How often do you update your resume?
Over 4 million Americans quit their jobs in April 2021 to ambitiously pursue personal career changes. The last time that happened was in the year 2000.
And the average person stays on the same job for at least 4 years.
However, many people will change their jobs at least 15 times in their lifetime.
And many people neglect to update their resume in a longstanding job or during job-hopping stints.
All of the information in your resume may not be relevant. Worse, reading non-relevant information wastes a job recruiter’s time. It may cause them to overlook your resume.
Here are three things you must remove from your resume now.
Interests and Skills
Job recruiters and hiring managers are busy people who must strategically manage their time. They may have hundreds or thousands of job applicants and resumes to sort through. And they have deadlines to identify the relatively few applicants who meet the qualifications for an interview.
Don’t make them read unimportant or irrelevant information in your resume. It’s a waste of their time. Also, they may put your resume aside if they get bored and pick up another.
Your interviewer is intent on finding qualified candidates.
They don’t care if you enjoy fishing, playing the trombone, collecting stamps, gardening, camping, singing in a choir, or perfecting magic tricks in your spare time.
If you do include interests and hobbies on your resume, make sure that they are relevant to the job position you seek. If you are applying for a music-related position, then you could list what instruments you play as a hobby, for example.
Or if you are applying for a finance-related position, then you could list your cryptocurrency investing hobbies.
Outdated Email Addresses
Unconscious and intentional bias is a problem in the employment industry. Potential employers can find numerous reasons to discriminate against you (More on that later).
A potential employer can develop a bias against you on the premise that you are behind the times when it comes to email addresses.
Do you know anyone who still uses MySpace? Do any of your friends still use outdated smart devices that were new a decade ago? Have you ever mocked a friend for owning a non-smart device cell phone with no camera?
Employers employ a similar bias against applicants with old-school email addresses.
An employer may decide if you have a Yahoo!, Hotmail, or AOL email address that you are not tech-savvy or adaptable to changing times.
Use a Gmail or Outlook email when applying for work. Don’t include your birth year in your email address to prevent ageism bias.
Photo
Unless you are an aspiring actor, you have no business including a headshot in a resume.
Employment discrimination is a big problem in the United States. There are many laws prohibiting it. An employer could discriminate against you based on your religion, race, hair color, hairstyle, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, religion, or sex.
Some employers discriminate against applicants over the age of 40 or prefer not to hire senior citizens.
Other employers discriminate against applicants based on ethnic-sounding names.
If you send a photo along with your resume, you are giving the employer ammunition to consciously or unconsciously discriminate against you.
Look over your resume twice a year and update it.
Don’t let a decade pass before you notice how much irrelevant or useless information is on your resume.
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Editors Note: If you’re looking for work, you might consider picking up a hobby that pays you. Vital Dollar has a solid list of hobbies that make money for your consideration.
Allen Francis was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years with no money, no financial literacy, and no responsibility when he had money. To him, the phrase “personal finance,” contains the power that anyone has to grow their own wealth. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including focusing on your needs instead of your wants, asking for help when you need it, saving and investing in your own small business.