Job Application Writing – What not to include in your Resume?

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Job Application Writing What not to include in
your Resume?

• Over my 14 years in business in owning and
  operating Red Tape Busters I have helped
  thousands of clients prepare winning job
  applications and in our job application writing
  service I see why clients have made mistakes
  previously through their job search strategies.
• If you combine my experience with Red Tape
  Busters with my 18 years experience in senior
  positions in the Queensland Public Service where
  I was responsible for recruitment and selection
  of public servants at all levels of the
  organisation I have seen many many resumes which
  really dont cut the mustard.

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• There are some reoccurring themes which to me are
  classic errors when preparing your Resume. These
  include
• Age -
• Many people include their age in their Resume.
• Why? Age is generally immaterial in assessing job
  applicants and certainly it is discriminatory for
  an employer to reject an applicant based on age.
• However reality is that employers might have some
  general thoughts about how old they would like
  the successful candidate to be or how much
  experience they would like the person to have.

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• Including your age is really giving the
  recruitment agency or prospective employer an
  opportunity to decide you are too old or too
  young for the job or too experienced or not
  experienced enough.
• You want to get an interview that should be
  your initial focus and by including your age this
  is giving the employer an opportunity why they
  shouldnt give you an interview.
• Job application writing including Resumes needs
  to focus on highlighting your experience, skills
  and your suitability for the role not how old
  you are!
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• Health-
• smoker/non smoker again this is immaterial.
• There is no reason to include this in your
  resume. Further who in their right mind is going
  to say that they have terrible health?

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• Relationship status -
• This is definitely something that should never
  ever go in a Resume.
• Your relationship status is none of their
  business and therefore dont include anything
  about whether you are married or single etc.

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• Interests-
• This is debatable but many people include their
  interests outside of work in their Resume.
• Again to me this is giving the potential employer
  an opportunity to make judgements about you which
  might then compromise your chances of getting an
  interview.
• For instance say you state on your Resume that
  you play a sport Rugby League what happens if
  those on the assessment panel stereotype
  footballers as muscly boof heads and this type
  of person doesnt fit their prototype employee?

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• Skills/abilities -
• Again this is debatable but I think it is a total
  waste of time including statements in your Resume
  about what skills you have.
• Saying you are a great communicator or planner or
  team player or have great computer skills or can
  process 50 widgets a minute really are nebulous
  statements that to me are useless unless you can
  prove your claims.
• For instance if you have a Certificate saying
  you can type 50 words per minute from a Business
  Course well then under the Qualifications section
  in the Resume state you have a Certificate in
  Business Management and achieved 50 words per
  minute typing.
• If you want to include statements about your core
  skills and abilities then include them in the
  duty statements and responsibilities for the
  relevant jobs you have undertaken in your career
  and spell them out this way.

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• Career history -
• As a general rule of thumb as an organisation
  that specialises in job application writing we
  try and limit our focus on past jobs to 10 years.
  
• So normally we would only go back a maximum of 10
  years and list the jobs and relevant
  roles/duties/responsibilities for those jobs.
• Any roles past 10 years can be summed up with a
  succinct statement stating that say prior to 2004
  you undertook a variety of administrative roles
  in the construction industry for instance.
• Keeping your career history to 10 years also
  keeps them guessing on your age as well! One
  other consideration is that if you have swapped
  jobs repeatedly over the past 10 years I would
  try and limit this fact somehow as employers
  wont take kindly to reading about a potential
  employee who regularly changes jobs.

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• Contact us at Red Tape Busters -
  http//www.redtapebusters.com/ should you require
  more information about this article or if you
  require specialist job application writing or
  grant and tender writing experience to help your
  organisation or business win grant funding or
  achieve successes with tenders.
• We are specialists in providing the following
  services-
• Lobbying.
• Tender Writing.
• Grant Writing.
• Resumes/Job Applications.
• Organisational/Business Development.
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