What NOT to Include on Your Resume

What NOT to Include on Your Resume Your resume is valuable real estate. It needs to be kept as brief as possible while  highlighting your past employment and skills in the best possible light. Therefore, its important to include the best of the best on  your resume. While its important to include as much positive information as possible, it is equally important to know what NOT to include on your resume. Because your resume is one of the most valuable marketing tools in your job search, you want to ensure that you are including information that is relevant to your career goals, and removing anything that does  support those goals. References Dont include the line references available upon request. Its completely pointless and a waste of space. Both you and the hiring managers know that you are going to produce references simply because in 99 out of 100 cases they will be required.   Just be sure that you have a reference page, formatted to match your resume, ready to hand over at the interview. Generic Statements Statements such as highly skilled, reliable, or energetic team player are generic and really dont put you in a positive light. If anything, they show you as someone who hasnt really considered the alternative. If you have been doing anything at all, then you have skills. Show what you have done with those skills instead of using a phrase that means nothing. Energetic team player?   What else is there, a lethargic loner? Being energetic and a team player are expected work traits and shouldnt be highlighted on your resume. It strikes a hiring manager as  trying to fill blank space on the page. The same is true of reliable. If you arent reliable, then you will not last long. Writing a great resume isnt difficult if you create a document that matches the needs of the employer, as well as effectively communicates your skills and expertise. Look at your resume the way  an employer would and update it accordingly. You own the space and you need to make it work for you, and your job search.