Does Your Resume Make You Look Old?

Nancy Anderson
Posted by in Career Advice •


In a hiring environment where unspoken age discrimination against older job applicants continues to exist, job candidates older than 50 have reason to be concerned that they may not get a fair shot at jobs for which they are qualified. If you are an older job applicant and are wondering why you are not getting contacted for interviews, take a closer look at your resume.

Cut Down Your Employment History

Ten to 15 years of employment history is sufficient for any resume. By the time you've reached 50, your entry-level jobs are no longer relevant to your career path. Wipe them off your resume.

Update Your Contact Information

In the past, job applicants sometimes listed their home address on their resumes. In the current era, however, that feels old-fashioned; no hiring manager needs to send anything to your home address. Instead, just list your email address and phone numbers. Get rid of your AOL or Hotmail email address, which pegs you as an older job applicant, and replace it with a Gmail address or an address tied to your own domain name.

Use the Correct Terminology

Using outdated terminology to discuss your qualifications or your job duties at prior positions is a guaranteed way to make yourself look old on your resume. This tip is particularly key for older job applicants who are trying to make a career change. Do some research to bring your resume up to date, and make sure you are phrasing your qualifications and accomplishments using the language of the field into which you are trying to transition.

Delete Your Education Dates

While employers are legally prohibited from asking an older job applicant's age, you make it easy for them to figure it out when you provide the dates of your college degrees. What matters is the educational qualifications you have achieved, not the years when you gained them. Cut all education-related dates off of your resume.

Add Links to Your Resume

Your online resume is much more valuable than any old-school paper resume. Modernize your resume by adding links to your LinkedIn or professional website. If you're applying for a technology job or you have a creative portfolio to show off, link to it in the cloud so your job interviewers can take a look easily.

With nearly half of older job applicants reporting that they have been overlooked for positions because of their age, keeping yourself from looking too old on your resume is vital if you are over 50. Because age discrimination is a real obstacle for older job applicants, take every step you can to remove this barrier from your resume so you can get yourself an interview that lets you prove your worth.

 

Photo courtesy of Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 
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  • Annie W.
    Annie W. •

    It don't have to make me look old, I am older than I look and well learned.

  • Judy A.
    Judy A. •

    Resume suggestions for someone who has been out of the workforce for 20 years to raise kids, volunteered etc. and now needs to go back to work?

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    It is unfortunate that companies are able to get away with asking "what year did you graduate?". For me, if I they are asking for my HS grad date, I don't even bother to apply because I know that I will be "over-qualified" because I am too old. Employers are not allowed to ask your age or marital status or about children, etc. But somehow they are able to get this graduation date through. Wish I had the answer to this. All we can do is keep looking and applying where we can.

  • Jeannine P.
    Jeannine P. •

    I think the phrase "over-qualified" should be addressed and (tactfully) challenged. This is another way of saying "too old".

  • CHAPLAIN Z.
    CHAPLAIN Z. •

    Good tips! Have wondered about ED grad dates. The world of Chaplaincy requires a very different resume through ACPE, BCCI/APC. Still working that out.

  • Christine DiMare
    Christine DiMare •

    Some job applications ask your age and you cannot continue unless you fill in the field. It's that discrimination if employers are not suppose to ask?

  • mary j.
    mary j. •

    Good and needed dk

  • BEVERLY M.
    BEVERLY M. •

    Great article. But I'm confused. There's supposed to be no age discrimination yet every application asks for this (date) information. If you omit the dates, it appears as though you have something to hide.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Peter - totally agree. I just have not changed my profile photo yet. (LOL) Thanks for the reminder though! @Anthony - it is true that companies seem to always ask what year you graduated from HS. To me that is age discrimination also but I am not sure how we fight against this. I guess someone is going to have to take a company to court and get a law enacted to have this question removed from all applications. Do you know of any other way?

  • Peter C.
    Peter C. •

    Something I see frequently that makes me cringe are online Profile photos that include a spouse who looks older than the Profile owner...2 strikes. If you are seeking a professional position, your Profile photo should be a professional photo of one person, you.

  • ANTHONY B. R.
    ANTHONY B. R. •

    Thanks, because they always ask what year did you graduate high school,then they can find out your age..

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Cynthia - I appreciate older workers too. But, for me, the ultimate is a mixture between younger and older workers. This way we can learn from each other.

  • Aida S.
    Aida S. •

    Excellent tips! Thank you very much!

  • Philip K.
    Philip K. •

    Great Thanks Dr Phil

  • Cynthia H.
    Cynthia H. •

    I appreciate older workers. Less baggage, more settled and reliable.

  • Nona Y.
    Nona Y. •

    Thanks for this information this is very useful.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    It is true that companies still find a way around all of this. They know our age just by asking simple questions. All we can do is take these tips and try to work our resume/cover letters within these. We need to make ourselves as young looking as possible - at least on paper - and then sell ourselves when we get the interview. Older workers have a lot going to for them. We have the discipline, knowledge and experience that companies need. I still believe that this job market will turnaround and we will see more and more companies going for the more "mature" candidates.

  • LUGANATHAN M.
    LUGANATHAN M. •

    Not only age,but,race,job knowledge with diversity where senior managers might feel "here is trouble" and how can a recruiter judge the book by the cover with an applicant's out standing performance history in achieving set target and goals from past employment. Applicant was also an award winning management employee for two top organisations.

  • Lynn Collins
    Lynn Collins •

    The good news is, though, that with Baby Boomers choosing to work past the retirement age attitudes about older workers will change. However, this could take a little time.

  • Lynn M Gomez
    Lynn M Gomez •

    It happens. So have your resume rewritten by a professional (worth the money), keep your professional social media up to date with good pictures and present yourself. I use my MBA grad year not my High School. 30 years difference. If you get them to review your resume, it should sell what you are offering. A good resume writer can do wonders for a long career. Keep it to the point and show what you offer. I review resumes online daily and can see those that have kept the resume up to date. I am 57 and still get many calls from what I show in my first impression resume.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    It's unfortunate Charlene but, in many cases, it is true. It's a shame that employers can't look at our maturity, experience and knowledge and hire based upon that rather than age. As an older worker, we are more reliable, too. At some point employers are going to have to sit up and take notice of the older workers.

  • Charlene R.
    Charlene R. •

    Yea but some people don't want. To give u the job either cause it prettier than them or they judge by ur looks and nvr take one glance adult application Or resume ....

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