Let’s talk about resumes, specifically what to exclude when creating a resume. Late last week, I had a conversation with someone that asked me if there was anything that they shouldn’t put on a resume. Having interviewed and hired people for a long time, I thought it would make for a good topic of discussion.
From a hiring manager’s perspective and in no particular order, here’s my top 12 list of what you should not include in your resume or cover letter.
1. Your photo
While specific industries need to know what you look like before hiring you, such as acting or modelling, most businesses do not. Photos take up valuable space on a resume and don’t provide any important information for an interviewer. Don’t include a photo on your resume.
2. Your address
At some point, your address will be important for an employer but not when applying for a job. Putting it on your resume or cover letter, just like a photo, doesn’t provide any information that will tell an interviewer about your capabilities, but it may unintentionally exclude you from interviews. A hiring manager may see your address and question how long it will take you to get to the office or respond to critical issues outside of regular business hours. Don’t include your address. Name, email, and phone number are all they need and all they’re initially looking for.
3. Your SIN/SSN or equivalent
Every country is different regarding what information is needed or can be asked for. However, as a rule, do not supply your SIN (Canada) or SSN (US) to anyone until you have an executed offer of employment. Millions of people fall victim to identity theft every year, it’s a bad idea to give your SIN/SSN to any potential employer until they’re ready to pay you for your services. There will of course be limited exceptions in certain industries where credit and background checks are required but, in these cases, there will be proper documentation outlining when and how to provide them with the required information. A resume or cover letter is not the place to share it.
4. Your ethnicity
This is a piece of information that has multiple answers. In Canada, it’s illegal to use race in evaluating a job applicant. In the US, while each state is different, federal law does not make it illegal to ask for race on a job application. If you’re faced with providing this on a job application or any document before a job interview, check your local laws on the legality and necessity of providing it. Until you’re asked for it, however, I highly recommend that you don’t provide it. Aside from some very rare cases, it has no bearing on your ability to perform the job.
5. Gender and pronouns
As a hiring manager, I honestly won’t prioritize this when first reviewing your resume. I’m looking at your resume and cover letter to see if you have the skills to do the job. There’s a high probability that even if I read this on your resume, I won’t remember it. If it’s important to you, feel free to add it where you like but it won’t be important to me until we’re talking face to face. Save this for the interview or the first day on the job.
6. Information that may not pass an Application Tracking System
There are hundreds, if not thousands of templates that you can use to help you create great-looking resumes. The problem with some of them is that they use formats that cannot be read by an Application Tracking System (ATS). Avoid using tables, text boxes, images, graphs or any other visual to showcase your skills. An ATS won’t be able to read it if you do. Use a common horizontal font when outlining your skills on a resume, it not only ensures an ATS program can identify them, but it also makes it easier for a hiring manager to quickly identify you as an interview candidate. If you hire a resume writing service, ask them what steps they will be taking to ensure your resume will be ATS compliant.
7. Hobbies
What you do outside work is important because most employers want to make sure you live a healthy and happy lifestyle. On a resume, however, it just takes up space and makes it feel longer than it needs to be. You don’t need to include hobbies on a resume. We can talk about those at the interview.
8. References
Before you go for an interview, you should absolutely secure some references and be prepared to share them with the interviewer. On a resume all it does, you guessed it, is take up valuable space. References most like won’t be called until they’re ready to offer you the job. Don’t offer references until you’re asked for them.
9. Your date of birth or age
Including your age or date of birth won’t provide any relevant information to your application. It may in fact unintentionally trigger an age bias. Experience matters, age doesn’t. Don’t offer this information until you’re filling out the employment forms.
10. An unprofessional email address
If you’re using an email address that you created with the intention of being humorous, shocking, crass or objectionable, create a new one. Interviewers will see it and it matters.
11. Social media accounts
With the exception of LinkedIn or other career-focused channels, unless your social media accounts have career-related posts, don’t share them.
12. Religious or political affiliation
If you’re applying for a job in a religious or political organization it may be of some benefit but otherwise, nothing good can come of you sharing this information. As an interviewer and potential employer, I don’t want to hire someone that is going to “recruit” or “push an agenda”. Whether you plan on that or not, you can make an interviewer question your motivation for putting it on your resume.
Summary
The list provided in this article is by no means complete and, I’m sure you could and will have more questions about what to include or not include on your resume. If there is something you don’t know whether to include or not, write it down and then ask yourself this question. “Is this information needed to perform this job well?” If the answer is no, then don’t include it. Your resume is initially seen for just a few seconds. Don’t clutter it with information that isn’t needed.
If you want more information or need help in your job search, feel free to reach out to me for a free 15-minute consultation.
