This is What Employers Don't Want to See on Your Resume

Whether this is your first time writing a resume or your hundredth, it can prove to be a time-consuming affair. And while there’s a lot employers want to see on your resume, there’s definitely some items they don’t.

Employers don’t want to see spelling and grammar mistakes

First and foremost, spelling and grammar errors are one of (if not the biggest) mistakes you should avoid. Yes, it’s obvious, and it shouldn’t even bear a reminder. But it still happens so often we’re going to put it out there one more time: Make sure you do not have any spelling or grammar mistakes. Use spellcheck, and get a trusted friend or colleague to proofread—do anything necessary to ensure your resume is clean. Misspelling something is the fastest way to get a possible employer to chuck your application in the trash. After all, if you can’t be trusted to take the time to handle your resume with care, how in the world can you be trusted to do a job with more complex tasks?

Employers don’t want to see you explain why you’d be a good fit

Now that we’ve gotten the obvious out of the way, we can move on to something a little more surprising but just as unwelcome: An explanation of why you’re a good fit for the company. As MarketWatch explains, the point of a resume is to list the past experience and current skills that would make you a good fit for the company. There is no need to waste space on your page reiterating the point. And if your resume doesn’t demonstrate that? Well, it’s time to give it an overhaul. Otherwise, stick to a two- to three-sentence summary of your experience at the top and leave it at that.

Employers don’t want to see your lists of short-term employment

Go ahead and leave short-term employment out of your resume. Any position you’ve held less than six months (especially if you were fired or the position involved tasks you don’t particularly want to perform at your current job) aren’t worth including. Not only could they make you seem like a job hopper, but you could get stuck doing the tasks you didn’t like in your old position.

Employers don’t want to see experience from years ago

On the other end of the spectrum, employers aren’t interested in seeing any experience you have that’s older than fifteen years. According to Business Insider, anything beyond fifteen years ago isn’t really considered relevant at this point. While degrees and certifications earned should be included (regardless of the time period), simply omit the date from any that were earned before 2004. And while we’re on the subject of education—don’t include your GPA unless you’ve graduated in the last year or two and you had higher than a 3.8 GPA. It simply doesn’t matter to employers and takes up valuable resume space.

Employers don’t want to see “References upon request”

What else takes up valuable space that employers don’t want to see? The dreaded phrase, “References upon request.” The recruiter knows she can get references if needed, so why waste the space (and her time) by typing it out? Take it out altogether and, if need be, mention it during the interview process.

Employers don’t want to see your strange email address  

Employers really don’t want to see an unprofessional email address on your resume. This screams immaturity (which, to be fair, may actually have been the issue if you created it when you were sixteen years old) and laziness (why haven’t you changed it since?). Email addresses are free, incredibly quick to create, and set the tone for your professional correspondence for life. In other words, it’s definitely worth the time and effort.

As long as you remember the entire process of resume writing is ever-changing, it’s easier to handle the slight tweaks and adjustments you’ll have to make on yours throughout the evolution of your long and illustrious career. But a flawless resume is the first step toward making it to that dream job.