Many of our recent IT resume articles discuss desirable information for IT resumes — all the stuff you want to make sure you include on your resume. Well, just as important as things you should include, in many cases, are things you should avoid.
The following are the top 5 things you that should be left off on your IT resume.
5. Hobbies
Many people cling to the idea of putting personal information on professional resumes. Whether you skydive, enjoy live action role-playing, knit afghans, indulge in competitive stair-climbing, or are an avid fantasy football enthusiast, the fact is that as businesses put increasing emphasis on culture fit when making hiring decisions, you may feel a corresponding tug to gussy up your resume with personal details. I’d recommend, however, resisting this impulse. Hobbies and interests are very rarely appropriate or relevant on an IT resume — at least at first.
There are common counter-arguments. Some people say “These things will make me stand out!” Well, so will exceptionally well-crafted professional accomplishments. Some say “These things will help them show who I am!” Well, so will an effective interview, an articulate cover letter, or glowing references. Some say, “I want to show that I’m well-rounded.” Well, if you interview, you’ll have ample opportunities to showcase yourself from a variety of personal and professional angles. Many interviews, especially for higher ranking positions, last hours or even days. Trust me — you’ll have the chance to discuss your hobbies and interests.
An exception to this rule is if the personal material enhances your aptitude for the position. If your target company manufactures diving equipment, those hours logged underwater show useful knowledge of the company’s larger industry. The hobby has entered a kind of in-between stage that, while not really professional, isn’t wholly irrelevant either.
Anything purely extracurricular, however, doesn’t need to go on your IT resume.
4. References
These days, there’s no reason to include “References available upon request”. It takes up valuable real estate and is a pretty limp final line (most people put it last). For that matter, it’s an implied part of job searching. When employers ask for references, do you think many people refuse? Of course not.
If you need to fill the page, for design reasons, this line won’t do you any harm. If your layout is cluttered, though, or you find yourself edging perilously towards an additional page, this line should be first to go.
Many companies, additionally, have a field in their on-line databases for inputting references, if you’re applying via a web-site. In that case, including the same info on your resume is downright redundant.
If a company has requested references, by the way, but provided no on-line forum for inputting them, make a separate sheet explicitly for these references. Begin by copying and pasting the header from your resume onto a separate page, which will create consistency across the documents. After this, type out your reference’s primary information — name, position, business name and address, email, and telephone contact — and single space it, centering the margins.
If you like, you can also include a brief note describing your relationship with the individual. Repeat the process with your remaining references, adding at least one space between each entry.
Three references are usually standard. Unless you have a good reason for listing a particular reference first, alphabetical order is also appropriate.
3. High School Experience
When you’re making a resume for a first time job, or applying for a college, it’s perfectly fitting to describe your high school experience — where you went or even what you studied. For that matter, if your time at high school was particularly on point with your objective (if it was a technical school, for example) it might be worth including. Outside of those situations, though, information about where you went to high school should be left off of an IT Resume. You’ve moved on to other things — your resume should as well.
2. Outdated Technologies
Technology changes rapidly, with newer versions of software and hardware replacing old ones faster than many can anticipate or absorb. Additionally, new technologies sprout up regularly, while outdated ones fade away. If, at one point, you mastered a technology that’s now antique (Windows 3.1, anyone?) remove it from your resume.
The goal, always remember, is to communicate what you can contribute now, not several years ago.
1. Photos, etc
You should also leave off the following:
- A picture — unless they want a discrimination lawsuit, companies can’t legally use that information, so don’t put them in an awkward position by including your photo on your resume
- Weird fonts, images, doo-dads, or other gimmicks — remember in Legally Blonde, when Elle added perfume to her resume to give it “something extra”? There’s a reason that line is funny
- Your desired salary — unless they’ve asked for it, don’t include salary info
- Anything unsolicited — like, say, writing samples or transcripts
When you apply for a job, you’re not only telling a company about yourself — you’re demonstrating your initial professionalism by respecting industry hiring practices and considerations. Including any of the above information won’t help your chances; if anything, it will work against you.
Wow! This post makes me laugh (and cringe). So true. Another item to leave off your resume, “Current Prescription Meds I’m Taking”.
No joke, this just came through on a resume in the last two weeks.
As Alan alluded to in #5 above, keep it professional and avoid personal unless there is a direct correlation to the job.
Scott
You think the Current Meds was cringe-worthy. How about the guy applying for a position as a Professional Pilot and included the 10,000 hours of Microsoft Flight Simulator time. My guess is the screener strained their stomache muscles badly before filing the application in the floor level filing cabinet.
I was told by an HR person they spend 30 SECONDS looking at the initial wave of resumes. Not a lot of time to impress so as mentioned above it MUST look professional. Correct spelling and grammer are essential and could even be included in Alan’s list as 5a (IMO).
I like to recommend sending the resume as a pdf. It keeps the formating clean no matter what version of software a company is using. And be sure to proof it. It is amazing how many misformated resumes I receive. Attention to detail is so important in an IT role. Show you have it with a clean resume.