Here is how you can declutter your resume in 5 steps

Does your resume mention everything about you, including the name of your first pet and that job you had flipping burgers twenty years ago? While a touch of personality and a detailed career summary are vital for a successful resume, not every detail of your professional life would belong there. Have you considered revamping your resume? If so, there is no better time than right now to do it. Here’s how you can get started:

1. Pinpoint your career goals

The first thing you must do before decluttering (or writing) a resume is to define your career goal. What do you aim to achieve with this resume? Is this resume going to help you win a particular job? Or are you just creating a generalized resume? If you are applying for a particular job title, your resume must focus on highlighting the qualifications that make you the ideal candidate. If you are creating a general resume or a master resume, your resume can mention all your qualifications. If you are tailoring your resume for industry, it is best to go by industrial standards.

2. Cut off the fluff from your resume summary

Your resume summary must be just that—a summary. Don’t overcrowd the resume summary statement with extra-long sentences or too many adjectives. Your resume summary must highlight how you can bring value to the employer using your most notable accomplishments. A few key skills and important qualifications can also be mentioned in the resume summary. Remove any other sentences and words that don’t add value to your resume.

3. Prune your work experience section

The career summary is the jewel of your resume. Create a compelling narrative of your career journey. Mention all the relevant work experiences only, for a tailored resume. You can age-proof your resume by excluding jobs older than 10–15 years. Use 4-6 bullet points to describe the more relevant and recent jobs. You can describe older and less relevant jobs using 3 or fewer bullets. Starting each bullet point with an action verb will impress employers. You must also use strong resume adjectives to emphasize your achievements.

4. Condense your education

Does the education section take up almost half the resume space? If you are a new graduate or someone who started working very recently, it is wise to expand your education. You can mention your GED on the resume or include details about your internships, courses, academic honors, and extracurricular activities during your college years. But if you are a professional with over 3–4 years of experience, a very brief education section with just the degree title, college and location, and relevant years, would suffice.

5. Pick the right skills

A winning key skills section always mentions only the right skills for the job. Applying for a healthcare job? Then remove those administrative skills from your resume and talk about your caregiver skills. Always create a custom skills section for new job applications. Do you find it difficult to keep track of all your awesome skills? Group skills into categories on your master resume for convenience.