No one cares about that.

I review thousands of resumes and cover letters per year, and I talk to thousands of job seekers, hiring managers, and people in between. What I’ve noticed is that there are a lot of people who spend a lot of time on stuff that is unimportant. This is equitably distributed among job seekers and hiring managers. So, if you fall into either category, please stop wasting time on the following, irrelevant information:

Job seekers, no one cares about…

Your undergraduate GPA. You’ve been out of college for more than 5 years? Congratulations, and welcome to the world of work, wherein your undergraduate GPA is wholly irrelevant. What amazing things have you done for your current company? That’s something to talk about!

That you played Division 2 lacrosse. 

The daily tasks associated with your job. We all know that every job is rife with its unique set of boring and mundane minutiae. Everyone can commiserate, but no one wants to hear about it. 

Where you went to high school. Even if you went to a school with a well-known name, such as Groton or Bronx Science, no one cares. Sad but true. Not relevant. 

That you are MENSA. In fact, this probably makes people wonder if you have social skills and how you function in groups of people. 

Your career objective. Job seeking is a game of “what have you done for me?” or, “what can you do for me?” What you want out of the arrangement is not important. 

Managers, no one cares about….

The history of the company. We can read about that on the website.

Why candidates left/are looking to leave their most recent/current roles. This has exactly zero correlation to the open role for which you are recruiting. And you know the answer. It usually falls into one of 3 categories: horrible boss, underpaid, untenable culture. 

Your org chart. Your reporting structure is probably not a key piece of information that someone deciding to come work for you needs. Unless you report into the CEO or someone else with C in front of her name, it’s superfluous.

The process of how someone does their job. Focus on results, not on how you get there. If someone is a procrastinator but delivers superior results, is the procrastinator part that important? 

The mundane tasks associated with the job. This is purposely duplicative because it goes both ways. A candidate interviewing for a director of financial planning probably realizes that preparing monthly reports is part of the job. You don’t need to talk to them about that during the interview process. 

Where anyone sees themselves in 5 years. Did any of us think, in 2015, that we would be dealing with a global pandemic in 2020? On whose radar, other than those of epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists, was this? Just stop with hypothetical predictions. Everyone knows that you also don’t know where you see yourself in 5 years. If you can foresee the future, you are in the wrong line of work. 

I implore everyone on both sides of the desk to eliminate as much verbal and metaphoric clutter as possible. Get rid of what is irrelevant and focus on what is important. Pass every thought through the filter of “is this important?” and help to drive a 360-degree reduction in nonsense!