TopResume career consultant: 7 things to take off your resume

Having a clear and concise resume that's one-page long gives you a leg up in the job hunting process. Recruiters look for a document that's free of grammatical errors and uses both strong keywords and accurate descriptions of your work experiences, TopResume career expert Amanda Augustine tells CNBC Make It.

But what you don't include can be as important as what you do.

Here are seven things she says to leave off of your resume if you want to land a job:

Generic objective statements are pretty much a waste of space, according to Augustine.

"This tells the reader nothing about the person's goals or qualifications," she says. "Ditch this fluffy blurb and replace it with a sentence or two that gives the reader your elevator pitch: how are you qualified for the role you're after?" 

Another thing to avoid including on a resume, especially for those just starting out? "A highlights reel of your greatest accomplishments on your resume."

Augustine says, "If you have any major contributions or achievements from a particular role, these should be included within your work history."

Make sure that the email address included on your resume looks polished and mature.

For instance, "'kegking2017@email.com' may have sounded cool when you were in college, but now it's time to use an email address that will better serve your personal brand," she says.

In fact, she recommends creating a "new email account through a provider like Gmail that's reserved for your professional networking and job-search activities."

You've probably read stories about social media gaffes and inappropriate messages costing people their jobs and future career opportunities. Augustine says not to make this mistake yourself.

"If you're pursuing a job in social media, digital marketing, or another creative field, it may make sense to include more than just your LinkedIn profile at the top of your resume," she says.

"However, link only to the accounts that you actively maintain, ones that support your job goals, and align with your personal brand."

Clear away any mention of your high school on your resume, unless you're still in high school. Instead, she says, use that space to discuss college experiences and other matters related to work.

"Once you've been out of school for a few years, you'll need to limit the information about your college education to the degree you earned and honors you received at graduation," she says. "By then, you'll have bigger and better accomplishments on your resume to help sell your candidacy to employers."

Augustine highlights the importance of keeping a resume simple and straightforward. "I can understand the temptation to jazz yours up with pretty fonts, colors, and design," she says. "However, recruiters typically spend about six seconds reviewing a resume before deciding if you're worth their time."

As a result, they need a document that's easily scannable, especially if it's being put through an "electronic screen known as "an applicant tracking system." With different formatting and other "bells and whistles," Augustine says it may mess up the scanner, which can cause issues during the review process.

As she puts it, "let your skills and experience speak for you — don't distract the recruiter with funky design elements."

Augustine says never to include a headshot in a resume "unless you're pursuing a career as a news anchor, actor or other public-facing roles in the entertainment industry."

She adds, "recruiters have been known to dismiss these applications without giving them a second glance to ensure they aren't accused of discrimination."

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