THE DANGERS OF RESUME OVERKILL

Nearly everything written about resume design concentrates on what you should put in. But let’s consider what should be left out or minimized.

Item #1: Salary history or salary requirements. 

There's never a good reason to reveal your salary history, present salary, or expected future earnings. Classified ads that request this information are not worth your time; any strong resume will be noticed regardless. If you're contacted for an interview after submitting a general resume, simply be honest about your earnings.

Item #2: References.

If you have any references that would highly impact or be well-known to your potential employer, by all means, use them. If not, a simple "References: Available Upon Request" will suffice. Try to avoid personal references such as your minister or attorney unless they are extremely famous in their field, like Billy Graham or Sandra Day O'Connor.

Item #3: Superfluous materials. 

Steer clear of attaching your resume to any extras such as your thesis, photos, diplomas, transcripts, product samples, newspaper articles, blueprints, and designs or letters of recommendation. These can be brought to the interview as extra props if needed but not before. The only thing that should accompany your resume is your business card.

Item #4: Personal information. 

Only list the essentials: name, address, phone number, email, and LinkedIn. By including your involvement in Freemasonry, environmentalism, or a codependency support group could lead the employer to question whether these activities will take away from work.

I recently received a resume from a candidate who wanted to include his bowling average on his CV. The individual must have believed that such information might help him get interviewed more often. Would I be willing to show the candidate's CV to a potential employer if given a choice? There is no way I would do it.

Make your resume as relevant as possible to the job you're applying for, and nothing more. The greater the relevancy, the more likely you are to be considered for the role.