Category: Resume

A resume is a one- to two-page document summarizing your career objectives, professional experiences and achievements, as well as your educational background. A job search may require the searcher to prepare and send several copies of his/her resume before obtaining the desired job.

Resume Exclusions: What Not to List on Your Resume


The task of resume preparation

Anyone who has ever written a resume will probably agree that composing and structuring one of these documents is a very difficult task, a task which you will have to undertake in the preparation of your own resume; because it takes time and patience to fit your entire professional history within one or two pages, in a way that presents you as the best candidate for the job. While we focus so much of our energy on what must be included in our resumes, we often forget to stop and think about the information that should never be included.

With that in mind, there are at least five pieces of information you should exclude from your resume, and they are listed in the following paragraphs as an informal guide you can refer to when composing your own resume:

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The first two exclusions

1. Do not get personal – Any information that discloses demographics should not be listed in your resume. Items such as your age, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, marital status, physical appearance, or your personal philosophies that are not critical to your job performance must be excluded, as these pieces of information could become detrimental, and be used against you – or be mis-used in the hands of an ethically challenged individual. So such information should never be listed on your resume.

Presenting yourself as a professional to your potential employers is the goal, and as such, the method (resume document) in which you use for your presentation should not be a list of your hobbies or interests. On the other hand, it must be a well formatted listing of your education, qualifications and employment history; so stick to the information that is relevant to the job, as well as to your career objective.

2. Do not list historical salary information on your resume – This is a strict rule and you should follow it as closely as you possible can, since your employer is more concerned with what your desired salary is, than of what you earned in your first job out of college. If you are asked to provide historical salary information do so in your cover letter, not your resume. As a best practice, always list the minimum of what you are willing to accept for the job, and avoid using a salary range.

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Having said that, it is important that you do your research so that you will have a good workable knowledge and understanding of what an acceptable salary is for the job in which you are interested. Whenever possible, leave all salary conversations for the interview with your potential employer.

Other Omissions: jargon and personal webite

3. Do not use jargon or too many “big words” – Unless you are absolutely certain that the person reading your resume will understand the terminology you are using, avoid using jargon in your resume. Pattern your resume as if it was being directed toward recruiters, rather than to an immediate hiring manager, because the human resources associates are usually first to scan your resume. While it is important to showcase your knowledge of a particular field through your education and experience, it is ill-advised to use jargon since it has no place on your well-written resume.

In addition, avoid using too many “big words” since you don’t want to give the impression that you’re hiding behind your vocabulary; and keep in mind that making your resume overbearing is the fastest way to ensure losing the interest of your employer. Just use the action words that are relevant to your career level.

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4. Do not list your personal web site – As a rule, you should not include your personal web site if it contains your photo or other photos that may be viewed as inappropriate, especially if it contains jokes (even if they are clean jokes), or your personal blog. In other words, if the site you have is entirely for personal purposes, you are best advised to leave it off your resume. Only include a link to your web site if the pages are set up in a way that showcases your professional portfolio, a copy of your resume, reference letters, presentations, photos taken for professional use, or your web development skills.

Critical little nuisances must be removed

5. Do not allow typos or other errors to remain – The most important factor in achieving a winning resume is proof reading. Understanding that you want to put your best foot forward, errors on your resume will defeat the purpose; so if your resume contains grammatical and spelling errors, your potential employer will get an impression that you are not detail-oriented. S/he may also come to the conclusion that you are somewhat sloppy, and as such, will do sloppy work if you are hired.

As basic a task as proof reading is, there is no other way to say that it is also very difficult to proof read a document you have been working on so closely, so it may be a good idea to– use spell check – although this tool does not catch grammaticl errors. So ask your friends and family members for help, or meet with a career counselor; Dbut do your best to present the most polished and well-written resume you possibly can to your potential employers.

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The Inclusion of References on a Resume


The references catchall phrase

When the subject pertains to references on your resume, you would not be surprised to know that the most frequently used phrase is that old reliable standard: “References available upon request.” But whether or not this catchall phrase will continue be the acceptable stand-in for an actual list of references on your resume remains to be seen. In fact there is an ongoing debate among professionals about the inclusion of references on a resume, while some individuals still strongly encourage job applicants to include the aforementioned phrase at the bottom of their resumes.

In a way the catchall phrase lets potential employers know that, if asked, the job applicant can name at least a couple of people who think s/he is a great asset to any company. However, the opposing side will argue the validity of this line as it doesn’t provide any information with a call to action; and therefore suggests that potential employers and other job search professionals should operate under the assumption that every professional with a resume will be able to provide references from his previous employers.

Yet another group of professionals will urge you, the job applicant, to not only include the “references available upon request” phrase in your resume references section, but to list anywhere from three to five references, along with their titles, contact numbers and a description of your relationship to them, along with a notation that “more references will be provided if needed.” So, how do you know who to listen to?

A prudent use of references

In answer to the above question, a good rule of thumb will be to mention references regardless of any other phrase or statement being employed, as it is considered proper resume etiquette to include a section for references at the bottom of your resume. This lets your potential employer know that you not only have professional references, but you understand that checking references is an important part of your interview process. Additionally, you will want to have an employer request references from you so that you can let your references know they can expect to be contacted.

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Listing someone as a reference on your resume without letting that person know, even if s/he has previously provided a reference for you, is not a good practice; because since you don’t want any job you of your reference list to be caught by surprise when they are contacted, it is important that you let each of them know about the job you’re applying for, and any special circumstances – if any – under which you’ve made application so that they know which qualifications they should highlight when they are contacted.

If you are posting your resume on job search web sites such as monster.com, or you’re working with a head hunter to find the best opportunities for you, it is best that you simply use the line, “References available upon request” at the end of your well-written resume; and as indicated above, you will want to let your references know ahead of time if they will be contacted by a potential employer or other entity associated with your application.

Resume blast vs targeted position

Listing references on your resume and making it available to multiple employers for review may result in calls to your references by employers you may not have even been in touch with directly. Obviously, you’ll want to avoid this kind of annoyance to people you are using as references, since you don’t want to abuse your relationship with them. If you intend to “blast” your resume to multiple employers, head hunters and other such parties, it may be prudent not to include a full listing of references on your resume.

However, if you’re sending the resume to a specific employer after you have been in touch with the hiring manager or someone at the company that will refer you for the job you are interested in, it is suggested that you include references on the resume. This allows your potential employer to have all the information necessary to consider you as a serious candidate for the job. The reference list should include the reference’s name, his/her title and the company s/he’s working for, the person’s relationship to you and a day-time telephone number.

In fact, the best practice might be to let your references know about a particular job opportunity before you submit the resume, while letting them know that you are passing along their contact information to the potential employer, or better yet, request their permission to do so. And if you have already submitted a resume without references, but expect to meet with the employer for an interview, bring a printed copy of the well-written resume you prepared and make sure it includes a list of references.

One stop shop to a good job

Following a good interview, employers typically check references as a best practice, so you will want to provide the hiring manager with a one-stop-shop (so to speak) of your qualifications and your references, therefore you should always bring a printed copy of your cover letter, your resume and references with you to an interview. Vigilance is sure to make a great impression and bring you one step closer to getting that sought after job you really want. Learn more about resumes, cover letters and interviews!

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