10 Things You Should Never Include in Your CV

Your resume is your professional calling card and not your autobiography. While it’s tempting to add personal touches or extra details, some information can hurt your chances more than help. Here are ten things you should leave off your resume to keep it clean, professional, and recruiter-friendly.

1. Passport Numbers or National IDs

Unless your recruiter plans on applying for a loan in your name (spoiler: they don’t), this level of personal data is unnecessary and risky. Protect your privacy.

2. Gender

In most modern hiring environments, especially in Europe and North America, your gender is irrelevant. Unless it’s crucial for the context (e.g., applying to a gender-focused initiative), skip it.

3. Date of Birth

Recruiters aren’t planning birthday celebrations or astrological compatibility tests. Age-based discrimination is illegal in many regions - don’t invite it with unnecessary info.

4. Unprofessional Email Addresses

Emails like partyanimal@…, gossipgirl@…, or nakedgirl@… might have been funny in college, but they scream “not serious” in a professional context. Stick to something simple: firstname.lastname@email.com.

5. Wall-of-Text Paragraphs

Recruiters spend just seconds scanning a resume. Dense blocks of text are exhausting. Use bullet points, be concise and highlight key achievements. Clarity wins.

6. Cliché Traits

“Team player”, “hardworking”, “punctual”, “creative” - these words have become white noise. Instead of listing traits, show them through your accomplishments and results.

7. Mixed Language or Buzzword Overload

If your resume is in one language, don’t pepper it with untranslated jargon from another. Especially avoid awkward mixes like “I managed a team to disruptively innovate”. Choose clarity over trendiness and show your language capabilities in a specific column in your CV.

8. High School Details

Unless you’re a recent graduate, your high school is irrelevant. Focus on higher education and professional certifications that are meaningful to the role.

9. Hobbies (Unless Relevant)

Unless your hobby directly connects to the job (e.g., a design role and photography), it’s best left off. Most recruiters are focused on what you can do and not how you spend weekends.

10. Attachments of Diplomas and Certificates

Your resume should stand alone. Only send diplomas, certificates or references if explicitly requested and as separate files.

Less is more. A sharp, focused resume is far more powerful than one cluttered with irrelevant or outdated details. Think of it as your personal marketing tool where every word should serve a purpose.

Okay, now you’re lost. What should you actually include in your CV? Then this post is for you.

👉 Head HERE for mega tips on what a perfect CV should look like.

👉 Or go HERE to see some of the worst CVs out there (fingers crossed yours isn’t one of them…)