More Than 75% of Your Resume Could Be Useless

You’re killing more trees by using more paper while printing your resume, and you’re contributing to further warming of the planet by using up extra kilobytes if you’re distributing it electronically. Therefore, a short CV not only gets you the attention of potential employers, but also makes you environmentally conscious.

Employers want applicants to learn how to create more efficient resumes. An efficient resume is the one that takes the least amount of time for a potential employer to decide to call you for an interview. Avoid unnecessary information on your resume and focus on what employers are really looking for. Below is a list of information people put on their resumes that may not matter to employers:

1. The title

When someone shows you a picture of a car, you know it’s a car. You don’t have to write the word “car” on the car for people to recognize it. The same goes for your resume, so why take up half a page to show the two letters “CV” in a giant font?

2nd goal

Most people use similar objectives on their resume. Typically it reads: “I want to join an organization that will allow me to use my education, experience and skills…”. Does that sound like the objective statement you use on your resume? Well, let me tell you something, employers are less concerned with your personal goals and more concerned with what you can deliver.

3. Irrelevant details

For example, your driver’s license expiration date is useless unless you’re applying for a driver’s job. Likewise, your weight is your concern, so don’t include it as part of your personal information unless the job you’re applying for requires specific characteristics and physical attributes. I still receive hundreds of resumes that include the candidate’s “military status”!

4. Short training and courses

Short training and attended courses generally do not excite reputable employers and do not add to your market value. However, if you have received any accredited or recognized certification from these trainings and courses, be sure to include them. The same applies to courses that you completed more than ten years ago.

5. Basic computer skills

Your knowledge and ability to use PowerPoint© or Microsoft Word or post photos on Instagram cannot be considered part of your “computer skills”. So if you are not a Java, Python, C++, Ardiuno or Ruby programmer, WordPress or Joomla website builder, or have any technical computing skills or knowledge relevant to the advertised position, skip this section just off.

6. Repetitive qualities

Job seekers usually mention on their resumes that they are able to work under intense pressure, are an active team player, love new challenges, are willing to acquire new skills and learn new things. Many of them also say that they are self-motivated and self-reliant. These are indeed great qualities that make you unique, just like 8 billion other people that live on this planet. Focus on letting the employer know what makes you unique.

7. Common hobbies

Keywords found in more than 80% of CVs include: enthusiastic internet user, fond of travel, regular reader of articles on current financial topics and of course, love to swim. It may surprise you to know that not even 1% of employers read or care about what you list as your hobbies.

8. Reference

Finally, you need to understand the reference part and its importance in the process of your hiring. Interested employers will certainly get references before submitting an offer. However, employers rarely use any of the references you have listed on your resume and instead check against their own references.

The purpose of this article is not to mock those who produce poorly. Some of those poorly written resumes that end up on our job board come from executives with 20+ years of experience. Worse, some hold or seek senior HR positions. Don’t include every section you find in ready-made resume writing templates. These templates are not written on stones. You can design your own CV template just like British judges can decide without wig and robe!

Thanks to Ali M Al Lawati | #Resume #Useless