Four Things to Omit From Your Resume

Job searching shouldn't be all drudgery and pounding the pavement, right? Sometimes there are things that make us chuckle. This is one of them. We found this post on U.S. News & World Report that outlined four job skills to leave off a resume. We weren't chuckling at the piece but rather, with it. Yes, it's that spot on. And if you're that guy or gal who's committed a resume faux pas or two, no worries there -- we won't tell on you. Just be sure to remove the so-called skills, 'k? Without further ado, here are the four "skills" to omit... 1. Typing. For starters, this is 2012, not 1972! And yes, people really do include typing on their resumes in this day and age. Some even include their word per minute! Not only is it assumed that you type, considering it's not appropriate to include your age on the resume but mentioning your word per minute speed, you may be dating yourself right there since it's assumed Millennials and even Gen Y-ers didn't calculate their WPM nor learn to type on a typewriter. Sarah Wright, the lead client representative for the Virginia-based ROCS staffing firm, advises ditching the typing notion on your CV and leveraging that coveted resume real estate to highlight your social media skills instead. She told U.S. News, "Social media is a very powerful tool in today's market..." Not only that, but being able to talk Twitter-speak during an interview as well as include on your resume will be helpful as well as familiarity with Google + and Facebook pages, too. 2. Microsoft Office Suite. In the piece, Jada A. Graves writes, "Although it can handicap a job seeker to not use (or own) Microsoft Office Suite, mentioning this software on a resume won't give you an edge. Most hiring managers assume applicants know the basics, and you don't want to waste space writing, "Proficient at MS Office Suite" when you could have elaborated on a distinctive skill or a career accomplishment." As you tweak your resume for a specific job you're pursuing you should in fact, keep their technological requirements in mind. If the employer seeks a super star candidate with Photoshop or HTML skills, then of course, you should add it. Just don't add something incredibly basic that everyone should have. You know, like Internet Explorer or Safari. 3. Shorthand. Although this skill is usually a requirement for old school admin assistants, now that we think about it, for media folks it could definitely come in handy. That said, it's not a requirement as many of us rely on technology instead like a handy dandy digital tape recorder for interviews. Yes, that's all we have to say about shorthand...onto the fourth tip. 4. Second languages. Here at MediaJobsDaily, we think this one can go one of two ways. For instance, if you speak conversational Dutch just for fun and need to brush up on your vocab, you may want to include this in your interests section (that is, if you have one on your CV). It certainly won't be the clincher as to whether you get called for an interview. In the piece, Graves writes, "The ability to speak a second and third language is a good thing to highlight on your resume. But keep in mind that a hiring manager probably won't show much enthusiasm for your mastery of French or Italian." As for the positive reason to include it: If your foreign tongue makes your resume sparkle and really set yourself apart from other candidates such as Spanish for a Spanish-speaking newspaper or site, then by all means include it! And work it.

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Four Things to Omit From Your Resume

Vicki Salemi

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Vicki Salemi