27 Things to Never Include on Your CV

Hiring managers receive nearly hundred of CVs per day and they don’t have much time to carefully review it all. Usually they spend up to six seconds to decide whether candidate fits to the position or not.  If you want to make a good impression and be noticed, here are 27 things you should never include in your CV.

1. An objective – If you applied, it’s already obvious you want the job.
2. Irrelevant work experiences – Don’t include experiences that are not directly relevant to the position. Yes, you might have been the most famous bartender at the bar you worked part-time but if it’s not related to your applied position and you’re not planning to redeem the title – exclude it. However, past work experience which might not appear to be directly relevant to the job might show another dimension, depth, ability, or skill that actually is relevant or applicable.
3. Personal stuff – Don’t include your marital status and religious preference. This might have been the standard in the past, but all of this information is no longer needed.
4. Your hobbies – Nobody cares about it. If it’s not relevant to the job you’re applying for, it’s a waste of space and time.
5. Blatant lies – You should list only the skills you can offer. Don’t lie to make yourself accepted.  Hiring managers are more forgiving than job seekers may think and about 42% of employers surveyed said they would consider a candidate who met only three out of five key qualifications for a specific role.
6. Too much text – Leave lots of white space and use no more than a 0.8 margin.
7. Time off – If you took time off to travel or raise a family, it’s not recommend to including that information on your CV.
8. References – If your employers want to speak to your references, they’ll ask you. Also, it’s better if you have a chance to tell your references ahead of time that a future employer might be calling. If you write “references upon request” at the bottom of your résumé, you’re merely wasting a valuable line.
9. Inconsistent formatting – The best format is the format that will make it easy to scan and still to pick out your key qualifications and career goals. Once you pick a format, stick with it. If you write the day, month, and year for one date, then use that same format throughout the rest of the résumé.
10. Personal pronouns – Your CV shouldn’t include the words “I,” “me,” “she,” or “my,” Don’t write your résumé in the third or first person. It’s understood that everything on your résumé is about you and your experiences.
11. Present tense for a past job – Don’t describe past work experience using the present tense. Only your current job should be written in the present tense.
12. Any unnecessary, obvious words – There is no reason to put the word “phone” in front of the actual number. The same rule applies to email.
13. A less-than-professional email address – Don’t use old email address, like BeerLover123@gmail.com or CuteChick4life@yahoo.com, it’s time to pick a new one. It’s not only looks unprofessional but looks silly.
14. Headers, footers, tables, images, or charts – While a well-formatted header and footer may look professional, and some cool tables, images, or charts may boost your credibility, they also confuse the applicant tracking systems that companies use nowadays.
15. Your current business contact info – It’s not only dangerous; it’s stupid. Do you really want employers calling you at work? How are you going to handle that?  So if you’re not in the mood to get fired, or potentially charged with theft of services then leave the business info off.
16. Your boss’ name – Don’t include your boss’ name on your CV unless you’re OK with your potential employer contacting him or her.
17. Company-specific jargon – Be sure to exclude terms on your CV that are known only to one specific organisations.
18. Social media URLs that are not related to the targeted position – Links to your opinionated blogs, Pinterest page, or Instagram account have no relevancy. But you should list relevant URLs, such as your LinkedIn page or any others that are professional and directly related to the position you are trying to acquire.
19. More than 15 years of experience – When you start including jobs from before 2000, you start to lose the hiring manager’s interest. Your most relevant experience should be from the past 15 years.
20. Salary information – This information is completely unnecessary and may send the wrong message. CV is intended to showcase your professional experience and skills. Salary comes later in the interview process.
21. Outdated fonts – Don’t use Times New Roman and serif fonts, as they’re outdated and old-fashioned. Use a standard, sans-serif font like Arial.
22. Fancy fonts – Curly-tailed fonts are also a turn-off. People try to make their CV look classier with a fancy font, but studies show they are harder to read and the recruiter absorbs less about you.
23. Annoying buzzwords – Words and phrases such as, “best of breed,” “go-getter,” “think outside the box,” “synergy,” and “people pleaser,” are the biggest turnoffs. Don’t ever use it in your CV.
24. Reasons you left a company or position – Listing why you left is irrelevant on your résumé. It’s not the time or place to bring up transitions from one company to the next. Use your interview to address this.
25. A photo of yourself – This may become the norm at some point in the future, but it’s just weird — and tacky and distracting — for now.
26. Opinions, not facts – Don’t try to sell yourself by using all sorts of subjective words to describe yourself. For example, “I’m an excellent communicator” or “highly organised and motivated” are opinions of yourself and not necessarily the truth.
27. Short-term employment – Avoid including a job on your CV if you only held the position for a short period of time. You should especially avoid including jobs you were let go from or didn’t like.

Adapted from standard.co.uk