4 Things to Remove From Your Resume Immediately

A study revealed that a recruiter or hiring manager scans a resume for only 6-seconds.

While you probably hear all sorts of sound advice on what should be in your resume, here are some things our multiple years as a top technical staffing agency tell us you don’t want to include:

Drop Irrelevant Material from Your Resume ASAP

 

1. Photographs

While you may think a photo of yourself will spruce up your resume, or maybe fill in some empty space, we’re going to give you the sound advice to skip it. It’s not that we don’t think you’re pretty or handsome – we just want you to remain protected!

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion.  When you add things like a photograph, you risk the chance of possibly being skipped over based on a biased by the employer. In other words, the best practice is to leave your photo off of your resume – Unless you’re applying to become a model.

 

2. Graphics

Graphics make a resume look “busy.”  If you are highlighting some of your key accomplishments in numbers, a graph is always an attractive way to showcase that. If you’re applying for a graphic design or marketing position, some graphics are usually accepted and appreciated! But, if you’re not in any of these fields, and are not using the graphics to showcase some accomplishments, remove them!

 

3. Previous Supervisors’ Contact Information

Please take note: Only give references when the hiring manager requests them. You don’t want  your email address and phone number floating around on a resume.  And neither does your previous employer. Prepare your supervisors’ contact information on a separate piece of paper. Be prepared to give it to the hiring manager when asked to do so.

 

4. Hobbies or Other Irrelevant Information

MOST IMPORTANT:  If it doesn’t have to do with the position you’re applying for – don’t put it on your resume! It’s okay to make small talk about your hobbies or what interests you have outside of work if you’re asked during your interview.  However, your employer doesn’t really see how your loving to bowl on the weekends really applies to your accounting skills.

4 items to drop from a resume
4 items to drop from a resume

Contact us Today!

Ask us to review your resume to give you additional pointers.

We analyze literally hundreds of resumes daily (for more than 6-seconds).  So, we have a wealth of info to share with you to help land that job!

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