What to Add or Leave Off Your Resume

If you ask 10 people to review your resume, you may get nearly as many different pieces of advice. Some want it longer, others shorter, some say to include hobbies and clubs, others say not to.

- No need to have an objective on your resume. Colleges teach us this is where you start, in the real world, clients want to know what you can do for them rather than what you want to do.

- Our opinion is to keep the length of your resume similar to your experience. If you have only a couple of years experience, you maybe only get your resume to a couple of pages. If you have been with the same firm for 25 years, still you may have only enough information for a couple of pages. If you have had 5 jobs in 25 years, perhaps 3, 4 or 5 pages is appropriate. Please try to keep your resume to 5 pages or less. We have had clients ask for resumes no longer than 3 or 4 or 5 pages. I have received resumes that are 16 pages long, please no.

  • Pick one font and stick with it. There is no need to bold some words, color others, and highlight others. Special formatting is not needed.
  • No need to put in sick leave, or that you have taken care of your young family or aging parents to allow for every minute in your career, unless that is what you have done last and for a number of years. These are questions that can be answered in an interview.
  • Create a word version of your resume with your contact information on the top.
  • Less important than your mailing address, is to make sure your phone number and your email address are on your resume. You may want or not want to put your physical address on your resume. Do you want the client/recruiter to know you are local or not, does it matter if you will relocate to the job as needed?
  • Hobbies and clubs are not needed unless they are directly related to the job you are submitting your resume to. If you are a fresh graduate you may need to put that you were the president of some fraternity or sorority, showing leadership. If you have 10 hears of experience, you don’t need to detail that you were an Eagle Scout, like to ride your bike and are a certified personal trainer, unless you are applying for a job as a Scout leader or personal trainer.
  • Be honest on your resume, stretching the truth or fabricating degrees and experience will certainly be a regrettable move.

Here is a link to other great ideas/tips about what words to leave out and why.