Outrageous things people have put on their resumes

Being creative on your resume can be a good thing. But beware of crossing the line between creative and crazy.

While the most common resume mishaps are typos and misspellings, some people venture to the weird and wacky. Career and recruitment experts weighed in on the most ridiculous things they've seen on resumes.

1. A plastic foot

"A candidate sent me a plastic foot, with the opening line of her cover letter stating that she wanted to get her 'foot in the door,'" says Brooks.
"Throughout the letter she added other foot references such as 'her shoe was the right fit.' It wasn't."


2. A vial of fake blood

On another occasion, Brooks received a resume that had a small plastic vial of red-colored liquid attached to it and a note saying the candidate would "sweat blood" for the job.

Creative? Yes. But probably not the best way to win over your prospective employer (unless it's Dracula).


3. Body measurements

Gene Gordon, a sourcing expert for recruiting company Decision Toolbox, says he once received the following information on a resume:

Height: 5'4"
Waist: 28"
Hips: 33"
Bust: 34"
Shirt Size: M
Pant Size: 5/6
Shoe Size: 8 1/2
Hair: Reddish black
Eyes: Earth Green
The physical statistics were in no way relevant to the job application, Gordon added.


4. A table of contents

A good rule of thumb is to keep your resume to only one page. Two pages is pushing it, and anything beyond that is far too long.


5. A chocolate croissant addiction

Just as weird statistics don't belong on your resume, neither do irrelevant interests. Marc Goldman, executive director of the career center at Yeshiva University, says he's seen people list interests such as "eating chocolate croissants" or "Settlers of Catan," the popular board game.

Goldman says people who include random interests on their resumes often do so with the hope of sparking a conversation over a mutual passion with an interviewer. Sometimes that works, but often it doesn't.


6. Knowing how to use a paper shredder

There are skills worth mentioning on a resume, and then there are those that will earn an eye roll from your recruiter.

Some highlights?: Understanding how to use Microsoft Word, the fax machine, and a paper shredder. These skill are not worth mentioning to say the least.


7. Proficiency in the English language

When you've got limited space to sell yourself, you don't want to waste it stating the obvious. Goldman says he once received a resume that listed "English" as one of the candidate's languages. Seeing as the resume was written in English, the clarification was not necessary.