Baby
Boomers, Beware! Don’t Let Your Resume
Date You!
If
you’re a job seeker of the Baby Boom generation, you may be feeling a little
left out by the job market. You’re
certainly not ready to retire, but the young recruiters you send resumes to don’t
seem to respond to your skills and experience.
If you’re feeling symptoms of age discrimination, you should know that
your resume could be the culprit, categorizing you as out of date and over the
hill.
There
are three ways your resume can put you in the over the hill category. Your resume is due for an update if it
contains:
1. Outdated
technology skills
2. Outdated
industry or occupational terminology
3. Outdated
resume trends
Don’t
despair if your resume is out of date.
You can perform an extreme resume makeover by using the tips below.
1. Make
sure you are up to date on your industry’s technology.
Check
multiple job descriptions within your industry to see what technologies
employers really want. Determine which
technologies are missing from your resume.
Then decide what you need to learn or do in order to fill that
technology gap. Consider adult
education classes, college classes, or even online learning.
You
should be aware that technology terms are often used as keywords to filter the
best resumes from electronic databases.
If your resume doesn’t have them, it may never be seen. Make sure your technology skills aren’t
leaving you behind.
2. Make
sure your resume is using current terminology.
If you have just been
adding to the same old resume over the years, then your early entries may be
using outdated terms. One way to bring
your resume up to date is through publications from your industry’s
professional associations. If you don’t
belong to any professional associations, you might be missing out on the latest
industry-speak.
Another good resource
is job descriptions. Search job
descriptions in your field for recurring terms. Learn to use the current terminology for your industry correctly
and effectively.
3. Make
sure your resume reflects today’s trends in resume format and style.
Ten or fifteen years ago, the
old-fashioned reverse-chronological format may have worked for you. But now that you have more experience, it
may not be the best choice. The more
advanced hybrid format may be much better at promoting your skills and
expertise, providing you with a more professional presentation. With the hybrid resume, potential employers
will form an impression of you based on your best accomplishments, not just
your most recent job description.
You should also
realize that some of the old resume rules just don’t apply any more. For example:
·
·
“Limit your resume to one page.” This is a really old idea that limits your
ability to show all of your skills and expertise.
·
·
“End your resume with References
Available Upon Request.” You don’t need to say that; it’s assumed.
·
·
“You should show every job you have
ever held and give each equal importance.”
Your employment history should only go back as far as it related to your
current employment objectives. Think of
your resume as a marketing piece that highlights the best parts rather than as
a tell-all.
·
·
“Your resume should go back no more
than ten years.” Don’t use an
arbitrary number to determine how much to include on your resume. Use the rule of relevancy to decide how many
of your jobs to include.
·
·
“One resume should handle everything.” Not anymore! In addition to tailoring your resume to different fields or
industries, you’ll also need to tailor the way that you save it.
You’ll want to
have (1) a standard Word format (for printouts and as email attachments), and
(2) a Plain Text version for online forms.
This will save you a lot of time in repairing lost formatting, which
often occurs when cutting and pasting a Word document into a text-only form.
Let
your experience work for you rather than against you. Using these tips to update your resume can make a noticeable
difference in interest from employers.
And your new resume will be a better reflection of your hard-earned
skills, talents, and expertise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deborah
Walker, CCMC
Resume
Writer ~ Career Coach
To
see resume samples and read more job-search tips visit www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email:
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~