Keep this line off your resume, says ex-Disney recruiter: ‘There’s zero benefit’

When you’re writing your resume, remember the following: Mirror the language of the job description to the extent that it’s relevant to your own experience. Use numbers to illustrate accomplishments — like “helped raise quarterly profits by 20%.” Use a clear format.

There are also mishaps to avoid, like having grammatical or spelling errors or writing a resume longer than two pages. Another thing you want to avoid is including a line that states which role you’re applying for at the top of — or anywhere — in your resume.

It’s a something former Disney recruiter and longtime HR executive Simon Taylor used to see during his time at the company. Below their names, people would include a line like, “I’m applying to the manager of marketing role,” he says.

But “there’s zero benefit in putting that in.”

Here’s why.

If you’re sending in your resume for a role, it’s “already clear to the recruiter that you’re applying to that position,” says Taylor.

Adding in a line that specifies the role again becomes redundant and makes it seem like you don’t totally understand the application process, which works against you. “These small things like formatting mistakes or putting in a statement that makes no sense at the beginning,” says Taylor, “that does have an outsized influence on the perception that the recruiter or the hiring manager has [of] you.”

You don’t want to give them a reason to think you don’t understand a fairly straightforward interaction.

That said, if you decide to include a cover letter or the application calls for it, “it’s important to include the position title you’re applying for to show you have tailored the letter for the role,” Taylor says.