With competition for jobs more challenging than ever, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of applicants for each job opening listed. A resume is the job candidate’s best chance to get a foot in the door of the recruitment agency hired to screen all applicants. But if a resume contains extraneous information, too much information or trivia not relevant to the specific job at hand, a recruitment agent is likely to toss that resume into the trash can before the applicant gets a chance to proceed further in the interview process. Here are some of the top things that should not be included on a job resume in order to make the best first impression.
The job candidate should not include a personal photograph on his resume unless one has been specifically requested in the application directions. Many companies are concerned about issues regarding profiling or racial discrimination and may simply discard all resumes that even give a hint of an individual’s age or racial background. Do not include any information about religious affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation or any other information which the law does not allow a prospective employer to ask. The recruitment agency may see this as an opening for a discrimination lawsuit in the future and neglect to even consider the candidate at the start.
Unless the job experience was relevant to the position being pursued, a candidate should not include summer jobs or temporary jobs such as newspaper carrier or fast food cashier. Hobbies, likewise, should not be included on a professional job resume because an individual’s interest in tennis, vintage toy collecting or stamps is really not relevant to those skills that the recruitment agency needs to notice in order to call the candidate in for a personal interview.
A job resume should not mention a high school diploma if the candidate is already a college graduate. A resume should not include the candidate’s vague overall job objectives such as “a good job with a solid company”, vague descriptions such as “likes working with people” or any phrases that tend to be cliches such as “team player.” The tone of the resume should be forthright and confident, but should not include any negative comments or information about job changes or losses that goes into too much detail. Unless a recruitment agency asks for a salary history, a resume should not include specific salary figures which could already eliminate a candidate from even obtaining an initial phone interview.
Problem areas, lack of expertise or other weaknesses are best left off a professional resume. A candidate can mention the languages he does speak or the computer programs he is proficient in rather than listing those he has no experience with or has not studied. Any personal comments or opinions should be left off a professional resume which should focus on specific previous experience and skills. Everything that does appear on the resume should demonstrate that the candidate has good potential for a specific job opening and merits a phone call from the agency to talk at greater length.
Edward Chen writes career tips and advice for those seeking bank jobs or human resource jobs .
