Curriculum Vitae Versus Resume

Every week ABA staff receive a number of CVs from out of the country. Although we cannot help people outside California or the USA relocate to the Bay Area, we would like to offer some general pointers for applying with other companies:

• Do not include personal details like your age, religion or marital status (it is illegal, in California at least, to enquire about a candidate’s age, marital status, religion or sexual orientation as all of these questions may serve as a basis for discrimination).
• Do not include a list of hobbies or outdoor pursuits (you may be a really good snorkler but unless you are applying for a deep sea diving position, remove it from your resume).
• Cut the chat to a minimum and concentrate on selling yourself (do not include a “Personal” section listing likes or dislikes or mention remuneration of any sort on your resume. Leave the discussion of payrates for the interview).
• Do not include your birthdate (again, at least in California, an employer could infer your age and therefore discriminate against you. In order for an employer to protect themselves from being sued for age discrimination they must avoid being put in a compromising situation and therefore do not want to see your age).
• Do not include your photo with your resume (Please, please, please, keep from sending your picture. As curious as an employer might be to see what you look like, this compromises an employer on the basis of race, color and age discrimination. Besides, including your photo with a resume is just a plain tacky thing to do).