7 Things to Leave Off Your Resume

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I read and pretty much agree with all of your suggestions. However I recently came across an article published by Monster relating to "breaking away from tradition." This article suggested that if you were an indivdiual who change jobs frequently, like myself, a functional resume would be a good choice. Their (Monster)opinion was based on the fact that you would put more emphasis on your strength, your abilities and somewhat less emphasis on your brief tenure at various jobs. What is your opinion, based on my and am sure many others who had to change jobs for circumstances out of our control; i.e. company shutdowns, lay-offs, medical in natures. I am asking because although I appear to meet 90 to 100% of what the position I'm applying for requires, in both the education and experience background, I am getting nothing but your standard rejection letters or sometimes not even that. I am was speculating that the person reviewing my resume see that I have more than four (4) employers in a ten (10) year time spand; but there they have no idea that in two out of the four company shut down or I was one of hundreds (100) of the laid-off candidates. I appreciate any/all feedback.
Thank you

Carlos Garay of CA 4:58PM April 08, 2009

In a lot of places in Europe (I know France in particular), it's required to include your photo in with your resume, or CV as they call it. NOT doing so would be bad resume etiquette. It surprised me too when I found out about it.

bianca of CA 4:37AM March 28, 2009

@Aleeah Theiss of MN:
You stated, "No matter how you word it, if you are do not meet ALL of the qualifications, you are not qualified. Furthermore, look at it this way. The company will not overlook un-qualified indidviduals, especially if you already cost them time and money. You have just further dis-qualified yourself for the position."
Couldn't disagree with you more, Aleeah. I've landed positions where I did not meet all the qualifications. I've also hired people who didn't have all the skills we were looking for, especially when some other candidate that did was arrogant, wanted too much money or simply didn't fit in.
Some employers told me what they valued most about me was that if I didn't have a certain qualification, I didn't give up and didn't take "No" for an answer. I'm not going to prematurely reject myself, and wouldn't encourage anybody else to.
You as an employer don't have the luxury of waiting for the perfect candidate to arrive. You need the work to get done. Your #1 candidate could turn down your offer, and then you may have to settle for somebody less. That's not the end of the world, and that 2nd candidate could actually be an asset to your company.
So I reject your advice, especially because so many in the employment world use rejection to stop capable people.

Harry of CA 1:33PM March 16, 2009

You stated one thing to leave off your resume is a photograph.
However, so many employers nowadays are Google'ing candidates and finding their Facebook pages. Is it okay to place a photo on a Web page where an employer can discover it?

Harry of CA 1:15PM March 16, 2009

Don't forget too much personal information. I'm sure you've got an amazing stamp collection, are a great dad, and love your cat to pieces. Just don't put it on your resume. The only "personal" stuff I want to see is RELEVANT volunteer work, professional organizations, etc.
I am a big proponent of a healthy work-life balance, and I would never expect my employees to not have a life outside of work. But for the love of Pete, PLEASE don't tell me your kids or spouse's names and ages. That just makes me wonder if you understand the idea of boundaries. Tell me a funny story about your kids (or your spouse, or your dog) in the interview - it will make you seem more personable. Don't put it on your resume, that just makes you seem weird.

Tiffany Loudermilk of CT 1:10PM March 12, 2009

Some company are put off by race, facial hair or religious dress code (hijab or veil for women)

Amir 2:17AM March 10, 2009

Good pointers Tara - I've shared your post with my readers in my weekly Rainmaker 'Fab Five' blog picks of the week (found here: http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2009/03/the-rainmaker-fab-five-blog-picks-of-the-week-1.html) who might be looking for a job to help them out.
Be well!

Chris Young of ND 12:50AM March 09, 2009

She's saying it's not the convention to include them with a job application. That's different than an article, where US News includes them automatically for their authors.
I agree that it's not the convention to include them with a job application and it freaks me out when I see it.

Jana of MD 1:38PM March 06, 2009

So why did you include your photo Allison? Seriously, are you trying to freak people out?

Tom of NJ 10:00AM March 06, 2009

Alison
I have over 20 years of experience in human resources and during that time hired many people. A typical job opening may result in 200 to 400 resumes to be reviewed. I use the 3 stack method of separating the resumes: NO WAY QUALIFIED, IT IS A MAYBE, and GOOD CANDIDATE. Probably no more than 5 to 10 Resumes make it into the GOOD CANDIDATE pile. The NO WAY pile is history, but someone in the MAYBE pile may be looked at again. This is all based on how you write your Resume, what is in there and not, and the appearance of the Resume--the marketing of yourself--typos and poor sentence stucture does not help you. To your points- photo, absolutely not. Since it is not job related I am not sure legally if a company can even require that--but I have never received a photo resume and do not want to. Subjection phases like--I am the best, or I am always on time, are negatives and shows poor judgement by the candidate in marketing themself. You better list ACHIEVEMENTS and RESULTS, otherwise you probabaly go into the NO WAY pile. You are right on regarding objective statement--do a SUMMARY STATEMENT instead. And in regard to PAGES--we agree that if you only have a few years out of school--one page is the limit. The Resume needs to clear and to the point. Otherwise the hiring manager will not spot the important information when it is buried with other details. Over 95% of the Resumes I see are no more than 2 pages--and that should be the rule. I am not going to read the 16 page Resume that I receive and try to figure out what is important. Two Resume versions, you say no. We disagree. You should make minor changes in some of the bullets based on what the job requirements are and address that in your Resume--if you do have that achievement. This applies mostly to people who have many years of experience. I dislike functional Resumes, and if I cannot figure out what you did at each employer quickly you most likely will not make it into the GOOD CANDIDATE pile. With 200 plus Resumes in front of me, no way I am going to phone you for clarification. Almost all Resumes are chronological. We agree not to send additional enclosers, EXCEPT a short cover letter, highlighting some special qualities that make you the perfect candidate. The cover letter should be less than a page in length.

Jay Barrett of NJ 9:00AM March 06, 2009