Career Details That Should Get Cut — Resume Writing Tips
Personal Information — Some components no longer (if ever had) have a home in a resume; for example, a person’s marital status, number of children, and hobbies.
Jobseekers unfortunately still incorporate this information within their resumes.
High School Diploma — If a college degree is possessed, there is no need to list a high school diploma because it is implied.
It’s tempting to list a high school diploma, especially if your client doesn’t possess an associate or bachelor degree.
In actuality, listing a high school diploma is typically acceptable for grade-school graduates only.
What if my client doesn’t hold a college degree or has taken only a few college classes?
An incomplete college degree can be seen as a liability to some employers, especially if the individual is no longer pursuing the degree or hasn’t taken classes in a few years.
Rather than this education being an asset to the candidate, it has turned into something that can look unfavorable to some individuals reading the resume.
Unless the continued education is current, aggressively being pursued, or completed, you may not find good reasoning for it to be listed in the new resume.
If you’re favoring the inclusion of the information, list the number of credits or credit hours so anyone reviewing the resume has a clear understanding that your client doesn’t possess a degree.
Example:
B.S., Political Science (98 credits)
Wright State University, Dayton, OH
— Returning in the fall; expected completion winter, 2005
Grade Point Average — Different resume writers have varying opinions on listing a person’s grade point average (GPA).
A GPA can cover a person’s overall classes or can be specific to the major. On occasion, a student might reflect a GPA for the major only because they may be taking difficult, and possibly irrelevant, classes that hinder his or her overall grade average.
It’s typical to list the GPA if above 3.5, however, some resumes reflect the average if above 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Volunteer Work — Volunteer positions don’t always have a home in a finished resume because these are valuable positions only if the employer perceives each to be.
Clients sometimes possess limited or no work experience, so entertaining select volunteer positions, may be important to fill gaps.
Evaluate each of the volunteer slots to determine relevance to the client’s focus and determine the feasibility of use.
In addition to relevance, also consider what year these positions fall into and the length your client stayed at each.
Certificates — It might seem practical at first to include everything, yet a resume shouldn’t be a complete account of your client’s background.
List certificates related to the position or industry that your client is targeting. If you’re not certain of the relevance, don’t be afraid to ask your client.
Clients can be a great resource as you determine what to include and what not to include in the final resume.
Older work experience — Eliminating older work history can be beneficial, not to mention shave years from a person’s “paper age,” so evaluate the elimination of work experience that’s older than 10 years.
In addition to examining the number of years you include, also ensure the work history looks progressive — a small amount of text for the oldest position and larger quantities of text under the recent position.
Do you see the trend?
As mentioned before, a resume should tell the reader what is relevant, and no more.
Pay close attention to information that fits, or doesn’t fit.
Your client, or possibly your client’s background, may affect the information you include in the resume, but overall, do your best at making the resume shift towards one or two complementary focuses (e.g. corporate communications and public relations).