How to Decide What to Include in Your Resume

How to Decide What to Include in Your Resume When I work with clients, one of the most common issues that they are trying to work through is figuring out which information should be included and what should be excluded from the resume. Why is it so difficult to decide what to put into your own resume? The answer is clear. It’s because the document is about YOU and it’s challenging to be objective when the information is ALL important because it is YOURS. That is why I love to write resumes for othersâ€"I can be more objective about your information and can decide what should be includedgiving you the credit you deserve. Instead of including every single job that you have ever had, you need to think about relevance. Is your high school job pertinent at this point in your career? If high school was two years ago, it just may be relevant. If you are over the age of 30, then a high school job probably doesn’t hold much importance. A good rule-of-thumb is to include only the last 10-12 years of job experience. Unless you just graduated from college last week, you don’t need to list separate courses completed at the university-level. The degree earned far outweighs individual courses taken during your educational experiences. Another thing you don’t have to include? The years you graduated from college. Again, unless you graduated within the last month, the date you graduated from school does not matter. Many years ago, it was common for job seekers to include personal information such as hobbies, interests, and family information. That time is long gone. In today’s job market, it is vital that you do NOT include any of this type of information. This can cause potential employers to disqualify you prior to even meeting with you. One last thing to consider: WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU? Every single thing on your resume boils down to that question. Why should the employer consider you for the open position? Why should they care about you as a possible employee? What can you do for the company? If the statement or information you are putting on the document doesn’t answer one of those questions, then don’t include it. Today’s resumes are only reviewed for approximately 5-7 seconds on a first pass-through. You need to be concise with information, smart about what is included, and get to the point as quickly as possible. If you are wondering what a resume for today’s job market looks like,  contact us today! We also have a FREE download â€"  Top 5 Resume Tips to GET THE INTERVIEW. Click  HERE to access it and start leveraging your unique skills and abilities to land your next job opportunity!