When researching how to write a resume, there are literally millions of tips, pieces of advice, and best practices available. Don’t believe me? Google it! If you Google “how to write a resume,” there are 330,000,000 results. I’m sure a lot of those sources have great pointers and tips to craft the perfect resume.
However, there are tons of resume myths out there that can actually hurt your chances of landing an interview. Here are three of the most common resume myths to avoid.
References
A lot of people believe that you need to include references on your resume. That’s simply not true. No hiring manager or human resources professional will contact your references until you get to the final stages of the hiring process. You don’t even need to put “references available upon request.” This is honestly just a waste of space on your precious resume. If checking resumes are part of the employer’s hiring process, they will request them when needed.
One-page long
So many people to this day still believe that your resume must be under one page. The only time this is true is if you’re fresh out of school and don’t have a lot of working experience. But if you’re well into your career, say 25 or 30 years, there is absolutely no way you can cram all your valuable experience onto one page!
Don’t do yourself an injustice by trying to cram 30 years of work, school, and life experience on a single page. If it’s important and relevant to the job you’re applying for, don’t delete it just to try to shove it all on one page.
Only include 10-15 years of work experience
I’ve heard of a lot of people who think you should only include 10 to 15 years of working experience. This is simply not true, either. If you are well into your career, why would you cut part of your experience out of your resume for no reason? Now, I am not saying every little piece of work history must be on your resume. But if you are a seasoned professional, you can probably take off summer jobs or internships you had in college.
A good rule of thumb is if the position is relevant or demonstrates value to the job you’re applying for, keep that work experience on your resume. If it is completely irrelevant to the job, you can probably safely remove it.
If you have anymore resume questions, check out all of our great resume resources!