| What NOT to include on your resume | | | | unprofessional, no matter what the graphic is. Second, |
| Your resume is your most important tool for getting | | | | they can easily become garbled when sent |
| the job you want. Is yours working for you or against | | | | electronically and also garble the rest of your resume. |
| you? Here are some things you should never have in | | | | 6. Your social security number. Your social security |
| your resume. | | | | number is a highly sensitive bit of information. Identity |
| 1. Inaccuracy. Is all the information on your resume | | | | thieves can use it to create all sorts of havoc with |
| accurate? This includes your name and contact | | | | your life. Because you don't know exactly how your |
| information as well as the names and contact | | | | resume will be handled, do not list your social security |
| information of previous employers as well as the | | | | number on it. |
| dates. Mistakes with these items not only make it | | | | 7. Irrelevant job information. If you cannot show that a |
| difficult for a potential employer to contact you, it also | | | | past job has a direct bearing on the job for which you |
| may give the impression that you are purposely giving | | | | are applying, leave it out. If you are applying for a |
| inaccurate information. | | | | teaching position, potential employers need not know |
| 2. Misspellings. Make sure every word on your resume | | | | (nor do they care) that you worked as a busboy |
| is spelled correctly in its context. A single "teh" instead | | | | years ago. Only include such positions if absolutely |
| of "the" will send your resume to the garbage. When | | | | necessary to explain a gap in your employment |
| you finish your resume, use a spell checker and then | | | | history. |
| give it to another human being to carefully read it. A | | | | 8. Fancy fonts or stationery. While you may think |
| spell checker would not necessarily catch misused | | | | copperplate calligraphy on a Victorian floral stationery |
| words such as "there" instead of "their" etc. | | | | is the ultimate in elegance, potential employers will think |
| 3. Overly personal information. Your age, race, health | | | | it is impossible to read and too "fluffy" to take seriously. |
| and marital status have no place on your resume. If | | | | Use a simple font such as Times New Roman in at |
| you are concerned that you will seem too young or old | | | | least 10-point type on plain, high-quality paper (in white, |
| for a position, do not list your graduation year. | | | | ivory or light gray). |
| 4. Unprofessional wording. If your email address is "" or | | | | We've all read collections of amusing typos in resumes |
| "," change it to an address that shows you as a | | | | and job applications. We all hope our resumes don't |
| serious worker. That is, simply use your real name. | | | | get added to future collections. By following these eight |
| 5. Graphics. There are two reasons not to use | | | | simple rules, your resume will avoid the most common |
| graphics on your resume. First of all, it looks | | | | mistakes and help you to win the job of your dreams. |