ideal resume for yourself is hard enough without including things that are going to alarm your prospective employer. Considering that your resume will be scanned very fast and will probably be one of the many, there are 5 important things that shouldn’t ever be included, so that you get a chance at that all important first interview. 5 items that head the ‘Don’t do this in your resume’ highlight reel.
1… I like to go horse riding and I am divorced, with a real interest in medieval thatching methods. Amazingly engaging as that may be, resumes are not the place for anything private ( age,race,marital standing etc ) or anything to do with your hobbies and / or interests even if the job in question is for a medieval thatcher! Rule number one is not to get private but present yourself as a professional, qualified to do the job being considered. Education, qualifications and job history will point to your career objectives, not your personal life.
2…My life has been dedicated to ergonometrical constructivism. Amazing, whatever it is, but do not use technical lingo thatis’s going to annoy the selection committee. What many candidates don’t understand is that many firms hire a screening company to sort the initial crop of resumes and that this selection has tiny connection with the particular job. They don’t know what your talking about and you are going to appear pretentious at best, even though the career in question may include ergonometrically correct items being designed, as an example. The recruiter might not be the actual personnel manager of the company hiring!
It is often best not to use complex vocabulary in your resume and to use direct, action words that are topical, unless you know for sure a technically savvy individual is going to be reading it.
3…and you can see all about me on my Facebook page. How terribly modern and ‘cool’ but how awfully ‘Do Not Include At Any Cost”. Don’t include your private websites, blog, facebook or twitter account because they always contain unfit material and also no-one is going to spend the time to look. Lay out the relevant information that constitutes your qualifications and do it in simple, direct terms that are simple to see at a glance. The one time a site link may be suitable is if you’re making an application for a web development position or you have your resume set out, professionally, on line as well as on paper and it has additional materials like reference letters as an example. Continue reading Writing Your Resume - What NOT to Include!
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