There is a great divide between modern day résumé-writing standards and those of a decade or two ago. These days, “equal employment opportunity” is the watch phrase, thus many of the details people routinely included in résumés before are now considered immaterial, if not actually detrimental to the purpose of your résumé. Some of these are:
1. Objective – This is already a given. The company knows why you sent your résumé; there’s no need to flesh it out. This portion is completely unnecessary unless you sent your résumé as a shot in the dark or you’re making a drastic career change.
2. Irrelevant Experience – If you’re applying for work as a graphic designer, there’s no need to put in your stint at the ice cream parlor in your junior year in high school. Your years of baby-sitting experience will also be irrelevant in your application for a marketing position.
3. Personal Particulars – There was a time when people put in such details as age, civil status, religion, hair color, eye color, height, weight, etc. when writing a résumé. These days, it’s all about equal employment opportunity, so you’re actually helping companies practice it by omitting these details.
4. Hobbies and Interests – Unless baking cupcakes or spelunking can positively contribute to your capacity to perform the job, it’s pointless to include such information. There are jobs in San Jose, CA that may entail that your interests lean toward a certain niche, but most of the time, work and your leisure activities should not intersect.
5. References – You may think, furnishing a list of names of contact numbers shows initiative, but for the most part, it’s really unnecessary. If you’re a strong candidate for the position, your prospective employer will ask for references. There’s no need to preempt him.
6. Current Business Contact Information – This could prove to be disastrous. Imagine somebody from work answering a call from a prospective employer, especially if he’s from a rival company. Your current employer can and probably does monitor calls and emails, so don’t put your current business contact details in your résumé.
7. Salary Information–The résumé is not the medium for alluding to your desired salary. Its inclusion is simply presumptuous.
8. Photograph – Companies should evaluate you based on your professional and/or scholastic achievements and not on your looks. Again, this exclusion is in aid of upholding equal employment opportunity.
9. Grade School and High School – Such details are nothing but padding. Unless you’re applying for a job right out of high school, it’s best not to include accomplishments outside your current career.
10. Criminal Record – It’s up to the company to verify if you have a clean record. There’s really no need to include anything pertaining to this in your résumé. Résumés are supposed to be informative, not entertaining. You should let your relevantcredentials engage employers’ attention. This is the ethical and professional way to go.