4 Things To Leave Off Your CV

Writing a CV is the most challenging task many job seekers face. A CV can make or break your opportunity to land your dream job — and the problem is usually not what is missing, but what should not be there.

Key Takeaways

• Remove the objective statement and replace it with a focused summary of qualifications.
• Only include hobbies and interests if they are genuinely relevant to the role or company culture.
• Simple, clean formatting is faster to read and easier for ATS systems to process.
• List achievements with measurable outcomes — not a copy of your old job description.
• Every line of your CV should justify its existence; if it does not sell you, cut it.

Candidates spend so much time writing and styling their CVs that most of them overdo it. Remember that an employer or recruiter is a busy person who has probably got a hundred CVs in front of them, including yours. A CV that is cluttered, outdated, or poorly focused will not be considered — no matter how strong your underlying experience is.

1. An “Objective” Statement

The objective statement — that line at the top of a CV declaring what you are looking for — needs to go. The employer already knows you are interested in their job; that is why you applied. Restating it wastes the most valuable real estate on your entire document.

Replace it with a summary of qualifications: a 2–3 line statement that tells the recruiter immediately what you can do for them. For example:

“Senior marketing manager with 10 years’ B2B experience driving pipeline growth through content and paid channels. Increased qualified leads by 45% at two consecutive employers. Looking to bring that track record to a scale-up environment.”

That summary answers the recruiter’s first question — “why should I keep reading?” — in seconds.

2. Unrelated Awards, Hobbies, and Interests

One hiring story that circulates in recruitment circles involves a candidate who listed “pig-wrestling champion” as an interest. It is a memorable credential — but it had nothing to do with the job, and it distracted from an otherwise impressive application.

Unless a hobby or interest directly supports your qualifications or demonstrates a genuine fit with the employer’s culture — for example, listing marathon running when applying to a sports nutrition brand, or open-source coding contributions when applying for a developer role — leave personal interests off the CV entirely.

The same logic applies to awards. Winning a regional sales competition in 2009 is relevant if you are applying for a sales leadership role today. Winning a local pub quiz is not relevant to anything except the pub.

3. Too Much Formatting

Keep your CV simple so recruiters can read it quickly and easily. Overlaid formatting — multiple fonts, heavy use of bold, italic, and underline simultaneously, decorative borders, colour-coded sections — slows the eye and signals a lack of editorial judgement.

The practical rules:

• One font family, two weights (regular and bold) only
• Black text on white background for most industries; a single accent colour for headers is acceptable in creative fields
• Bullet points, not paragraphs, for all work experience
• Consistent date formatting throughout (e.g., Jan 2020 – Mar 2022, not “01/2020 to March ‘22”)
• Single-spaced within sections, with clear spacing between sections

Heavy formatting also creates a second problem: ATS (applicant tracking system) software cannot reliably parse text inside tables, text boxes, headers, or footers. If your formatting relies on those elements, parts of your CV may simply be invisible to the system.

For a full guide to ATS-friendly formatting and structure, see: How to Write a CV That Gets Interviews in 2026.

4. Lists of Tasks for Each Job

This is the most common CV mistake of all. Instead of telling recruiters what you did at your past jobs, tell them what you accomplished — what were the measurable results of your work?

Rather than rewriting your job description, answer three questions for each role:

• What did I deliver? (a project, a product, a result)
• How did I do it? (the specific actions you took)
• Why did it matter? (the business impact)

Weak version: “Managed social media accounts and created content.” Strong version: “Grew LinkedIn following from 2,000 to 18,000 in 14 months by launching a weekly thought-leadership series; posts regularly reached 50,000+ impressions organically.”

Every bullet point on your CV should be a mini-achievement, not a task description pulled from a job spec.

Common Mistakes Summary

• Padding the CV with filler to reach a certain page length
• Including a headshot when applying in markets where it is not expected (UK, USA, Canada, Australia)
• Listing references as “available on request” — this is assumed; the line wastes space
• Using a personal email address from a decade ago
• Sending a .docx file that displays incorrectly on the recruiter’s machine

You can also review these 4 tips for a top CV.

For the complete CV writing guide — structure, achievement bullets, ATS formatting, and tailoring — see: How to Write a CV That Gets Interviews in 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I include an objective statement on my CV?

No. Objective statements are outdated and waste valuable space telling the employer something they already know. Replace it with a concise summary of qualifications that highlights your most relevant skills and experience for the specific role.

Should I list hobbies and interests on my CV?

Only include hobbies or interests if they are directly relevant to the role or demonstrate a strong cultural fit with the employer. Generic hobbies like “reading” or “travelling” add no value and take up space that could be used for professional achievements.

How much formatting is too much on a CV?

If your CV uses more than one font, multiple text colours, heavy borders, or a mix of bold, italic, and underline throughout, it has too much formatting. Keep it clean and consistent — recruiters need to read it quickly, not navigate it visually.

What should I write under each job instead of listing tasks?

Write about outcomes and achievements rather than responsibilities. For each role, ask: what changed because of my work? Then quantify the answer — revenue grown, costs reduced, processes improved, team members trained. Results are far more compelling than task descriptions.

Is it okay to leave jobs off my CV?

Yes. You are not obligated to include every job you have ever held. Leave off roles that are very old, unrelated to your current career direction, or so brief they raise more questions than they answer. Focus your CV on the experience that is most relevant to the position you are targeting.