Making sure your resume is compelling is a must. Usually, embracing brevity is your friend and focusing on highly relevant information that provides the hiring manager with the most value.

By removing unnecessary points and avoiding certain missteps, you not only make your resume more enticing but also create more space to discuss details that showcase you as an exceptional candidate. If you’re looking for pharmaceutical jobs in NJ and want to position yourself in the best light possible, here are a few items to take off of your resume immediately.

Inappropriate Email Addresses

Since so much of the job search and recruitment process occurs online, having a professional email address is a must. While a humorous or edgy email may have been fine while you were in school, hiring managers may not be amused.

Instead, create a new email address that features your name, initials, and potentially your field. That way, it’s clearly yours and suitably professional.

Any Phone Number Besides Your Cell

Listing multiple phone numbers on your resume can look cluttered. Additionally, the hiring manager may choose to call a number that isn’t your main phone or one that may be answered by another party, which may not be ideal.

Typically, sticking with only your cell phone is a smart move. You have full control of the device, for one. For another, you can take it with you, ensuring you can catch a call or voicemail as soon as possible.

Revealing Personal Information

Generally speaking, any detail that showcases your age, marital status, religious or spiritual beliefs, political affiliation, health status, nationality, or similar information shouldn’t be on your resume. While discriminating against a candidate based on some of those points is illegal, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Plus, those points don’t highlight why you’re a great fit for the job, making them extraneous.

Old, Irrelevant Jobs

While certain roles may require a lengthy job history – something that’s common with government jobs – many others don’t. Unless a vacancy announcement specifically requests a full job history covering a set number of years, leaving old, irrelevant jobs on your resume creates clutter. Plus, since most resumes should be no more than two pages, they are sucking up valuable real estate.

If a job is older and no longer relevant, you can usually remove it from your resume. Then, you can focus on current positions that showcase your value better.

References (or References Available Upon Request)

Listing references on your resume takes up room you could use for other details. Since contact information for references isn’t needed until later in the hiring process, you can safely leave them off your initial application.

Similarly, saying “references available upon request” is unnecessary. The hiring manager knows you’ll offer them when they ask for them. So you don’t have to state it explicitly on your resume.

New Opportunities in Pharma are Waiting

In the end, all of the items above can usually be removed from any resume. If you’re on the hunt for pharmaceutical jobs in NJ, the team at Alpha Consulting can help. Contact us today to see what we’re working on.