How much personal information should you include in a resume?

The question evidently baffles lots of people. "Your resume speaks volumes about you," notes V. Michael Prencipe, a principal at HR Staffing Solutions, a temp agency. "Unfortunately, sometimes it screams, 'Don't hire me.' "

"I look at about 200 resumes a week, and I've read plenty that... refer to the job seeker's divorce," he says. Prencipe has even seen at least one resume that gave the reason for the split-up, i.e., a cheating spouse. This is way, way too much information.

Prencipe also counsels against "saving your resume as 'ssseexxxyyy_2006' and sending it as an attachment, or listing your reply e-mail address as bruceypants@" - and yes, those are both real-life examples, as are the resumes that detail the reasons why job seekers were fired from previous jobs.

Alas, in this era of rampant identity theft, even the most innocuous-seeming personal data - your home address, for example - is best left off a resume. Never, ever include your Social Security number, either, especially if you are posting your resume online.

As for personal information like hobbies, number of children, or any of the other myriad extraneous details that job hunters often feel compelled to list, Prencipe says: Don't. "Adopt this simple motto," he suggests. "Professional, yes. Personal, no." Enough said.