It’s amazing how much resumes have evolved over the years. Things that were standard even a decade or two ago are now not appropriate for a resume. In fact, Business Insider outlined a whole list of things that should no longer be put on resumes (and in some cases never should have been there in the first place). Here’s their list:
1. An objective.
2. Irrelevant work experiences.
3. Personal stuff.
4. Your hobbies.
5. Your age.
6. Too much text.
7. Time off.
8. References.
9. Personal pronouns.
10. Present tense for a past job.
11. A less-than-professional email address.
12. Any unnecessary, obvious words, like, “Phone.”
13. Your current business-contact info.
14. Your boss’ name.
15. Company-specific jargon.
16. Social-media URLs that are not related to the targeted position.
17. Salary information.
18. Outdated fonts.
19. Fancy fonts.
20. Annoying buzzwords.
21. Reasons you left a company or position.
22. Your GPA.
23. A photo of yourself.
24. Opinions, not facts.
25. Short-term employment.
This is a pretty solid list. However, like most things in life, there are always some good “depends” or “unless” situations where some of this might be ok.
The biggest one for me on this list is “Too Much Text.” That’s so important since you likely only get a few minutes max and often less with the person filtering your resume. So, making sure it can be consumed quickly is important. However, like I said, there’s always an “unless.” In this case, too much text is bad, unless you’re applying for an academic position where the culture is to basically write a thesis for your resume.