Like it or not, age does matter in the workplace environment, with many organizations being reluctant to hire older workers, despite their experience. If your resume shows your age, you may need to tweak it in order to improve your chances of getting an interview. Here's what you should and shouldn't do.
Don't List All Your Jobs
When you list all your jobs, you show exactly when you entered the workforce, and this can indicate how old you are. In addition, older workers tend to have experience that is no longer relevant to modern jobs, so most of these jobs are not pertinent anyway. Similarly, most of the skills you gained early in your career are usually covered by your later jobs, so listing early employment is simply redundant.
Don't List Dates
When talking about education, many older workers indicate what year they graduated. Unfortunately, a little bit of math indicates how old they are. Instead, simply state that you graduated and in what field. GPA scores are not normally relevant, and you don't need to show what modules you took. Always use the modern name of the institution rather than the name that it had when you graduated.
Do Be Brief with Your Interests
Your interests may indicate that you're an older worker, so unless your hobbies are highly relevant to the position, be very brief. Don't mention grandchildren or the ages of your children, as this may lead to assumptions about how old you are. Sporting activities may also brand you as a mature person.
Don't Include Obsolete Qualifications
Sometimes, your qualifications may mark you out as someone who is an older contender for a vacant position. For example, in the programming field, it's unusual for young workers to know certain programming languages, such as COBOL. Therefore, stating that you know COBOL may make you stand out as an older worker. Of course, if the job involves COBOL programming, you want to include it.
Exceptions
Naturally, there are some times when you want to be identified as an older worker. Some organizations prioritize hiring veterans, so in this case, you want to be identified as a mature worker. Similarly, with age comes experience, and some businesses prefer middle-aged candidates as accountants, lawyers and administrators as these are people with the most experience. In these cases, it's often important to identify yourself as an older person in order to get the interview.
Getting an interview often means tweaking your resume to match the needs of the company. While more mature applicants have lots to offer, including experience, they may experience some bias at the application review stage. If you are an older worker, take a good look at your resume to make sure it shows you in the best light.
Photo courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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