Typically when people have achieved a lot in their career and personal lives, it's sometimes hard to not be inclined to share those things. This is especially true when it comes to creating a resume that is supposed to showcase your professional talents. However, there are some things that should be kept off of your resumes if you are hoping to land that job.
Although it is always important to take the job and employer into consideration when deciding what should stay or go on your resume, there are some general rules for what should or should not be included.
Here are tips on five things people tend to be unsure about as to whether it should or should not be placed on their resume.
1. Home Address: Although some people may feel uncomfortable openly placing this information on a resume, it is important that applicants do so. According to career coach Lavie Margolin, "Not listing your address on your résumé will make things more challenging for you. It will be an immediate question mark for employers as to why there is no address listed. They may even perceive it as you not living near the position you are applying for." Although not placing this information on a resume may not stop you from getting the job, Margolin says you are more likely to be taken out of the applicant pool for disregarding the information.
2. Reference Information: It is important to assure that the references you eventually give to employers have agreed to speak on your behalf, however references and their information should not be included on a resume. This is key because if you end up not wanting the job after all, you don't want you references' information out there for public use. Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing says, "Once there is mutual interest, then provide the references."
3. Grade Point Average: If you are graduated a while ago and you list on your resume that you graduated with a 4.0 GPA, employers don't tend to care because you are long out of school. For those who are recent graduates but don't have at least a 3.0 GPA, it is typically best not to list your GPA at all. However, tacking on important academic achievements such as Magna Cum Laude can't hurt.
4. Objective: Most employers agree that including objectives is just a waste of space where something more valuable could be placed on your resume.
5. A Photo: In most jobs, appearance has nothing to do with your qualifications so including a photo is unnecessary. Unless you are applying for a modeling career or an acting role where a photo is requested with the application, it is best to disregard photos. The same thing applies for including other personal attributes such as age, religion, and race. A general rule is if it has nothing to do with the job or your job skills, it should be left off of your resume.
