What Not to Include in a Resume: 15 Things to Remove Right Away

Remove these unnecessary things from your resume right away.

When your resume is facing the six-second resume test, it's important to exclude information that will distract the hiring manager from seeing your true qualifications. On top of that, there are life and career details you should omit as they are taboo or present illegal information as is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity people.

In fact, there are at least 15 things you should NOT include in a resume.

Your resume has to beat the bots and impress a hiring manager

You have to reconcile the fact that, in today's competitive job market, employers receive approximately 250 job applications for every open position. Ninety-five percent of organizations (large and small) use software known as an applicant tracking system – ATS – to screen applications and eliminate the least qualified applicants.

If your resume is among the lucky 25 percent of applications that make it past the dreaded bots, it still must pass muster with the recruiter or hiring manager. With so many applications flooding their inboxes, it's no wonder that the average recruiter skims a resume for only six seconds before deciding if the applicant belongs in the “no” pile.

Less is more

As you craft your resume, keep in mind that you're trying to let future employers know what you bring to the table for their company. This means there are things that simply should not be on your resume, including everything you've ever done in your career. Instead, focus on achievements and details in a professional way that proves you have what it takes to succeed in the job the employer has available.

And it all starts at the top! Literally.

1. Unprofessional email

The first thing that should not be on your resume is an inappropriate email address like “keg.k1ng17@domain.com.” It may have been funny in college, but you should leave it off of your job applications and business cards. The same goes for shared family email accounts such as “smith-family-est-2010@domain.com” and email addresses that are offensive or sexual in nature.

Create a free email address with a provider like Gmail that's reserved exclusively for your job-search activities. Whenever possible, create an email address that incorporates your name as it appears on your resume and LinkedIn profile, as well as your credentials. For example: “jack.lyons.cpa@domain.com.”

2. Full mailing address

Gone are the days when it was required to include your entire mailing address on your resume. So, your street address is one of those things that should not be on your resume. It's just not necessary at this stage of the recruitment process, takes up extra space, and can be considered a security risk (think of all the places you upload or post your resume – hello, identity theft).

3. Multiple phone numbers

The more contact options you provide on your resume, the easier it is to miss an important message from a prospective employer. Avoid any confusion by streamlining your contact information. Include one –and only one – phone number on your resume. For the love of all things great, please use the one that you answer most often.

4. Outdated or irrelevant social media profiles

Avoid adding social media accounts on your resume that host unprofessional content, do not support your current job goals, and are outdated. If you're going to include the URL to a social media account on your resume, make sure it reflects your personal brand and serves to demonstrate why you're qualified for the job.

With that said, you should definitely create an optimized LinkedIn profile (or GitHub account if your profession demands a portfolio) and include the link (URL) at the top of your resume.

Related reading: How to Write a Powerful LinkedIn Profile Summary

5. Resume objective statement

We've all seen those generic resume objective statements talk about a professional who is “Looking for opportunities to leverage skills and ensure professional growth.”

This vague statement is a waste of space and should not be on your resume because it provides zero information to help hiring managers understand what type of position you're seeking and why you're qualified for such a role.

Remove your run-of-the-mill objective statement and replace it with a professional summary – also known as a career statement or career summary – that delivers your elevator pitch. In approximately 3-5 sentences, explain why you're a good fit for the position by summarizing relevant qualifications and career achievements.

6. Personal details

Things like social security number, marital status, nationality, sexual orientation, or spiritual beliefs definitely should not be on your resume. In fact, it is illegal for employers to ask for these personal details. If you're unsure whether to include a detail about yourself on your resume, consider if the information is relevant to the job you're targeting. If it doesn't demonstrate your qualifications for the role, it doesn't belong on your resume.

7. Headshot

Unless you're a TV celebrity, actor, or model, there is no reason why your resume should include your photo. Having a headshot on your resume opens the door to unconscious bias or blatant discrimination by revealing nationality, gender, or age. In fact, some recruiters have been known to automatically dismiss a candidate whose application includes a headshot because they don't want to be accused of discrimination.

Also, some recruiters see candidates who include headshots as egocentric at best and lacking sound judgment skills at worst.

