4 Things You Don't Need in Your Resume

When it comes to resumes, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hiring managers and recruiters spend a few seconds glancing at your resume to determine if you deserve a closer look. The most important thing you can do for your resume is to format it nicely so that it’s easy to read. Aim for clean lines, consistent formatting, succinct language, and focus on the results you achieved. What can you leave out? Here are 4 things you don't need in your resume:

Nix the Mission Statement
Mission statements are a thing of the past and they waste valuable resume real estate. Trust us when we say no one wants to read this. A mission statement is a monologue all about you. Instead of highlighting what you want, show employers what you can do for them and save the top section of your resume for a place to summarize your key skills and experience so the person reading it can quickly understand how you can solve a problem they have.

Lose Outdated Serif fonts like Times Roman
Picking a clean, modern font that’s easy to read is one way to quickly bring your resume into the 21st century. We like Calibri, Verdana, and Arial.

Just Say NO... to Long Work Histories
In most situations, about 10 years of work history is enough for the average professional. Unless you’re applying for an executive or high-level management role where you might be required to demonstrate career progression and growth over a period of time, there is no need to list jobs that you were doing 15 to 20 years ago. Employers care about what you’re doing now and results you’ve achieved recently.

Leave Off Graduation Dates
Unless you graduated within the past 2 years, putting your graduation date on your resume is unnecessary—and it can work against you. We know ageism is a real thing, so it’s to your advantage to keep it vague. This is also another reason why you don’t need to list your work history dating back to 1982.

A modern resume has a specific agenda with two main goals: to show employers how you will add value to their organization and to showcase your personal brand. This is why it’s important to use clear, concise language that highlights the positive outcomes from your work, and to pay close attention to style and formatting. A messy, cluttered resume is an indication of a messy, cluttered person. Do your bullet points line up? Is your spacing consistent? These little things show your attention to detail. It can be difficult to catch typos and formatting mistakes, so ask someone you trust to proofread your resume before you finalize it. Having a second set of eyes will help point out minor things you might have missed.

Good luck!