What to Keep and What to Cut From Your Resume

Nancy Anderson
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Hiring managers don't have a lot of time to review resumes, so it's important to make your professional resume as appealing as possible. One way to make your resume more appealing is to shorten it to one page. A one-page resume is much easier for a hiring manager to read, improving your chances of being passed through to the interview stage of the hiring process.

If you need to shorten your professional resume, make sure everything on the page is relevant to the job opening. You don't need to list the job you had bagging groceries when you were in high school; the hiring manager is more interested in your applicable knowledge and skills. If you are writing a resume from scratch instead of updating an old one, an easy way to make sure everything is relevant is to read the job description carefully. If a qualification is not mentioned in the description, you probably don't need to include it in your resume.

Read your resume several times to be sure you are not repeating the same information in multiple places. If you have redundant text in your professional resume, it is taking up space that could be used for more important information. If you used the same skill at several positions, your resume should have a section titled "Professional Skills." List all of your skills there instead of repeating them throughout the document. Not only does this help you avoid redundancy, it also makes it easier for a hiring manager to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for a job.

You don't need to list every job duty you've ever performed, but some applicants make the mistake of doing so anyway. Your professional resume needs to show growth from one job to the next, so you need to eliminate any bullet points that overshadow your most important job duties. If your resume says you "Coordinated workshops for 1,000 participants," you don't need to mention that you answered the telephone or made copies. These lesser responsibilities are likely to overshadow an important qualification: the ability to plan large events from beginning to end.

If you still need to shorten your professional resume, go through it and see if you can find any weasel words that make you look weak or fail to communicate your knowledge and skills. Remove words such as good, exceptional, motivated, seasoned and outstanding from your resume before sending the document to hiring managers. It's better to use strong words to describe your job history and accomplishments.

If you are writing a resume for a potential employer, put yourself in the hiring manager's shoes. Most hiring managers want to see a one-page resume with content that is relevant to the position being filled. If your professional resume is too long, take the time to remove irrelevant text and delete weak words that take attention away from your positive attributes.


Photo courtesy of patpitchaya at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 
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  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Katrina thanks for your comment. Actually no they are not supposed to ask about salary although I have been in plenty of interviews where they do. They shouldn't be asking what your current salary is but they could, technically, ask what your salary expectations are during an interview. If asked, you can offer them a range. You can always tell them that you prefer not to answer the salary question and then just move on. But bear in mind that salary is not as secretive as it was in the past. So they already have a pretty good idea what you are making in your current position. Don't get hung up on this question. If asked, just give them a range. But make sure you have done your homework on this prior to the interview. If the salary range is $25-30,000 and you say that you are asking for a salary of $45000, you just priced yourself out. Due diligence about the company is required prior to the interview. Best of luck.

  • Katrina K.
    Katrina K. •

    I love your responses to this question; however, what are sd other off limit questions are future potential employers forbidden to ask former employers. Like can they ask about your salary or ask them for a ball park range.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Justin yours is a very typical issue with job seekers. What to tell the interviewer when asked why you left your previous position. Simply just say that it turned out not to be a good fit or maybe even that you had gone as far as you could go within the company and you were looking for more advancement opportunities and a greater challenge. You do NOT have to tell them exactly why you left. Also, if they call your previous employer, they can not, by law, tell the new company why you left. All they can do is confirm that you worked for them and the dates you worked. Anytime you get this question, answer it quickly with a short answer and move on. One way I have found that works is to turn right around and ask what happened to the person who had the job that they are hiring for. That usually seems to be enough to change the subject and allow the interviewer to move on. Hope this helps.

  • Justin M.
    Justin M. •

    What do you do if you can't tell interviewers why you left your last job? I can't because the story would make me sound crazy. This makes looking for a job impossible. Also I am not sure what my previous employer would say if the interviewer called my supervisor.

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