These days your resume should be able to tell your story in one page. This is what sells you and makes you more visible among the pack. Some resumes can be a turn off, especially when you get one from a seasoned job seeker who has spent some time in the job market. Here are some things you should not include in your resume if you are not a fresh graduate.
1. Your internships
Employers are not concerned about what you did while you were in college. They want to see the job experience you have acquired recently or what actions you have been taking all the while you got out of school. It will be better for you to remove your internship time from your resume and focus on something recent and essential to the current job you are applying for.
2. Your college grades
Maybe this was important and worthy of note to any employers you were trying to impress fresh out of college. But your GPA and college really doesn’t matter now as the employer is concerned about the experience you have acquired with other employers and jobs. What was performance like and how will you fit into their present company culture? That should be more emphasized rather than showcasing your GPA somewhere in the resume.
3. Your extra-curricular activities
While this may have applied when you were a fresh graduate it really doesn’t carry weight now. Of course you may want to show how sociable you are by being in a club, playing sports, or being part of a social group, but it might not impress on the employer – because they are concerned on more relevant things like the skills and knowledge you are bringing in.
4. The menial and extra job you took while you were in college
Most times the menial or extra jobs you took when you were in college is not relative to the career you are pursuing now, neither will it be of interest to a hiring manager or recruiter who wants specifics and streamlined job experience that will be of benefit to your new employers. So whether you shoveled ice during winter or you worked as a babysitter for your neighbor’s daughter, this will not be noteworthy for your employers.
5. Your honors
Just like your degree, your honors such as being on the dean’s list or being a member of the phi beta kappa, your honors back in school should have made a lot of difference to your employers when you were fresh out of school, not now. What you should include are notable awards, achievements or accomplishments you obtained at your last job.
6. The specific dates you acquired your degrees and certifications
Your job application should not be a history lesson reminding your recruiter of what dates you were actively studying and prepping to get his job. If you have been job seeking for a while, remove the dates from any degrees, certifications or awards that are not recent. Try to include a reverse chronology of such professional certifications that you acquired recently.
7. Your references
This is simply a waste of space. Listing your references or offering a note such as “References available upon request” doesn’t count to any employer. If an employer is interested in such information he will ask for it in a face-face-interview and they know you will provide it then when it is requested.
8. Fluffy buzzwords
You may want to oversell yourself by using such buzzwords such as “hardworking” “studious” into your professional summary, many recruiters are not impressed by them. According to a survey by CareerBuilder, such words were among hiring managers’ top resume turn-offs. Rather than use such buzzwords it will be better to use action verbs to detail how you contributed to the functionality and objectives of your past employer.
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