A lot of people think—mistakenly—that they should frontload their resume with every “skill” they possess. Like, you’re a Call of Duty expert. Or you’re writing an unfinished novel. Or your pig won a blue ribbon at the ’06 County Fair. Might as well include the kitchen sink, because who knows what might be relevant? Well we can tell you what’s not relevant: any skill that doesn’t directly relate to the job you’re applying for. And since your resume is only as strong as its weakest point, you had better pare down the extras.

You can start by leaving off these four items:

1. Basic computer skills. This one surprises a lot of people who are used to putting “email” or “word processing” on their resumes. So, surprise! Computers have been around for a long time now, and recruiters expect you to know your way around one. Don’t take up valuable resume space with these fluff skills. But do mention if you’ve gone above and beyond in a standard program, such as creating Access databases or complex Excel spreadsheets with macros.
2. High school language studies. Any language on your resume is a job skill. That means 1) you would use the language on the job, and 2) you could speak fluently, enough to earn that boost for bilingual pay. So that Spanish class you took, even if you took it for four years, doesn’t belong on your resume unless you can converse like a native. Basic understanding just doesn’t cut it.
3. Social media not used for work. If you’ve drawn up a social media strategy as part of your job, then by all means, forge ahead with this one. But if you’re really saying, “I posted my vacation photos on Instagram,” that doesn’t count as a job skill. Managing your personal social media profile is very different from overseeing a company social media campaign!
4. Lies. Job descriptions use keywords for a reason; they are the skills a candidate will need to succeed in the job. If the job requires you to use complex statistics and accounting, and you barely passed high school algebra, how successful would you be if you lied to get hired? When a lie seems tempting, remember that even a small fib can ruin your reputation, and it only takes one question to call out a lie. And don’t fall victim to these five common resume lies.

Your resume doesn’t need the kitchen sink! Treat your resume like a recipe, reading clearly and using only the ingredients it needs to succeed.