The job market is stiff and it’s a no-brainer that your CV has to be in top shape in order to attract a hiring manager or recruiter, and it has to be 2-3 pages long.

Some things have become obsolete and take up too much space and as a result, are no longer required in today’s CV i.e.

1. Personal Information – Other than your contact information all other information is unnecessary i.e. age, date of birth, race, religion, sex, or marital status. Although some of these might be useful in international applications, if the job is in your home country it’s better to leave it out.

2. Education Level – Always include your latest educational level on the CV and any other certification that might be relevant for the role you are applying to. Often little attention is given to where you went to primary or high school. Unless it’s the highest level attained or is required in the application, leave it out.

3. Unrelated skills – Employers are interested in learning about your current skills that will be useful for the role, not skills you gained in your entire career. Be careful when using overused words and phrases. Balanced careers have created a guide on the list of skills and words that will give you an edge. Read more here.

4. Work Experience – Only include experience related to the job opening. If you worked as an assistant in your uncle’s company while in campus it’s best to leave it out unless the job you are applying for is for an assistant position, or this is your latest experience. Also if you have had an 8+ years experience, it’s best to include experience related to the job you are applying for. If narrowing down is a challenge, talk to a recruiter or career coach to help you out.

5. Career Objectives – Lengthy objectives might end up doing the opposite of what it’s intended to i.e. be a career summary. Make sure it’s concise and ties up your key areas of contribution and ambitions well. I can’t stress this enough but it should be tailored to the role you’re applying for and your career aspirations.

Other things to leave out include; personal pronouns, long descriptions, acronyms, exaggerations, spelling and grammatical errors.