What Should Resumes Include?

Today I stumbled across a very interesting article posted by PR Daily listing things you should not include on your resume if you want to get hired. Some of them made sense, some of them are common sense and others were just nonsense.

The items included references available upon request, overused words, skills in Microsoft Office, objectives, photos, high school information, too much contact information and hobbies and interests.

While I could go on and on about each item, right now just I want to address the "nonsense" bit I mentioned: Hobbies and Interests.

Why shouldn't I include my interests and hobbies on my resume. Obviously I am not going to write out a detailed description of what I do in my free time, but why not give a little insight to what drives me in life?

Isn't that something employers look for? Passion and drive? - Sure I could be killer at my duties for a certain role in a company but if I'm not personable, a key attribute in PR, or have a passion for anything, I think that would hinder my chances a bit.

If I were in the shoes of someone looking to hire an employee I would do my basic checklist of 'can they successfully carryout this role?' Then I would move on to 'how does this person fit in with this company?' 'What motivates them to do a good job?' These are all key things, in my book in hiring an employee.

Sometimes this may not be the case, but in today's society where the work is slim and endless candidates I would want to make sure that its a right fit for everybody and brings value to the company.

I don't run a company and I am not in a position where I hire people, but I am in a position where I was looking for a job recently and I made sure to include some tidbits about me!

Feel it out and don't be afraid to list some things about yourself!