If you’ve ever Googled how to make a resume or even used an online resume builder, you’re not alone—but you could be making some crucial errors. As technology and other factors alter the way companies browse and hire candidates, so do the characteristics companies look for during the early works of the hiring process.
Even if you think that you have a pretty stellar resume, there is always room for improvement, and you could be making some of these outdated formatting errors without even realizing it.
7 Things to Remove From Your Resume Immediately
Objective: To put it simply, adding a career objective is dated.
Where you live: Oddly enough, this could be used against you if you’re not local—even if your intentions are to relocate for work. Plus, this seemingly innocent question is actually illegal for an employer to ask; however, anything you put on your resume is fair game.
Headshot: Even if you’re proud of your striking good looks, headshots on a resume should be reserved for those in the entertainment industry. The reason for this is discrimination, both good and bad.
In one case, your resume could be thrown by the wayside because your physical appearance can elude to other things about you. This could be anything from religion to social class, but either way, you don’t want your appearance to defer from your experience and work ethic.
On the other hand, if you post a headshot looking like a model, someone could hire you for the sole purpose of your looks… and that could be the start of a workplace disaster.
Personal details: There is no reason why a potential employer should ask for personal information such as marital status, religion, or nationality. And while questions like, “Are you married?” or, “Do you have kids?” may be good conversation starters in a personal setting, these are details that should be left off a resume and therefore not asked in a job interview.
Social media accounts: Unless you reference a professional network such as LinkedIn, avoid linking to personal accounts if possible. Adding a Facebook or Twitter account gives a potential employer the chance to snoop through your past and personal life, and if they find something that may be a conflict of interest, it could mean not landing the job.
Cliches: Right out of college, I was guilty of using every cliche in the book for my resume. From experience, avoid descriptive phrases such as “hard worker,” “team player,” or any other phrase along those lines. The goal of a resume is to stand out, and how can you do that using textbook phrases to describe yourself?
If you are guilty of any of these resume errors, it’s not too late to tweak your resume to keep up with changing times.
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