PS Tip 64 : What can be skipped?

Ideally speaking, nothing, or at least nothing of importance – It’s best not to avoid writing about something if it’s relevant to the job or course. When short-listing applicants, most employers, HR executives, course leaders, etc. will have a reminder of what they’re looking for in front of them when they go through each application. If you tick off every requirement then you’re pretty much guaranteed to make it through the first cut. So try to tick as many boxes as you can.

If you avoid mentioning something important, for example something that is mentioned as essential on the job specification, you run the risk of being discounted early on, even if your positives would otherwise have got you through. The early stages of short-listing candidates are often brutal by necessity, so it’s best not to risk this kind of pruning.

The only time I would normally consider skipping something is in cases where there is an extremely restrictive word/character limit. Under those circumstances, paying lip service to lots of relatively unimportant requirements would only limit the space available to write about the vital requirements; if you find yourself in a position where you feel you have to skip something in order to make a strong case for yourself, feel free to skip some of the less important or ‘nice to have’ requirements.