The intention of any CV is to interest the person reading it enough to call you in for an interview - during which you will be able to elaborate on what's in your CV, so don't go mad trying to cram everything about yourself and your job history into it all at once.
These following is a list of the top five things to leave off your CV:
1. Political and/or religious views
Not only is this information unnecessary, it may also end up counting against you in your job hunt. While employers are not allowed to discriminate against candidates for reasons such as age, race, gender, political or religious views or disability, you may be hard pressed to prove that one of these reasons is the cause of you being denied the job. Rather be safe than sorry and exclude any irrelevant and potentially biasing information.
2. Old, unrelated employment history
During an interview you will have the opportunity to talk more about the past jobs you've held; on your CV, however, you should leave off jobs you worked at more than ten years ago. It is unlikely that the skills you used in a job ten years ago will be relevant to the job you are currently applying for, so simply exclude it.
3. Your physical attributes
Some jobs may require you to list your physical attributes and include a photo of yourself (modeling agencies etc.) with your CV, but most will not. You should never include personal information such as eye colour, hair colour or height in your CV unless you are specifically requested to do so by the employer.
4. Family situations
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against people for having (or not having) kids, for being pregnant (or in the case of newlyweds, planning on getting pregnant), or for being single, married or divorced, but that doesn't mean it will never happen. Prevent it from being a factor by simply leaving it off your CV.
5. References
Before an employer gives you the job he or she will probably check your references, but not at the same time as receiving your CV. When he or she is ready to check your references you will be asked for them (so be ready) - but including them on your CV is just wasting space.
Staff Training is a soft skills training company. Send your comments to comments@stafftraining.co.za