Do You Need To Put Your Date Of Birth On Your Resume?

Your resume should only focus on your professional experience, explaining why you are the best candidate for this particular job. Nothing more.

This rule applies equally to young professionals applying for their first role, as it does to seasoned professionals trying to stay in the mix.

By the way, you can ensure that your resume is 100% correct by hiring one of our executive resume writers.

What Else Should I Keep Off My Resume?

Now that you know NOT to include your DOB on your resume, you may wonder whether you should include your marital status, religion or political leanings. My guidelines are below.

1. Never Add Your Marital Status To Your Resume

Whether you’re married or not can impact a hiring decision – before you even have a chance to show why you are the best candidate for the job.

Some employers view marriage as a negative factor. They worry that you will prioritise family over the company and that you will take time off for family emergencies or the birth of a new child. Same-sex marriages can also carry a stigma and should not be included.

2. Leave Religion At Home

If you do not have the same religious beliefs as the person looking over your resume, they may feel you are not in touch with their company’s culture and are too much of a risk to hire.

Or worse, they don’t understand your religion at all and fear or hatred plays a role in you not getting the interview.

3. Revealing Your Political Leanings Is A Bad Idea

Politics of any kind should never be on a resume, as they are one more way to polarise someone either for or against you without ever really knowing who you are. Like religion, political affiliations can leave you in a box that can work for or against you.

The problem is you won’t know until it’s too late.

Be sure you’re not adding any political associations or organisations you are a member of or any details about campaign work you’ve taken part in.

Unless of course, the job interview you’re going for is for a Political Campaign Manager.

5. Don’t List Your Nationality On Your Resume

Despite the progress we’ve made as a society on issues of inclusion and diversity, discrimination can happen. Employers have used ethnicity as a hiring factor (or even the candidate’s city or state).

Avoid these issues by leaving references to your nationality off your resume.

6. A Picture Says Way Too Much

A photograph can severely influence a hiring decision. If the photograph makes you look unapproachable or older or younger than you are, the assumption will work against you – whether they are correct or not.

Age, race and perhaps even religion are all clearly visible, and if the recruiter or hiring manager isn’t looking for your specific “look”, you won’t even get an interview.

Also, be sure you have a professional-looking photo on your LinkedIn account and there are no compromising pictures on other social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.

7. Leave Your Home Phone Number At Home

List a mobile phone number on your CV, so that a prospective employer is always able to reach you. It also suggests that you are a mover, not someone waiting by the phone hoping for someone to call.

8. Past Salary Details

Don’t sell yourself short by letting the interviewee know what to offer you regarding salary and compensation packages based on your past salaries.

It’s best to leave those numbers off your resume, see what the employer offers and then accept or counter their offer.

What Should I Include On My Resume?

Now that you’ve eliminated all of the unnecessary information from your resume, let’s look at the details you absolutely must include.

1. Contact Details

These should be the very first item on your resume. Include your name, a mobile phone number and an email address. Be careful that your email address sounds professional and up to date. No coolman284512@yahoo.com!

2. Profile

A profile connects the dots of your career history and helps a hiring manager evaluate whether you tick off all of the role requirements.

(Related: 3 Important Differences Between Resumes and CVs).

3. Employment Summary

Write a clear and concise list of all work experience in chronological order with your job title, the company name and how long you were employed. Remember, no dates!

4. Key Skills

This section is may seem trivial, but it does have a significant role in summarising your experience and making your resume more ATS-compliant.

What are some of the skills you’ve acquired that you know your target company is looking for or are uniquely yours? List these in a bullet point format to break up the walls of text on your CV.

5. Social Media URLs

As a professional, you’re expected you have a LinkedIn account. Be sure that yours is up to date, with a professional-looking photograph and current information.

Don’t include your Facebook account, but be sure to audit and sanitise it. Make sure there are no pictures of you doing anything you might regret, as recruiters and hiring managers will definitely look through your feeds.

6. Educational History

List your educational degrees, certificates and any other special training you’ve gone through in chronological order.

Rather than using dates, list the length of the program. Don’t include grades or numbers, but be clear if you are still studying.

7. Referees / References

Close your resume with a statement that indicates that references are available on request. (Be sure to ask your referees for permission to give out their contact details to prospective employers).

Closing Thoughts About Date Of Birth On Your Resume.

Now that you know you shouldn’t add your date of birth on your resume, plus a few other things you should leave out and definitely include, it’s time to write your resume. Follow one of my many resumes writing guides or give us a call.

Irene