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DO trim your resume back to the most current 10, 15, or 20 years. Your resume is a marketing document. It is NOT an autobiography. Readers want to know what you've done recently to add value in the companies you have been associated with. Skills, experiences, and achievements from 25 or 30 years ago or more are almost certainly irrelevant at this point. But, if those early experiences are still relevant, you do have options…
DON'T be afraid to mention early experience that’s still relevant. Just don't mention the dates associated with it. You might select to highlight the undated achievements or qualifications in the summary profile section of your resume. Or, another effective strategy is to summarize that experience at the end of your resume. Your description should be concise. Just one or two sentences that begin with the words “Additional experience includes…” will usually suffice.
DO be creative and strategic in how you list employment dates on your resume. Don't feel locked in by the traditional way of including dates. For example, I recently worked with an executive candidate who had three years with his current employer but more than 35 years of progression with his last employer. Traditionally, on a resume, you would show the total span of years with each company and then the dates in each position (illustrating progression). But this method clearly wouldn't work for this client because he began working for that last employer sometime in the mid 1960s - a date that we didn’t want to include on the resume. So instead, we left off the total dates with each company and just listed dates in each position, going back approximately 15-20 years. Like this:
Employer 1, location
Current position (20xx - Present)
Employer 2, location
Position a (20xx - 20xx)
Position b (19xx - 20xx)
Position c (19xx - 19xx)
Position d (19xx - 19xx)
** Additional experience includes…
DON'T leave dates of education off of your resume unless you've a good strategic reason to do so. One of the most common errors that I see are dates of education left off the resume when they should not be left off. For example, if you earned your degree 15 years ago and began working in your current career track the same year, you’ll actually raise questions about your age by not including your degree dates. The dates on your degree tend to shut the “loop” and eliminate age-related questions in the mind of the resume recipient. But if you leave the dates off, the recipient will assume you're hiding your age and are older than your work experience indicates. On the other hand, if you have shortened your resume to the most current 10, 15, or 20 years, and your most current degree was earned earlier than a year or two before that cut off point, it is probably in your best interest to leave the dates off the resume.
DO be proud of your age and the associated experience and perspective that you bring to your employers. Although - in most cases - you should not emphasize and draw attention to your age, do recognize that you bring to the workplace a value offering unmatched by your younger competitors in the job market. Your self-assurance and confidence will encounter in your resume and during interviews.
DON'T forget to fill your resume with accomplishments and results that illustrate your personal brand and the unique promise of value that you bring to the workplace. Position yourself for the position. Demonstrate through past accomplishments and value add that you are the perfect candidate for the job. When your resume is filled with accomplishments that illustrate you will deliver a strong return on an employer's investment in hiring you, your age will NOT even be an issue.
DO create a resume that showcases achievements that illustrate the traits most valued in older workers - your credibility, your depth and breadth of experience, your judgment and decision-making abilities, your range of professional contacts, your work ethic and reliability, your emotional stability, and your commitment to company goals. Subtly, in your resume and cover letter, touch on achievements that illustrate a high energy level, strong technical skills, and adaptability to change.
Nationally certified resume writer and career marketing expert, Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career Services LLC.
For better or worse, I have an accomplished 30-year career in banking; from commercial lender to Chief Marketing Officer and all points in between. I say ‘worse’ because once defined as a ‘banker,’ it is difficult to be viewed as anything but. This, in my opinion, is a career-limiter.
I have also been an entrepreneur, with two business ventures undertaken over the years: one in organizational effectiveness consulting and the other in development of a sporting goods product, Golf Score™. Neither was sufficiently financially rewarding to have supported me to leave the banking arena, however.
Personal self-fulfillment has come from community involvement over the years; serving as president of six different organizations, ranging from civic to non-profit, with an emphasis on economic development. Earlier I had received the honor of being named Man of the Year and County Citizen of the Year.
My experience includes being the catalyst for creating new things: starting up a program to help less fortunate children to receive a Christmas gift (a 16 year endeavor of love), to creating and producing a premier business conference (in its sixth year, it is the largest, most successful regional event of its kind). In between, I created a national model of ‘Area Manager’ for a national bank that is still in existence today (some 17 years later). I also initiated the role Chief Marketing Officer for a smaller community bank, building the department from the ground up.
My professional and personal track record has been to overcome challenge, facing it squarely and, more often than not, succeeding in a significant way. Having inherited four ‘turnaround’ assignments in my career, I can proudly point to sweeping successes in each instance.
Creativity is what inspires me. Being a challenge player is what drives me.
And so, how do I find myself in this situation? Unemployed for seven months? Unbelievable.