8 outdated skills to scratch from your resume

Hi everyone! I hope everyone has had a great start to their week. Today’s blog will talk about some outdated skills that you may want to cross off your resume. Times have changed so if you haven’t scanned over your resume in a while, you might want to pull it up and make sure the skills you have listed are relevant.

• Typing speed: although it is important to be able to type up documents, it is no longer necessary to list typing speed in your skills section. As goes for some of these skills, if it is very specific to the job you are applying for, use sparingly but for a general application, this skill is out of date.
• Microsoft office: this might come as a bummer to most, I know it does to me but the ability to use Microsoft office is sadly out of date. Almost all applicants know their way around Microsoft office and maybe even excel. My entrepreneurship teacher said the best way to differentiate yourself nowadays would be to get into data analysis or coding applications like R, Python, or Tableau.
• Fax: for more obvious reasons, fax skills no longer need to be included on a resume. Some companies still use tax but if necessary, it is understood that applicants would know or can learn quickly.
• Research: research in the most basic sense should not be listed on a resume anymore. There are obvious exceptions like academic research but if you are referring to simple web searches, it should not be listed.
• Telephone: this skill used to be sought after due to the complexity of phone systems but as the process has gotten much easier, this skill should no longer be listed.
• Email: same goes for email. You perhaps used email to reach out to the job you’re applying for or to set up an interview. Email is not necessarily a skill rather something that you should be sufficient in.
• Filing: the simple task of filing no longer belongs on the resume. Again, there can be exceptions to the rule but rather than listing on the resume, highlight your experience sorting medical records or court documents as opposed to listing filing as a skill.
• Data entry: much like above, data entry has become mainstream therefore most job seekers don’t need to see it on a resume.

Hopefully, these skills remind you to look back at your resume to clean up any outdated wording you see. Instead, try looking at some soft skills that you might have like teamwork, communication, adaptability, or time management. Find what skills are both truthful and connect to the job you are searching for.

 

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