8. Buzzwords

While it's important to include relevant keywords from the job descriptions that interest you, it's not a good idea to stuff your resume full of fluffy buzzwords. Make sure you incorporate keywords in a way that sounds natural when you read your resume out loud. If you deliberately stuff keywords into your resume or use a bunch of annoying buzzwords, it will be painfully obvious to the recruiter – not to mention a big turnoff.

9. Pronouns

Every part of your resume should be written in the first person; however, personal pronouns like “I,” “me,” “my,” etc. should not be on your resume. There are a few reasons for this:

It saves space
Everyone reading your resume will already assume that you're talking about things you've done
Repeating “I,” “me,” and “my” on your resume is a very repetitive, 5th-grader way to write something

The only place to use first-person pronouns is on your LinkedIn profile, as that should be written using more personable/conversational language.

10. Small font, tiny margins, and design faux pas

When it comes to selecting a design for your resume, less is more – except for when it comes to font and margin size.

Use fonts that are no smaller than 10pt
Your margins should be at least 0.5” all the way around

On top of that, an elaborately designed resume probably won't be properly parsed by the ATS. This means the ATS will think your resume file is corrupt, will reject your application all together, and you'll end up being ghosted by the company.

Avoid using text boxes, multi-column formats, and charts/graphs

Remember, your goal isn't to stuff as much information into your resume as possible. You're supposed to write it in a way that resonates with the hiring manager and fills the need they have.

You also want the human hiring manager/recruiter to easily find the content they seek. For that reason, you should submit a regular old reverse-chronological resume to make sure they know exactly where to find the details they're looking for.

Expert tip: If you're unsure what a reverse-chronological resume looks like, check out TopResume's library of free resume samples.

11. Passive voice

The main goal of your resume is to make a positive impression on a hiring manager. The best way to do that is by demonstrating the value you bring to the table through the achievements you've had in your career. When you use active voice instead of passive voice, you can present a more confident accounting of your skills in an engaging narrative that will have them begging to learn more about you.

A lot of people have a hard time distinguishing between passive and active voice. It's all about what lies in the subject of your sentence. Artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT can help you identify the parts of your resume that are written in passive voice and give you suggestions to transform your writing into active voice. This will make your resume more impactful.

Related reading: How to Make Your Resume Stand Out With Action Verbs.

12. Spelling and grammatical errors

A recruiter survey by TopResume found “spelling and/or grammatical errors” to be the No. 1 resume mistake that could cost you the job. However, with a little effort, you can easily avoid this resume deal-breaker. Print your resume out in a different font, read it aloud, and ask someone with impeccable writing skills to edit your resume for grammar.

13. Too much of the past

Going back to only having about six seconds to get the attention of the hiring manager, it's critical that your resume be the right length and contain details that highlight your most recent career accomplishments. There are a few rules to abide by so that your resume contains the freshest, newest content that hiring managers will want to see:

Keep it to two pages – maximum!
Flesh out details only from the last 10-15 years of experience
Omit high school, especially if you've completed a college degree
Add an “Early Career History” section with a list of older jobs if you have a company or role from your past that you want to call attention to

14. Salary history

Your current or previous salary absolutely should not be on your resume. If you include accurate information, then you might get lowballed when it comes to your starting salary. If you fudge your past earnings, then you risk getting caught in a lie and terminated.

In fact, as of April 2018, there are nine places in the U.S. where employers are no longer allowed to ask for your current or previous salary. Do yourself a favor and do not include this type of information in your resume.

15. References

“References available upon request” should not be on your resume. It's not necessary at this stage of the application process, and it wastes precious resume space. In addition, employers know that if you want the job, you'll provide them with a list of references when they ask for them – there's no need to state the obvious.

What to include in your resume

Now that you know what not to include in your resume, take a second look at your resume to make sure it includes all the right elements to effectively tell your story and market your qualifications and work experience. Click on the following link to learn what 11 pieces of information every professional should include in a resume.

Not sure if your resume includes any of these mistakes? Let us help! Take advantage of TopResume's free critique today!

This article was originally written by Amanda Augustine. It's been updated by Marsha Hebert.

15 Things You Should Not Include in a Resume