16 Items to Delete From Your CV Immediately: Ultimate Guide

16 Items to Delete From Your CV immediately to stand out, look professional, and increase your chances of getting hired.

1. Unnecessary Personal Details
2. Unprofessional Email Address
3. Outdated Career Objectives
4. Irrelevant Work Experience
5. Irrelevant Education Information
6. Outdated, Irrelevant, or universal skills
7. Prose or entire paragraphs – Long Paragraphs
8. Lies or Exaggerations
9. Salary History or Expectations
10. Typos & Grammar mistakes
11. Hobbies & Interests (Unless Relevant)
12. Too many pages
13. Too many colours
14. Silly Fonts
15. The Phrase “References Available Upon Request”
16. Multiple phone numbers

Many job seekers include irrelevant personal information on their CVs, believing it makes them appear more “complete” or trustworthy, but the opposite is often true.

Some of these personal details can make your CV appear outdated

Personal Information You Should Delete:

• Marital status
• Date of birth
• ID or passport number
• Tribe or ethnicity
• Religion
• Nationality
• Gender
• Physical or postal address
• Photo (unless specifically requested)

Why These Details Should Go:

• They’re not relevant to your qualifications. Employers are interested in your skills, experience, and how well you fit the role, not your background.
• They can lead to unconscious bias. While illegal in many places, discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or tribe can still occur. Removing such details keeps the focus on your competencies.
• They waste valuable space. Your CV should be a concise document (1–2 pages). Don’t use space on details that don’t help you get the job.

What You Should Include in Your CV Instead:

You should keep your CV simple and provide only the relevant details such as:

• Full Name
• Phone Number (active and accessible)
• Professional Email Address

If your CV still begins with something like:

“To obtain a challenging position in a reputable organization where I can utilize my skills and grow professionally………”

It’s time to hit delete. It adds no value.

Employers don’t care what you want — they want to know what you can do for them.

Replace this with a Professional Summary that focuses on your achievements, strengths, and what you bring to the table.

Why You Should Remove Career Objectives:

• They Focus on You, Not the Employer: Employers don’t want to hear what you want from the job — they want to know what you can offer them.
• They’re Generic and Repetitive: Most objectives sound the same: “seeking growth,” “using my skills,” or “working in a dynamic company.” These phrases don’t differentiate you and take up valuable space.
• They’re Outdated in Modern CV Standards: The focus has shifted to value-driven CVs, where candidates showcase achievements, impact, and fit for the role.

What to Use Instead: A Professional Summary

Replace the objective with a Professional Summary or Profile Statement — a 3–4 line paragraph that highlights:

• Your key skills
• Years of experience
• Industry expertise
• A strong value proposition (how you’ll help the employer)

This approach shows what you bring to the table, not just what you want to gain.

Example:

Professional Summary:

Results-driven Digital Marketer with over 3 years of hands-on experience in executing data-driven campaigns across social media, SEO, email marketing, and paid ads. Skilled in boosting brand visibility, generating leads, and increasing ROI through strategic content and performance marketing. Proficient in tools like Google Ads, Meta Business Suite, Google Analytics, and Mailchimp. Adept at crafting compelling digital strategies aligned with business goals, with a strong track record of growing online engagement and driving measurable growth for both startups and established brands.

A strong professional summary can immediately improve your chances of landing an interview.

Irrelevant Work Experience

Another common CV mistake job seekers make is listing every job they’ve ever done, regardless of its relevance to the role they’re applying for.

Even while it’s critical to have a consistent work history, not every employment experience is pertinent to the role you’re seeking.

Pay attention to positions that showcase abilities and backgrounds relevant to the position you are applying for.

Take into consideration deleting early-career positions that don’t provide value if you have a lot of experience.

What Counts as Irrelevant Work Experience?

• Jobs that have no connection to your target field
• Short-term roles that didn’t add any transferable skills
• Old part-time gigs like “ushering at weddings”
• Volunteer work or internships that don’t align with the job description

For example, if you’re applying for a position as a graphic designer, including your experience back in high school, part-time job selling popcorn is not relevant

Why You Should Delete Irrelevant Roles:

• Effective Communication: Hiring managers typically scan CVs in under 10 seconds. If your relevant skills are buried under unrelated job history, you risk getting passed over.
• Confusing Roles Make One Look Unfocused: Too many different roles with no clear direction can make you seem unsure of your career path.
• It Takes Up Valuable Space: While every line should count, irrelevant roles waste space that could be used to highlight achievements or key skills.

What to Do Instead:

• Tailor Your CV to the Job Description: Only include roles that showcase skills and experience relevant to the role you’re applying for.

Example (Bad vs Good):

Bad Example:

Waiter – Café Aroma (2018–2019)
Duties: Serving food, setting tables, washing dishes.

