First impressions matter, especially when it’s with a recruiter. If you send in a resume with mistakes or irrelevant information, you won’t get a call for an interview. They’ll simply move onto the hundreds of other candidates who applied.

How can you avoid this and put your best foot forward? Make sure you don’t include the following details.

Personal information.

This covers everything from your marital status, whether you have children, political or religious affiliations (unless it’s pertinent to the job) and other personal details. Recruiters don’t need to know and including this information will make you look unprofessional.

Your entire job history.

Keep in mind, brevity is best when it comes to your resume. So leave off the summer job you had in high school and only focus on those positions that are relative to the job and you’ve held over the last decade.

Photos or headshots.

Don’t waste money on a glamour shot to send in with your resume. Recruiters don’t want or expect one. In fact, sending one in can even count against you in the hiring process.

Poor formatting.

There’s a lot of information to include on a resume, from Work History to Education and more. However, dense paragraphs, small font sizes, and tight margins are things to avoid. Make sure you’re formatting your resume and focusing on making it as reader-friendly as possible.

Objective statements.

These are a thing of the past and recruiters don’t expect them. If you include one, you’ll seem out-of-touch. They also waste space that you could use to focus on your skills and accomplishments.

Gaps you can’t explain.

If you have a big employment gap on your resume, make sure you explain it in your cover letter. Otherwise, recruiters will assume the worst.

Fancy fonts or colors.

Your resume is a professional document that should follow certain best practices, especially when it comes to how it looks. Avoid photos, graphics, colors, and script typefaces that are hard to read.

A list of tasks.

While it’s important to include the tasks you were responsible for, recruiters want to see a track record of accomplishments. It’s why it’s important to quantify your work history wherever you can with dollars, time saved, percentages, statistics, and in any other ways.

References available upon request.

Similar to the objective statement, including this simply wastes space you could use in a more valuable way.

Do you need more getting results from your job search efforts?

Murray Resources is here for you. As award-winning Houston recruiters, we know who’s hiring and how to get your resume in front of employers. Search our jobs now!