Once again, the answer is “it depends”. And the amount of factor that are involved depends both on the candidate as well as the job opportunity you are applying.

For the first level positions, that is the plain employees, their technical capacities are sought (workers with more or less autonomy depending on their experience), a part of human skills, and not so much in strategy, long term vision or innovation concepts. However, as the organizational chart is scaled, the conceptual and leadership capacity becomes more present, to the detriment of technical capacity.

Skills that each type of worker should have

Therefore, depending on the position and your profile you must include or not the following sections.

Personal Data

  • Name and surname: Always, and easily recognizable (it sounds obvious but it does not always happen).
  • Age: It is better to put the date of birth, although it is not a vital data for most positions.
  • Driver’s license and vehicle: Depends on the position to which you are applying. If it is a fast food delivery company or a factory located in the outskirts with poor communication, it is vital to include it. If it is for the CEO position of a bank, you are going to move with a company car with chauffeur, so it is not necessary at all.
  • Family and civil status: Never, unless it is vital to the position (for example, a family of guardians).
  • ID, Passport or similar: No, unless it is necessary to prove that you have legal capacity to work in that country, so you must also indicate that you have a Work Permit.
  • Gender: No, unless it is necessary due to the position and culture of your country.
  • Photo: it is so complex that there is a single tip explaining if you should include your photo or not.

Contact Data

  • Address: It is not necessary to indicate it completely, just the town (and the province if the town is little known). Some companies value living close to work, so if you see it convenient, include also the street.
  • Email: Always, but be careful with the type of account. Do not use a funny usernames like “anne_the_drunk_1999@domain.com”, it is better to create a new mail with your name and surname, or your profession, type “anne.smith.accountant@domain.com”. Also keep in mind the domain chosen for the mail. Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook (formerly Hotmail) are sufficient for most positions, but if you want to highlight, contract a custom domain that reinforces your perception of professional sector, type “anne.smith@best-accountant.com”.
  • Phone: Always. If it is for international positions, with the country code.
  • Social Networks: Professional networks like LinkedIn, Xing or similar, yes. Personals like Twitter or Facebook in general do not, unless the post needs contacts or certain interpersonal skills that can be demonstrated with these networks.

Education

  • Order: First, put the most relevant qualifications related to the position and then, in reverse chronological order or according to the importance that you want to highlight, the rest of the courses. If you have many courses of different types, it is recommended to group them into categories.
  • Studies without completing: It depends on the studies, the degree of completeness and the suitability to the position. If you have approved two subjects of Law and the position is washings cars, it is not interesting information. But if you have half of the Psychology career and the position is an elderly companion, then it is relevant. If you only have the project of end of degree or end of master, indicate it in any case.
  • Ancient courses: in technology matters, a course you did 10 years ago probably has a value close to zero. Decide if the technology you learned is still being used, or if it brings something to what you can do today.
  • Courses in other areas: Evaluate what the course contributes. For example, if the job is in kitchens, and you have bindery courses, it is not relevant information.
  • Academic records: in general it is not relevant unless they are extraordinary.

Experience

  • Order: from most recent to least recent. Old experiences, nonworking practices or what is unrelated to the position, think twice before putting them.
  • Detail: Apart from the position, the name of the company and the period of time, detail the activity of the company, the tasks and projects that you did, and what you achieved.

Hobbies and personal interests

In general, put it only if it is really important for the position to which you apply. Some examples:

  • If you love cycling and the position is supermarket cashier, it is not an interesting fact, but if it is for commercial in a sports shop, it is a relevant fact and will give you advantage over other candidates.
  • If you are into diving know that the recruiter or the recruiter likes it too, it will allow you to create an empathic link that will give you some notoriety about the other candidates. But if the recruiter or the recruiter suffers from thalassophobia, it is a fact that will bother you. Be well informed before you include it.
  • If that hobby or interest implies certain maturity and skills that can positively influence your job, put it. For example, if you have been a basketball referee, or boy scout, or football coach, you show that you have fairness, sociability and team leadership respectively.

Other sections

  • Use of the internet and email: it is assumed in young people that it is fluid and it is not necessary to put it. In older people, it indicates that they are up to date with the technologies, but this information must be complemented by other qualities that denote the same thing.
  • Recommendations and references: If it is a first job, it is advisable to have people of certain authority (teachers, fellow volunteers, etc.) who can respond for your ability. For the next stages of work, it is better to say that you have them and that you will deliver them at the express request of the recruiter.
  • Volunteering: This is a good way to empathize with the recruiter and demonstrate your commitment and values. But if you want to work at a gas station, it is not a good idea to say that you belong to a radical environmental group.

As you can see, there is not a simple answer to what your resume should include and therefore it must be different for each offer you apply.

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