Age-Proofing Your Resume

Will you be turned down for jobs because of your age? Stop worrying and create an ageless resume!

Seasoned professionals, especially those with 20-25 years of work experience, bring valuable skills and known-how to a new job; however, there are less interviews and new hires in this age group. Years of experience acquiring skills and accomplishments could work against you if you are presenting a resume that is outdated, tired and screams “I am a mature worker!”.

Unfortunately, ageism is a real work-place issue and the United States is currently experiencing its biggest aging workforce population. With a large percentage of the “baby boomer” population reaching the end of their careers and nearing retirement, employers are looking at resumes and scanning for red flags that indicate the “too old” status. Gone are the days that companies look for individuals who have 30+ years’ experience. With business models and processes being reinvented every 3-5 years on average and technology changing at lightning speed, businesses are starting to look for those who can keep up with these changes, such as millennials who are first-generation digital natives and entrepreneurial-minded. Research shows that millennials will make up approximately 50% of the workforce by 2025, therefore it is essential that your resume reflects your unique, updated and valuable skills the employer is looking for.

Here are some tips to help you accomplish this.

· Ditch the Dates! Most employers are only interested in the most recent 10-15 years of your experience. Technologies, processes and procedures change quickly and significantly. What you did 20 years ago may be irrelevant to what the employer is looking for today. Only include the details and dates for positions you have held in the past 10-15 years. Older positions can go into a sub-header, “Additional Professional Experience” or “Related Experience” with just the company name, location and your position title. You can even simply delete older positions all together! Concerned about leaving out key accomplishments and skills gained in those positions? Don’t worry, depending on space availability you can include a brief paragraph under each of these older positions to include some of that valuable information.

Additionally, keep your education section free of dates. Employers are only interested in whether or not you have a Bachelor of Science, not that you graduated in 1983. This goes for trainings, certifications and professional development. Remove dates here as well; the important part is the training you went through and including the dates just highlights that the information may be outdated.

· Highlight up-to-date technology and skills. Eliminate old computer skills and technologies that are no longer relevant or used. Technologies such as Lotus, MS-DOS, Vista, to name a few, will age you and make you look like you haven’t updated your skills in past 30 years. Instead, regularly review your “Technical Skills” section, making sure only new, forward-thinking and applicable technologies are listed. Unless of course a job posting is asking for old technologies, play it safe and remove the old stuff. Also, listing that you are proficient in email, internet or Microsoft Word is now almost equivalent to saying that you are a proficient reader or can complete basic math, these are not differentiators, it’s expected that you have these skills in this day and age.

· Remove mention of tenure. Take a look at your summary, if you have a line similar to “25 years’ experience in…” you may want to consider removing this phrase. Employers are no longer looking for individuals who have extensive years’ experience in a position, instead they are looking at accomplishments and achievements outlined in your resume to give them evidence of this knowledge. Many people will include this language to indicate that they are not job-hoppers and that the company can count on them to be a loyal employee. However, since more people are spending an average of 3-4 years in a position, rather then 10-20 years, your resume reflecting a variety of positions isn’t so uncommon. But be sure you are accurately and thoroughly describing your achievements and successes as this is more important than longevity!

· Keep your resume to 2 pages. Have you heard of the saying “jack of all trades, but a master of none”? Well your resume should follow that adage as well. Most people think they should include a full description of every job, skill and experience they ever had. No one has time to read all of that and it raises a red flag for your age. Keep it simple, relevant and concise!

· Update your email address! The 90s were great, but you don’t want to showcase how long you’ve been utilizing the internet by including your aol.com, hotmail.com or prodigy.com domains. Spend 5 minutes and upgrade your email address to gmail.com or yahoo.com and if you have to include numbers after your name, refrain from using your birthyear, since Joesmith1962@aol.com is a dead giveaway.

· Develop a Social Media Presence. Lack of social media, such as a LinkedIn URL, may indicate that you are an older worker. It’s imperative that you stay updated with how companies utilize social media for not only searching for potential candidates but also how they use these platforms in their work. Also, you are 57% more likely to get an interview if the employer can find you online.

Check out our blog post on why you need a Linked In profile! https://www.careerconnectionsllc.com/post/do-you-need-a-linkedin-profile

Keep in mind that employers are not necessarily concerned about how old you are, but rather the implications of your age. They are looking for individuals who are the most up to date on modern professional trends, new technologies and emerging know-hows that make you an ideal candidate. Let your most recent experiences, achievements and accomplishments highlight who you are as a professional, rather than how long you have been working on these skills. If you are still concerned about your age, or maybe your older experience is the most valuable experience you have, consider creating a Functional Style resume (vs the more widely-used and common Chronological Style) that focuses on your key skills and characteristics rather than the position you worked in.