A resume is the most powerful marketing tool a job hunter has, which is why it needs to be effective. Since your resume is the first impression you make on hiring managers, it is important to have a comprehensive document that accurately represents your qualifications.
An effective resume is customized to appeal to each individual hiring manager and each prospective job opening, and there are standard elements that should be included in every resume. But, there are also elements you should avoid putting on your resume if you want it to have maximum effect.
1. A career objective with personality
If you do decide to put a career objective on your resume, it should be limited to short-term goals that are realistic. A salesman who indicates on their career objective that they want to be the next great billionaire is not presenting a professional image to a hiring manager. A career objective should be a very short summary of your immediate career goals, and it should fit with the needs of the position you are applying for.
2. Experience that does not apply
The accounting partners reviewing your resume are not going to be impressed with the summer job you had during your high school years selling hot dogs at the beach. Part of customizing your resume to appeal directly to a hiring manager is making sure that you leave out any job experience that is not pertinent to the available position.
3. A picture
If you are not applying to be a model or a tour guide, then submitting a picture with your resume is a bad idea. Visual elements included in resumes that do not require visual elements can be distracting and take away from your qualifications. If the hiring manager does not need to know what you look like, then there is no reason to include that information.
4. Your personal information
The new climate surrounding resumes has made it improper for a hiring manager to ask for certain types of personal information such as race, religious affiliation and sexual orientation. You can make life easier on all of the hiring managers who see your resume by leaving all of your personal information out and focusing on your professional qualifications.
5. Colorful images and themes
A well-formatted resume with good information is going to catch the eye of any hiring manager. A resume that is cluttered with strange images and a variety of colors is bound to get ignored.
6. Tasks without results
If you are going to include job tasks on your resume, then you need to also include the results you got while performing those tasks. For example, putting a task such as "cold-called new clients" on your resume is pointless unless you also include "and increased sales by 20 percent." Hiring managers appreciate knowing what you have done in the past, but they also want to see what you have accomplished.
A well-designed resume will decide whether or not you get a call for an interview. You need to spend time outlining your resume and making sure that you only include information that is relevant to hiring managers.
Article sources
http://www.salary.com/10-things-to-never-put-on-your-resume/
https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/things-you-should-never-put-on-your-resume/
http://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/5-things-you-should-never-put-on-your-resume