With the need to stand out, it’s hard not to cram as much as you can into your resume.

But before you know it, you’re using an 8.5 font, and the document is four pages long. What you leave out of your resume says as much as what you put in, so create a concise and streamlined resume by omitting these silly and counterproductive no nos.

#1 Age

Avoid being labelled “too young” or “not ready” by leaving your age or birthday off your resume. Let your experience speak for itself.

We’re gaining work experience as soon as we hit high school now, so it’s not unusual for an applicant to have year’s worth of experience while still at university. Don’t let your future employers discredit all your hard work just because of a silly number.

#2 Gender

Resumes are marketing tools to portray your relevant information and desirable characteristics. Your gender is not one of them. Our gender does not hinder or show our ability to perform in your chosen workplace so cut the fat.

Sure, they’ll likely guess your gender based on your name, which is even more of a reason to leave it off.

#3 Address

Don’t let your future employers see your address and go “ah, that’s too far to travel. They might call in sick regularly or always be late because of the commute.”

How far you’re willing to travel for work is your decision. You’re a capable adult who can manage their time wisely, and if you want to drive an hour and a half to work every day, it’s your prerogative to do so.

#4 Photo

If you’re not an actor or some sort of performance artist, having a mug shot on your resume is a waste of space.

Your face will not have any influence on your future employers unless you’re hoping to play into bias, which is not good for anyone.

#5 Hobbies

A common misconception of listing hobbies on resumes is they’ll humanise your application and provide your interviewers with topics for small talk. Unless it’s related to your field, listing your hobbies looks childish and wastes precious space.

Do you know what will excite possible employers more than your love of cricket? Your ability to use Photoshop or your volunteer history.

#6 Irrelevant Education

Unless you earned extraordinary marks, employers won’t be overly interested in your high school education if you’re currently undergoing university education.

Same goes for your makeup artistry diploma or certificate III in pouring coffee, focus on your appropriate education instead.

#7 References

Employers are very unlikely to contact your references before an interview, so write up a separate document and hand over the details when asked for them.

Providing your references later prevents any potential privacy issues and means you can give them a heads up when you know someone is going to call. That way, they will likely answer instead of ignoring it.

An underrated asset of resumes is white space. Cramming as much as you can into your resume makes it hard to read and easy to forget. These tips will save precious space and create a slick, readable and memorable resume.

Don’t give your interviewer a reason not to give you a chance.

Kelly Walker is a creative writer and recovering bagel addict based in Melbourne. When she’s not writing or playing roller derby, she’s searching for the best smashed avo ever. She’s on Twitter at @kellywalker89 and promises to start tweeting, one day.

(Lead image: Younger/TV Land)