Better Alternative for a Marketing Role:

Freelance Digital Marketer – Self-employed (2021–Present)
Created and managed social media campaigns for 5 small businesses, resulting in 60% average growth in online engagement.

Use the job description as a guide and match your experience to the employer’s needs.

While it might feel like more is better, including irrelevant work experience weakens your CV

Long Paragraphs

If your CV contains blocks of text or lengthy paragraphs, it’s time for a major cleanup. Long paragraphs reduce readability and make it difficult for employers to assess and understand your strengths. 

You don’t need long paragraphs to fully explain your roles and accomplishments.

Why Long Paragraphs Are a Problem

• Recruiters Scan, Not Read, spending 6–10 seconds on an initial CV scan. It might be difficult to dig information from long chunks of text.
• Key Achievements Get Buried: Unlike in Bullet points, where details can easily get spotted, long paragraphs bury details like metrics, skills, and accomplishments
• They Signal Poor Communication: As a concise, well-organized CV reflects your ability to communicate effectively, long paragraphs suggest the opposite.
• Make your CV look uneven or disorganized, especially when viewed digitally or printed.

What to Do Instead: Use Bullet Points

Replace the wordy chunks with clear, concise bullet points while listing duties, skills, and achievements to ensure that your key skills and experiences stand out at a glance.

Format Example:

Long Paragraph:

I worked as a sales executive at XYZ Company where I was responsible for generating leads, closing sales, meeting monthly targets, and building relationships with clients across Nairobi. I also helped develop promotional strategies and train new hires.

Improved Bullet Format:

Sales Executive – XYZ Company (2022–2023)

• Generated and converted leads, increasing monthly sales by 25%
• Developed and executed promotional campaigns for new product launches
• Trained and mentored 3 junior sales reps
• Maintained strong client relationships, resulting in 80% repeat business

Lies or Exaggerations

It might seem tempting to boost your experience, invent a skill, lie, or exaggerate in your CV as a way to stand out in a competitive job market it’s all a lie.

Lying or exaggerating on a CV is not recommended and can have serious negative consequences, including job loss, damage to reputation, and even legal repercussions.

Your CV should market you, not embarrass you.

The truth will always come out, and you will be exposed either during the interview process or at some point, and dishonesty on your CV is a serious red flag for employers.

This can lead to automatic disqualification or even termination if discovered after hiring.

Some job seekers falsify information such as:

• exaggerating academic qualifications,
• claiming skills they don’t possess,
• listing a fake certification,
• inflating work experience, maybe by changing job titles, extending employment dates, providing false information about previous employers, or embellishing accomplishments.

Common Lies That Should Be Deleted:

• Fake job titles, e.g., calling yourself “Marketing Manager” when you were an intern
• Inflated achievement, e.g., saying you “increased sales by 200%” without evidence
• Fake certifications or degrees
• Listing companies you never worked for
• Falsifying employment dates to cover gaps

Why Lies Don’t Work

• Employers Verify Information: Recruiters often check references, call previous employers, and confirm certifications.
• You’ll Struggle to Defend It in Interviews: Not being able to explain your own CV creates doubt and mistrust.
• It Damages Your Reputation and reduces your chances of being hired elsewhere.
• Long-Term Career Risk: Even if you get hired based on a lie, when noted, it can lead to poor reviews, job loss, or even being blacklisted by recruiters.

What to Do Instead:

You don’t need to lie to make your CV stand out.

Here’s how to position yourself truthfully yet effectively:

• Highlight real achievements, even if small
• Emphasize transferable skills from
• If you’re lacking experience, focus on internships, transferable skills, projects, show your willingness to learn, volunteer work, or online certifications to showcase your commitment to growth.

Unprofessional Email Address

Avoid using unprofessional or inappropriate email addresses example, emails that include nicknames, slang, offensive language, or funny symbols, as they create an unprofessional image.

Though your email address might seem like a small detail on your CV, it speaks volumes about your professionalism.

Avoid quirky email addresses like sweetgirl254@gmail.com, bossmankenya@yahoo.com, or cuteboy95@hotmail.com, as they show unprofessionalism, even if you have strong qualifications.

Why You Should Delete or Update an Unprofessional Email Address:

• Shows a lack of seriousness, Immaturity, and Unprofessionalism. An email like that, partygirlke@gmail.com, makes you appear unserious or careless
• Undermines Your Credibility: A strange or informal email can hurt your chances of being taken seriously, even before an employer opens your email.
• Raises Questions About Digital Awareness: Using outdated providers like Yahoo or Hotmail may suggest you’re not up-to-date with modern digital tools, especially if you’re applying for tech, marketing, or admin roles.

