There are certain items that you as a job seeker should
always leave off your resume.
Besides allowing potential employers to discriminate
against you (either intentionally or
unintentionally) before they even meet you, including
any of "The Deadly Dozen" will date your resume
about 20 years.
It was common in the 1970s and before to put an entire
section on a resume devoted to your life outside the job.
Additionally, many personnel offices will (literally)
black out any discriminatory information before the
person reviewing the resume sees it, this avoids future
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission problems.
Be sure to omit "The Deadly Dozen" from your resume.
Number one: Height.
Even if you're of average height, the potential
employer may not be.
Two: Weight.
Too thin, too fat, too perfect... any one of these
might be a strike against you in the eyes of a
potential employer.
Three: Health.
Would you put anything besides "Excellent" on your
resume? It's not likely.
Number four: Sex.
Though they may be able to guess this because of your
name, don't mention it anyway. You want to be hired
on the basis of your qualifications, not because
you're filling a quota, right?
Number five: Marital status.
Depending on the company, being married can be an asset
or a liability (and the same would go for being single).
Putting your marital status on your resume may make the
potential employer wonder if a married person is right
for the job, rather than if you are right for the job.
Number six: Number of children.
Some employers may assume that if you have children,
you will miss work more often than an employee
who has no children.
Number seven: Religion.
Whose business is it anyway? Yours and only yours.
However, if you are applying for a job with a
religious organization, you might want to indicate your
religion somewhere on your resume, perhaps in
the community activities section
Number eight: Ethnic origin.
You should avoid mentioning your ethnic origin or
heritage, unless your goal is to fill a quota
for the company.
Number nine: Date of birth.
You don't want to be ruled out as too young or too old
for a job before the employer even gets to meet you, so
leave this off as well.
The employer is only allowed to ask if you are between the
ages of 18 and 65 for most jobs.
Number ten: Photographs.
Even if you are the most gorgeous person on the face
of the planet, do not include a photograph.
What if you look just like the potential employer's
ex-spouse?
Again, you should be hired because of who you are, not
what you look like. Only a few occupations, such
as modeling, actually require good looks.
Number eleven: Reasons for leaving previous jobs.
If the employer really wants to know, he can ask you in
the interview.
Do not give any fuel for the fire too early.
And number twelve: Salary history.
Though many employers will ask that you provide this
information, address it in your cover letter if you feel
that you must comply with the request.
If you mention a salary too high, you might knock
yourself out of contention before you even get your
foot in the door.
If you mention a salary too low, you may severely
under price yourself.
Wait to discuss salary until the interview, if possible.