More Than 75% of Your Resume Could Be Useless

By Ali M Al Lawati

You kill more trees by using more papers while printing your resume and contribute to further warming the planet by consuming extra kilobytes when circulating it electronically. Therefore, keeping your CV short does not only grant it the attention of potential employers but also makes you environmentally responsible.

Employers wish if applicants learn how to produce more efficient resumes. An efficient resume is the one that consumes the least amount of time for a prospect employer to decide to call you for an interview. Avoid including unnecessary information to your resume and focus on what employers really look for. Below is a list of information people include in their resume which could be of no importance to employers:

1. The Title
If someone shows you a picture of a car you would know it is a car. You do not need to write the word "car" on the car for people to recognize it. The same applies to your CV so why do you consume half a page to show the two- letter "CV" in a gigantic font?

2. Objective
Most people use similar sets of objective in their resume. Typically, it reads like: "I would like to join an organization that allows me to use my education, experience and skills... ". Does that sound like the objective statement you are using on your resume? Well let me tell you something, employers are less concerned about your personal objectives and more concerned about what you can deliver.

3. Irrelevant Details
For example, your driving license expiration date is useless unless you are applying for a driver job. Similarly, your weight is your problem so do not include it as part of your personal data unless the job you are applying for requires certain features and physical attributes. I still receive hundreds of resumes that contain "Military Status" of the candidate!

4. Short Training and Courses
Short training and courses attended, generally, do not excite serious employers nor do they add to your market value. However, if you obtained an accredited or recognized certification out of these trainings and courses you should surely include them. The same applies to courses taken in college if you graduated more than a decade ago.

5. Basic Computer Skills
Your knowledge of and ability to use PowerPoint� or Microsoft Word or posting photos on Instagram cannot be considered as part of your "Computer Skills". So unless you are a Java, Python, C++, Ardiuno or Ruby programmer, WordPress or Joomla website builder or have any technical computer knowledge or expertise that is relevant to the job posted just leave out this section.

6. Repetitive Qualities
Job seekers usually mention in their resumes that they are able to work under severe pressure, active team player, adore new challenges, willing to acquire new skills and learn new stuff. A lot of them also say they are self-motivated and self-starter. These are indeed great qualities that make you so unique just like 8 billion other people living on this planet. Focus on telling the employer about what makes you unique.

7. Common Hobbies
Keywords found on more than 80% of the resumes include: avid internet user, like to travel, regular reader of articles on concurrent financials issues and, of course, enjoy swimming. It might surprise you to know that not even 1% of the employers read or care about what you have listed as your hobbies.

8. Reference
Finally, you need to understand the "Reference" part and its magnitude in the process of getting you hired. Interested employers will certainly seek some reference before making an offer. However, employers will seldom use any of the references you listed on your CV and they would instead check you out through their own references.

The purpose of this article is not to mock those who produce poor. Some of these poorly written resumes that land at our job board are of executives with more than 20 years of experience. Even worse, some of them are holding or seeking senior HR positions. Do not include every section you find in ready-made CV writing templates. These templates are not written on stones. You can design your own CV template just like British judges can rule without the wig and the robe!