When to include personal information on your CV

And why some things are best kept to yourself 

When it comes to resumes, a lot of focus is directed towards getting your skills and experience looking top notch. 

But even the smaller, simpler sections like the personal information you include right up the top of your CV, require a bit of thought. 

Of course, basic contact information (phone number and email address) should always be included so that your prospective employer can let you know if you’ve got the job or not. 

It’s also a good idea to link any social media where you have a professional presence, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or a website. 

But how necessary is it to go into a heap of personal detail? According to most HR experts, not very. 

Giving details about your relationship status, your ethnicity, or your date of birth for example, can actually open you up to unfair discrimination. 

There is a chance that employers would unfairly take a look at something like your age and throw out your resume immediately, assuming that you’re either too old or too young to be able to do the job.

Similarly, mentioning that you’re “happily married with children” adds no value to your application and may even lower your chances of getting the job if the hiring manager thinks you’re not considered “committed enough” to your career.

Of course, you could argue that if a prospective employer is too quick to dismiss you based on your personal information, it might not be the best fit for you.

But as a general rule – when reading over your CV,  leave off any  information that doesn’t relate to, or further your chance of getting the job.