Things You Should Not Put On Your Resume

Saturday, Aug 22, 2020, 10:56 am

By:Tony Williams

1.Avoid Cliches

Instead of saying 'Top Decision Maker' or ' Leader and innovator' perhaps give hard evidence of that fact. 'I was responsible for the merger between Lyon & Co. with Simba Inc.' That proves you are a decision maker.

2.No Photographs

There are a lot of reasons why you should not place a photograph of yourself on your CV. You could prejudice yourself before even getting a foot in the door.

3.Be Neat

Some companies like their own forms attached to your resume. Fill these in meticulously, make sure not to leave out the small bits like personal title for example.

4.Fired!

Avoid writing on a resume that you were 'fired'. You could write 'layed-off' or terminated. Or, you could leave the job out of your resume. If this does come up at interview stage, state that you have learned from the experience and how it has pushed you to greater levels in life.

5.Don't Brag

You might have achieved a lot in your career, but be weary of blowing yourself out of proportion. Keep the CV factual and instead of saying, I was top sales person in the country switch it to, I enjoyed the challenges of being one of the companies top sales people. I was grateful for all they taught me.

6.Type, Type and More Type!

We can get quite finger happy when typing our resumes. Instead shorten this to action words. 'Promoted great sales', Increased set targets, Grew Sales Teams. Initiated, encouraged, founded, designed, leader, those types of words will help you cut to the chase.

7.Sigh...

'I worked at Tardy & Co. for 12 years, during this time I not only grew sales team's production, but also eventually secured a position as a Management Consultant. I loved the company and enjoyed working as a team with the fantastic employers there, blah blah blah!'. This could be written as: '12 Years of sales experience, which included promotion to Management. Great opportunity to work with a great team.

8.Once Upon A Time Long, Long Ago

Introductory paragraphs are a bit boring for a person who does not know you. The person looking at your CV wants to see at a quick glance if you have the work experience and skill sets they require. Unfortunately, these days you have to write a different resume for each job you approach. Simply because you want to grab their attention. If you are applying for a job for car rental agent, you can write a short introductory stating: 'Work experience includes working for Top Cars Inc. for 3 years. During that time, I increased car rentals by 50%'. for example.

9.No Caps

In a bid to stand out some people type their Resumes in capitals. Nothing could be more obtrusive than that. Do not even consider highlighting your skills in capitals. The better way around this is to type skill sets in italics.

10.The Never Ending Story

There comes a time in your career when your Resume has enough information to fill a large book. Don't do it. You can summarize your career in a maximum of two pages, then offer them the bulkier version once you have secured an interview.

11.Irrelevant Details.

Don't waste a prospective employers time by telling them all about your boring hobbies. Yes, you might be the top guy in the Hells Angel Chapter in your area, but really who cares? The same goes for school leavers, in a desperate bid to add words to paper you might add that you were great at hockey or basket ball. Save your breath, no one is interested.

12.Spelling and Grammar Errors

This might be stating the obvious, but spelling mistakes on a Resume could land your precious work history in the trash can. Grammar is also a big one, this shows people your lack of attention to detail.

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