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Tiffany Tomlin
August 12, 2019
Newsletter Article
Resume Advice: Things You Could Probably Leave Off
By Tiffany Tomlin, AgCareers.com Marketing Intern
They are the most important part of any job hunt. The first look employers get into who you are and what skills you bring to the table, and one of the only ways you will land an interview with your dream job. We’re talking about resumes and what can make or break you when your name is sitting in bold letters on an employers’ desk. Crafting a professional, concise resume that will get you an interview is no easy task. It may be difficult to narrow down your achievements onto a one-page, tell-all sheet, but what you leave off your resume is just as important as what is put on. Take this resume advice: here are some things to leave off and what to put on instead.
1. GPA
This piece of resume advice is for all the college students or recent grads out there. The general rule is to not have anything below a grade point average of a 3.0 visible on your resume, but there’s no need to get discouraged if you don’t meet this criterion. Kristine Penning, AgCareers.com Creative Marketing Specialist, advises, “skills are definitely more important [than GPA].” Employers want to ensure they are hiring someone with the right skill set, so try spending more time promoting yourself in other ways.
2. Objective Statements
Objective statements are not always a bad thing. They can be beneficial in matching your skill-set to a particular job but making sure you are using them in the right way is crucial. AgCareers.com Director of Marketing and Communications, Erika Osmundson puts it this way, “I don’t think that objective statements are necessarily outdated but if you’re going to use them, they need to be very tailored to the role you are applying for.” If you are looking to create a more general resume, she recommends utilizing professional profiles which include a brief summary of your skills.
3. Long Paragraphs
No one, not even employers looking for the perfect employee, wants to sift through long paragraphs all about other’s accomplishments. Osmundson states, “on average, someone looks at your resume for three seconds. The more clear, concise use of bullet points and headings the better.” Employers are simply looking for key skills that make you a good fit. Ensure those skills are easy to find. Try crafting some phrases from the job description itself to get your resume through the initial screening process.
4. Outdated Accomplishments
While it’s great you spent the summer babysitting the rambunctious kids down the street when you were fourteen, you already know it doesn’t need to be on your resume. Same goes for certain accomplishments from your schooling. Now this is largely dependent on your stage of life, but Penning suggests, “You can include anything in your work history but if it is during your time at college, it may not be as necessary.” She suggests taking off any internships or collegiate accomplishments five years after graduation. More recent skills are probably more applicable to the job you are applying for anyway.
Now that you’ve got all this resume advice, it’s time to head to AgCareers.com to update and upload your resume!
