What Not to Put on Your Resume (and Why It Hurts Your ATS Score)

Knowing what to add to your resume matters. Knowing what to removecan matter even more. The wrong information in the wrong place tanks your ATS score and costs you the first five seconds of a recruiter’s attention.

This list covers the most common mistakes — some obvious, some surprisingly easy to miss. Pair it with an ATS-optimized resume template to know exactly what to put in the spots you’re clearing.

1. Photo (in most cases)

A photo is invisible to ATS — it occupies bytes and contributes nothing to your score. For human reviewers it can introduce unconscious bias. Leave it out unless a job explicitly asks for one.

2. Generic professional objective

The old-school “Objective: seeking a challenging role that allows personal and professional growth” says nothing to the recruiter or the ATS. Replace it with a professional summary that names your specialty, years of experience, and one concrete differentiator.

3. Subjective buzzwords

Proactive, dynamic, communicative, team player, results-driven — every candidate writes these. They carry no ATS value and signal a lack of real content to human reviewers.

Replace with evidence: “Reduced employee onboarding time by 40% by building a process manual” shows initiative without needing the word “proactive.”

4. Unnecessary personal data

Do not include:

• Government ID numbers (CPF, RG in Brazil — equivalent SSN/NIN in other markets)
• Date of birth (opens the door to age discrimination)
• Marital status or number of children
• Full street address (city and state/country is enough)
• Religion or political affiliation

5. Irrelevant old experience

If you have ten years of experience, your first teenage job doesn’t need to appear unless it’s directly relevant to the role. Every line must earn its space. Experience older than ten years that isn’t strategic can be removed or compressed to a single line.

6. Salary expectation

Stating a number gives away negotiating power before you’ve shown your value. You might be cut for asking above budget before anyone meets you — or you might anchor below what the role actually pays. If an application form requires it, fill it in there. Never on the resume itself.

7. Obvious skills

“Microsoft Office,” “email,” “internet browsing” — for any job that requires a resume, these are assumed. They waste space that could showcase real differentiators.

Exception: if the posting explicitly asks for “advanced Excel” and you have it, include it with context: “Advanced Excel (pivot tables, Power Query, VBA)”.

8. “References available upon request”

This phrase adds nothing — every candidate has references if asked. Remove the line. The space is worth more than it is.

9. Formatting the ATS cannot parse

This is structure, not content — but it’s one of the most silently damaging mistakes:

• Tables — ATS reads row by row and scrambles everything
• Two-column layouts — mixes content from separate sections
• Floating text boxes — ignored by the parser
• Word header/footer— most ATS don’t read these
• Skill bars as images — invisible to the system

10. Typos and grammar errors

Spelling mistakes are disqualifying for many recruiters, especially in administrative, commercial, and management roles. One error on a visible job title or employer name can undo years of experience. Always proofread. Have someone else read it before you send.

The removal checklist

• Photo (except where explicitly requested)
• Government IDs, date of birth, marital status
• Generic professional objective
• Subjective adjectives (proactive, dynamic, etc.)
• Salary expectation
• Old, irrelevant experience
• Obvious skills (basic Office, internet)
• “References available upon request”
• Any graphic element (tables, columns, images)

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