Things Not Add When Writing a Resume

Posted by ExternalContributor on Dec 27, 2009 in Other Views | 2 comments

I will always remember sitting in on a hiring interview and being invited to ask one question of the applicant. I was quickly shown the applicants resume, which rambled on about all kinds of personal issues including the proven fact that they did not smoke and that they enjoyed using Facebook. At the apex of the opening page was apicture of them next to a horse with a rosette in it’s bridle. My sole question was obvious : 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 possible employer. Considering that your resume will be scanned very quickly and will probably be one of the many, there are five important things that shouldn’t ever be included, so that you get a chance at that all important first interview. Five items that head the ‘Don’t do this in your resume’ highlight reel.

1… I like to go horse riding and I’m divorced, with a genuine interest in medieval thatching techniques. Incredibly engaging as that may be, resumes are not the location for anything personal ( age,race,marital standing etc ) or anything to do with your past-times and / or interests even if the job in question is for a medieval thatcher! Rule number one is not to get personal 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 private life.

2…My life has been dedicated to ergonometrical constructivism. Fantastic, whatever it is, but do not use technical jargon that’s's going to bother the selection council. What many applicants don’t understand is that many firms hire a screening company to sort the primary batch of resumes and that this selection has small connection with the particular job. They don’t know what your talking about and you’re going to appear pretentious at best, although the career in question may include ergonometrically correct items being designed, for example. The recruiter would possibly not be the particular 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 that a technologically 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 really ‘Do Not Include At Any Cost”. Don’t include your personal sites, blog, facebook or twitter account because they almost always contain inappropriate material and also no-one is going to spend the time to look. Lay out the topical information that constitutes your qualifications and do it in easy, direct terms that are easy to see at apeek. The one time a domain link may be acceptable is if you’re applying for a web development position or you have your resume set out, professionally, on line as well as on paper and it has extra materials like reference letters for instance. Continue reading Writing Your Resume – What NOT to Include!

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