Seven things that have no place on your resume

Items that might scare employers away: read and discard.

Most likely, during the interview the recruiter will want to know why you left your previous job. Be prepared to answer this question convincingly. But do not jump the gun and describe the reasons in your resume, especially if the situation can seem ambiguous and needs explanation.

Perhaps the fact that you are a family man or woman will play in your favor. But such facts as the date of your wedding, divorce, child's birthday, and the assurances of the strength of your marriage bond, can discourage employers. It is not necessary to bore them with details: if this information is important for the employer, you will be asked about them during the interview.

If you think that we are exaggerating, you're wrong: this kind of responses with a detailed biography - from school successes and up to 45 years of age - regularly come to almost every employer’s emails. For some unknown reason, some applicants believe that their resume or cover letter should be "gingered" with a brief story about their life.

Of course, bio is directly related to career. For example, if you are applying for a sports journalist's position, it is useful to talk about winning some competitions. But in most cases biography isn’t directly related to the job, so it is not worth including it in an already impressive resume.

Perhaps you are lucky and your resume will get in the hands of an equally "patient, even-tempered and friendly» HR-manager. But many still strive to tell about themselves as much as possible, believing that self-praise is never too much. Believe me, the recruiter will not be impressed with your great character traits, "benevolence", "positivity", and "sensitivity": I mean, okay, you are a wonderful and warm person, but what does it have to do with the job? Better write about the qualities that distinguish you from other candidates.

Information about a hobby can add you some points, but only if your passions are directly related to the profession. For example, for a journalist photography is a useful hobby, for a manager - volunteering as an events organizer. Hobbies, not related to work, are better not to be mentioned in your resume. It is likely that employers will be glad to know that in the winter you ski and in summer play in amateur football league. But we honestly do not know what they will say about competitive gamers, musicians or street racers.

If you are an experienced specialist, do not clutter your resume. Most employers are only interested in recent 3 years in detail and earlier 7-10 years in general. Everything, that was before that, is not so important.

Some consider it a duty to mention that they do not drink or smoke. But unless the job requires it, do not write anything about your bad habits. Afterall, resume is not a dating ad.

Perfect resume should be 1-2 pages. Remove everything redundant and unimportant, but do not forget that you are a living man: a small detail can distinguish your resume from a thousand of similar ones.