Resumes

5 Things To Delete From Your Resume in 2025

By Chris Kidd | March 16, 2025

As a fashion industry professional in 2025, your resume is your first impression—a chance to show what you bring to the table without unnecessary clutter. The job market moves quickly, and a resume that’s bogged down by outdated or irrelevant details can hold you back from roles at design firms, retail brands, or creative agencies. Here are five things to cut from your resume this year to keep it sharp and effective…

1. Overly Personal Information

Fashion is personal — but your resume shouldn’t be. Including unnecessary personal details like your home address, birth date, marital status, or even a headshot can introduce bias or make hiring managers uncomfortable. In some cases, including personal information can even create legal issues for the employer, prompting them to reject your application to avoid complications.

👉 What to delete:

Home address (city and state are enough)
Birth date
Marital status
Political or religious affiliations
Irrelevant hobbies

Instead, focus on professional details that matter. Hiring managers care about your ability to execute a design concept, lead a team, or negotiate with suppliers — not whether you enjoy yoga on the weekends.

2. Listing Responsibilities Instead of Results

Simply listing your job duties doesn’t tell a hiring manager how you added value or made an impact. In fashion, where creativity, sales, and trend awareness are key, highlighting the results of your work is more powerful than just explaining what you were responsible for.

Instead of saying:
❌ Managed a team of designers to develop seasonal collections.

Try:
✅ Led a team of 5 designers to deliver a seasonal collection that increased sales by 15% and secured two new wholesale accounts.

👉 Focus on measurable outcomes:

Increased sales percentages
Improved operational efficiency
Enhanced brand recognition
Successful product launches

Hiring managers in fashion are looking for professionals who understand the business side of the industry as much as the creative side — so showing tangible outcomes gives you a competitive edge.

3. An Outdated or Irrelevant Work History

Fashion moves fast — and your resume should reflect that. Listing every job you’ve ever had, especially older or irrelevant ones, makes it harder for a recruiter to see what’s relevant now. If you have experience from more than 10–15 years ago or unrelated roles (like a college retail job), it’s time to delete them.

👉 What to keep:

The last 10–15 years of work experience
High-impact, relevant roles (even if they’re older)
Key freelance or consulting projects, especially for well-known brands

If you must reference older roles to demonstrate experience, consolidate them under a “Previous Experience” section without dates or detailed descriptions. Keep the focus on your most impactful, recent work.

4. Overused Buzzwords and Clichés

Phrases like “detail-oriented,” “team player,” and “results-driven” don’t add value unless they’re backed up by proof. Hiring managers in the fashion industry want to see creativity and originality — not generic language that could apply to any industry.

Instead of saying:
❌ Strong communicator with excellent problem-solving skills

Try:
✅ Presented seasonal collection concepts to executive leadership, securing approval and increasing buy-in from key retail partners.

👉 What to avoid:

“Hard worker”
“Creative thinker” (without examples)
“Self-motivated”
“Results-driven”

Instead, let your accomplishments speak for themselves. If you increased margins, streamlined production, or expanded a product category — show it with data and outcomes.

5. Overly Complex Design and Formatting

Yes, the fashion industry values aesthetics — but your resume is not a mood board. Overly designed resumes with elaborate fonts, colors, and graphics can confuse both human readers and applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Many companies in the fashion industry (especially large brands and retailers) use ATS software to scan resumes for keywords. If your resume is heavily designed or includes graphics, the system may fail to read it correctly — meaning it might not even reach a hiring manager.

👉 What to simplify:

Use professional fonts (like Arial or Calibri)
Stick to a clean, single-column format
Use bold and italics sparingly for emphasis
Include a single accent color if desired, but avoid multiple colors or patterns

Focus on making the content stand out — not the design. A resume that’s clean, easy to read, and focused on results will outperform even the most visually striking document.

Final Thoughts

The fashion industry is competitive — and your resume should reflect that you understand the balance between creativity and business results. By eliminating personal details, outdated experience, and tired language, you create a resume that communicates your value quickly and clearly. Keep it sleek, relevant, and results-focused — just like a strong runway collection.

Your resume is more than a summary — it’s a statement of your expertise and your potential. Make sure it reflects the best version of you.