What Not to Put on a Resume

The following 8 items are not my original ideas. Unfortunately, I do not have the source of the document to give proper credit to the author (s). I get anywhere from 25 to 50 resumes per week and 99% of them follow the format of what not to put on a resume. Resumes are loaded with duties and responsibilities without mention of accomplishments and/or results.

1. “Salary negotiable” Companies know that. If you’re wasting a precious line of your resume on this term, it looks as though you’ve run out of things to talk about. If your salary is not negotiable, that would be somewhat unusual. Don’t put that on your resume either.

2. “References available by request” See the preceding comment about unnecessary terms.

3. “Responsible for ______” Reading this term, the recruiter can almost picture an uninspired employee mechanically fulfilling his or her job requirements. Having been responsible for something isn’t something you did. It is something that happened to you. Use phrases like managed or led or other decisive action words.

4. “Experience working in ______” Experience is something that happens to you -- not something you achieve. Describe your background in terms of achievements, accomplishments or results. Those are the things that will sell your candidacy.

5. “Detail-oriented” Don’t you have something unique to tell the hiring manager? Plus, putting this on your resume will make that accidental typo in your cover letter or resume all the more comical.

6. “Hardworking” Anyone can call himself a hard worker. It’s a lot more convincing if you describe situations in concrete detail in which your hard work benefited an employer. This is a good place to describe results.

7. “Team player” There are very few jobs that don’t involve working with someone else. If you have relevant success stories about collaboration, put them on your resume. Talk about the kinds of teams you worked on, and how you succeeded. Another opportunity to describe results.

8. “Objective” A resume objective is usually better replaced by a career summary describing your background, achievements and what you have to offer an employer. An exception might be if you haven’t applied for a specific job and don’t have a lot of experience that speaks to the position you’d like to achieve.

Please feel free to visit www.rpssearchgroup.com and go to the candidate section where you can get a complimentary resume evaluation.