The 1 thing you should never include on your resume

Mystery Woman

Tell us more for better jobs, advice
and connections

Don’t miss out on new opportunities.

Update your profile

YOUR TOPICS

Your feed isn’t personalized yet. Follow topics like career advice, lifestyle or health.

YOUR GROUPS

Discover and join groups with like-minded women who share your interests, profession, and lifestyle.

COMPANIES YOU FOLLOW

Get alerted when there are new employee reviews.

YOUR JOB ALERTS

Get notified when new jobs are posted.

Your post is published!

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/25/21 at 7:46PM UTC

Career

The 1 thing you should never include on your resume

What's the one thing you never include on your resume? Resumes can make or break our job search, so it's critical to have one that shows off our skills — rather than one that lands in the reject pile. Whether you're a job seeker finding your way on your job search journey or a long-time hiring manager, feel free to share what you'd never include on a resume — and hopefully help an FGB job seeker! Why don't you include this? Is there something you should include instead?

20 Comments

Katy Joy

Recruiting professional located in San Diego

01/25/21 at 7:49PM UTC

Graduation dates/years! This can age you (for better or for worse) and elicit unconscious biases from recruiters.

2 Replies

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/28/21 at 3:37PM UTC

Great tip, Katy — I wish we didn't have to worry about that.

Moriyina Cole, MBA

Passionate about helping People & Organizations

01/28/21 at 11:14PM UTC

I agree with this. Ageism is real and prevalent.

Malissa

614

Controller in the Agricultural Industry.

01/25/21 at 8:12PM UTC

Objectives. Most are poorly written and not targeted to the job. Even a well written one will get passed over quickly. Use that real estate to write a summary of your skills or leave it off completely.

1 Reply

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/28/21 at 3:38PM UTC

Love that you provided an alternative for this common resume mistake. Do you think there's ever a right time to include an objective?

1 Reply

Malissa

614

Controller in the Agricultural Industry.

01/28/21 at 5:08PM UTC

If you can craft one that is actually targeted to the job and extremely well written, then go for it. After that batch of resumes I reviewed, I'd just rather not see another objective statement.

1 Reply

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/29/21 at 7:04PM UTC

Thanks for sharing from your expertise/experience!

Claudia

400

Current events call for adapting new solutions.

01/25/21 at 10:04PM UTC

Certain personal information: how many kids you have, if you're married, etc. Not only does this not apply to the job you're applying for, but it can be used against you by certain hiring managers - married women/women with children are often seen as being unable to give as much time to their job because of these other distractions. This is a conversation topic at best unrelated to your hiring process.

1 Reply

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/28/21 at 3:39PM UTC

Great insight, Claudia. This is helpful for interviewing as well.

Judy

01/26/21 at 1:17AM UTC

Errors or poor grammar - It seems obvious, but we’re all moving at internet speed, far too often, letting things pass without a critical second look.

1 Reply

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/28/21 at 3:39PM UTC

Definitely helps to get a second (and third, and fourth) pair of eyes!

Kim Allcott

107

Business Development Director

01/26/21 at 1:40PM UTC

Extensive detail on roles that aren't relevant to the job you're applying for. Keep the CV focussed and tailored (but avoid timeline gaps if possible - keep less relevant role entries brief).

2 Replies

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/26/21 at 3:14PM UTC

Hey Kim! This is really helpful advice — and I think relevant to many Fairygodboss'ers. What do you think is the best way for someone to talk about these timeline gaps in an interview?

1 Reply

Kim Allcott

107

Business Development Director

01/26/21 at 3:25PM UTC

Hello :) While everyone does have a right to privacy, prospective employers will be understandably curious about gaps. I think honesty with a positive spin is the best way forward - whatever the gap was for, if there was something constructive that you learned from it, that's the thing to focus the conversation on. And be ready to reassure the new employer that you're not looking for more career gaps (if that's relevant).

1 Reply

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/26/21 at 3:29PM UTC

I love how you advise to use the gap to your advantage and share something you learned. Thank you for sharing!

Amy Bucciferro

Consulting is my profession, equality my passion

01/27/21 at 1:41AM UTC

Agreed on keeping less-relevant role descriptions minimal, but I would discourage someone from leaving out entirely things like service-sector jobs when applying to an 'office' job. There is important learning in that experience.

Rebecca Guldin

Social media, empowerment, community organizing

01/26/21 at 11:47PM UTC

I know this isn't really your question, but I'm sure someone needs the reminder: You can totally decline to answer salary range questions on pre-interview questionnaires! I wish I had known that a few jobs ago.

1 Reply

Natalia

370

Motivating You Forward

01/27/21 at 5:38AM UTC

But how do you do it when there's an asterisk next to the question or only drop down selections in the application? I try to avoid it as much as possible and write in negotiable when I can but not always an option.

1 Reply

FGB Community Manager

1.57k

Connecting career-minded women

01/28/21 at 3:40PM UTC

That's a great reminder, Rebecca. And a good question, Natalia. How can we avoid it when it's a non-optional question?

Sarah Bartley

107

Front-end Web Developer

01/31/21 at 11:56PM UTC

I've learned not to put "references available upon request" on my resume. I used to do that since that is what my college's career services suggested to do. I later learned that this ended up dating my resume quite a lot since many assume you already have references and they will ask.