1. NEVER list hobbies or interests on your resume. Unfortunately, no one in HR cares that you sing in a barbershop quartet on the weekends. No one in HR cares that you volunteer at a soup kitchen. No one in HR cares that your interests are, "hiking, reading and spending time with family." People in HR want to be able to read a resume to see if the candidate's skill set is a match. They have jobs to fill and they don't have time to sift through a massive list of hobbies that are used as filler on a resume. While this may sound harsh, have you EVER heard of someone getting that sweet job in marketing because of their cooking club affiliation? Yeah, I thought not.
2. NEVER put your photo on the resume. I realize that this has historically been a requirement in countries like Japan and France. It isn't here. Your Glamour Shots photo is NOT going to entice someone in HR to pick up the phone to call. Instead, it will be emailed around to various colleagues within the department. And much discussion will occur concerning the choice of hairstyle, blouse and lipstick that the candidate chose for the photo session. Also, please don't put things like your social security number and your age. It's for your own protection.
3. When indicating that you are fluent in something, please make sure that you are referring to fluency in a LANGUAGE. Please do not write that you are "fluent in Micrsoft Word." That's like saying that you are fluent in sending faxes or getting to work on time. Let's also be clear that Klingon is NOT considered a foreign language in the workplace. The only resumes that get forwarded throughout a company for a good laugh faster than a resume with a photo is a resume that features ANYTHING with Star Trek.
Some of you may be rolling your eyes and thinking, "I would never put this stuff in my resume." Unfortunately, for every person who doesn't do this stuff, there are three who do.
