The information you provide about yourself on your CV should be clear, simple and engaging enough to arouse the interest of recruiters to learn more about you in a personal interview. The more unnecessary data you provide, the more you hide the really important information and bore the recruiter who is reading your CV.

So how should you write a CV that contains the right amount of information? The answer to this question was in a recent article on Careerealism.com. Read and take note of the following ten things that you should omit.

1. Do not start your CV with a section called "Career objectives"

You can start with a short paragraph at the very beginning of your CV to summarize who you are and what you are good at in a few sentences. You can call it e.g., a "Professional Profile". However, do not describe your career goals because recruiters are not interested in them at this stage.

2. Do not use common clichés

Recruiters read the CVs of creative, dynamic and flexible experts over and over again and therefore do not pay too much attention to these words. Instead of copying clichés, stick to the facts. Instead of simply listing your skills, give specific examples of how you use these skills in practice. Read more about the most common CV clichés here.

3. Watch out for typos and grammatical errors

It is irrelevant how hard you worked on writing your CV if it contains typos and grammatical errors. Do not rely solely on the automatic checker, ask someone who really knows the language to read your CV.

4. Do not mention too many contacts

One phone number, one e-mail address, or a link to a personal website or a social networking profile will be enough. It makes no sense to write more contacts without explaining why. It will only confuse recruiters.

5. Avoid potential discrimination

Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not include any information on the basis of which you could be discriminated against. This includes age, religion, marital status or ethnic origin. Do not attach a photo either if the offer job does not require it.

6. Omit years in the "Education" section

There is no need to include the year you graduated. Enter only the name of the schools, your field of study and the degree you earned. That will help you hide the fact that you are a fresh graduate with no experience or, on the other hand, that you are approaching retirement age. It may also help you hide the fact that you have not studied further since you graduated from high school or university.

7. Omit irrelevant work experience

Recruiters are interested in your experience regarding the position that is available. Omit unrelated job experience and also be careful when describing the volunteer projects you participated in. Volunteering may harm you if the organization you helped is, for some reason, in conflict with the potential employer.

8. Do not enter a special "IT skills" section if you only know the basics

Most employers automatically assume you have mastered Word, Excel and PowerPoint, so it is not necessary to list these programs. If you only list these basic programs, it will show your lack of knowledge.

9. Do not write anything about references, unless previously requested

If the employer requires references from your previous employers and colleagues, you will be told in advance or asked for the references later. That is why you should definitely not write "References upon request" on your CV.

10. Do not write a resume that is too long

For graduates, a one-page CV is recommended. Experienced professionals should write two or three pages.

-kk-