What a Professional Email Looks Like:

A professional Email:

• Contains your real name, such as

  • alexkimani@gmail.com
  • mercy.mwangi@gmail.com
• Is free of nicknames, slang, or funny names

• Uses a reliable, modern provider like Gmail

Stick to a simple, professional format. Ideally, use:

• • firstname.lastname@gmail.com
  • initials.lastname@gmail.com
  • firstnamecareer@gmail.com

e.g., janedoewriter@gmail.com

If your current email is unprofessional or outdated, create a new one specifically for job applications.

Irrelevant Skills

Job seekers make a big mistake listing every skill they’ve ever learned, hoping to impress recruiters, but instead of strengthening their CV, irrelevant skills often dilute their value and distract from what truly matters.

Your CV should highlight the skills that directly align with the job you’re applying for. Everything else? It’s clutter.

It’s not about having the most skills — it’s about having the right ones.

What Are Irrelevant Skills?

These are skills that:

• Don’t match the job requirements
• Are outdated
• They are too basic to be worth listing
• Have nothing to do with the position or industry

Delete the Following:

• Skills that are no longer in demand, e.g., obsolete programming languages.
• Generic skills, such as “Microsoft Office,” are not specifically relevant to the job.
• Ability to use a calculator when applying for a data analyst job
• Microsoft Paint in a professional design role

Why Irrelevant Skills Hurt Your CV:

• Make You Seem Unfocused
• Waste Valuable Space
• Undermine Professionalism when outdated or sound amateurish.

What to Do Instead: Focus on Job-Relevant, Modern Skills

Tailor your Skills section to the specific role you’re applying for. Prioritize:

• Technical skills listed in the job post
• Tools or software proficiency that’s in demand
• Transferable soft skills like problem-solving, leadership, or teamwork
• Certifications or niche skills that give you a competitive edge

Good Skills Example – Digital Marketing Role:

• Google Ads & Facebook Ads Management
• SEO & Content Strategy
• Email Marketing tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit
• Google Analytics & Data Reporting
• Canva & Adobe Creative Suite
• Strong written and verbal communication

Focus on the skills that make you the best fit for the role.

Deleting irrelevant skills from your CV keeps it clean, sharp, and aligned with the employer’s expectations.

• Primary School, if you have a college degree

Including your primary school education on your CV might seem like a way to “complete your academic history,” especially for entry-level job seekers or students.

Why You Should Delete Primary School Details From Your CV

• Adds No Value to Employers – higher qualifications like your high school certificate, college/university degree, or professional certifications.
• Primary school education is assumed and not a competitive factor.
• Wastes Valuable Space. Keep your CV concise and focused.
• nothing to boost your profile, especially if you already have KCSE, diploma, or degree-level qualifications.

What to Include in the Education Section of your CV:

Focus only on your relevant and most recent academic achievements, such as:

• High school education (KCSE) — especially if you scored well
• Diplomas, degrees, or technical training
• Professional certifications or online courses (e.g., Google Digital Skills, CPA, HRMPEB, Udemy)

Example of a Clean CV Education Section:

Education

Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) – Kenyatta University
2019 – 2023

Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) – Mangu High School
Grade: B+ | 2015 – 2018

(No need to mention primary school or KCPE at all)

Your CV is not the place to mention how much you earned or expect to earn, unless an employer specifically asks for it in the job advert. It is one of the Items to Delete From Your CV.

Adding this information too early can work against you.

Why You Should Delete Salary Details From Your CV

• Limits Your Negotiation Power: Listing your current or expected salary up front can lock you into a lower offer, especially if the employer has a higher budget.
• Focus Away From Your Value: Your CV should focus on your skills, experience, and accomplishments, not what you want to be paid.
• Can Disqualify You Prematurely: If your salary expectation is too high, you might be eliminated before you even get to the interview.
• Salary discussions are reserved for later stages of the hiring process, e.g., after interviews or once an offer is on the table.

What to Do Instead

• Leave out salary details completely on your CV.
• If asked in a job ad to include expectations, respond separately in a cover letter or email, not within the CV itself.
• Research salary ranges for the role in your industry/location so you’re prepared when the discussion comes up.
• You can use a strategic phrase like: “Open to negotiation based on the responsibilities and overall compensation package.”

Market yourself first. Salary discussions come later during interviews or offer negotiations. Mentioning it early may disqualify you or limit your offer.

Bonus Tips on Items to Delete From Your CV

More Items to Delete From Your CV include:

1. Too many pages
2. Too many colours
3. Silly Fonts
4. The Phrase “References Available Upon Request”
5. Multiple phone numbers

 Your CV is not your full autobiography — it’s a strategic marketing document.

Having learnt about the Items to Delete From Your CV, do it today and land your dream career.