Top 10 Resume Mistakes by Job Seekers Over 40

By
Amy Adler

Amy Adler

Level: Basic PLUS

Amy L. Adler, Career Search Strategist is the president and founder of Inscribe / Express, a resume and career documentation company. She prepares resumes, cover …

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Writing the word “Resume” at the top of the first page. A job seeker who starts his or her document with the word “resume” fails to understand that the document will likely find its way into an electronic applicant tracking system (ATS), which is the exceptionally large databases that human resources divisions and recruiters use to store resumes. An applicant who makes the mistake of titling their resume “resume” runs the risk of a) being known in the database as Resume No Last Name, rendering her unfindable, and b) utilizing valuable resume real estate that would be better served with a headline that speaks to her value or personal branding.
Including an “objective” rather than a “personal branding statement.” Objectives are passé, as they focus on the candidate’s needs rather than the hiring manager’s requirements. Job seekers over 40 need to remember that until they are offered the position, everything they do or say in the job search process has to focus on solving the hiring manager’s pain, not their own.
Including date of college or university education. We can all subtract 22 from that year and get a sense of the applicant’s vintage. To avoid potential age discrimination, a job candidate should not telegraph her age on the resume.
Not including an e-mail address. Older workers need to have a professional e-mail (not their company’s) for job search purposes. Including an e-mail shows that the candidate is not technology-averse and is available for communication at any time of day.
Using a telephone line that might be answered by young children. When a job hunter, particularly a female, uses a home telephone number that is likely to be answered by children, it indicates to the hiring manager that the candidate might have certain liabilities, for example, insurance requirements or need for impromptu time off. As mobile phones are so prevalent and inexpensive, a job seeker over 40 should maintain mobile phone service, using a professional voice mail recording, that only she or he will be answering.
Writing a resume that is longer than one or two pages. No matter whether a professional has 5 or 25 years’ experience, her resume needs to be no more than two pages, as a) there probably is not enough good resume content to go onto a third page, and b) hiring managers are likely to stop reading after one or two pages, so it’s vital that the candidate present his or her best accomplishments in that space.
Writing about more than 10 years’ worth of job roles. Hiring managers are focusing on what a candidate can do for them today-not what they were expected to do 20 years ago. Professionals over 40 should use resume real estate wisely and hit their most recent position hardest and give a fair amount of attention to about two or three additional prior roles. If the candidate has a critical, relevant element of experience that is older than 10 years, he can include a line or two about it at the end of his professional experience section.
Not including a personalized (vanity) LinkedIn profile link. LinkedIn is the social medium most likely to be utilized by hiring managers and recruiters in the job search process. Candidates over 40 should take advantage of this free service and create a profile that makes a hiring manager want to pick up the phone. With that in mind, someone in the job market must create a vanity URL (available in the profile options) and put that link in the header of his resume.
Writing about only soft skills and not about accomplishments. Soft skills are critical in any job, but would “great team player” be anything but an expectation for a hiring manager’s new employee? Job seekers over 40 must remember that reporting on accomplishments-the successes they’ve demonstrated for each job-is what gets hiring managers’ attention.
Including personal details. A resume is a professional marketing document. Unless there is a compelling, relevant reason to include volunteer work on a resume, a job candidate should leave it out. There is also no need to mention marital status, parental status, or any other personal details on the resume.

I’m Amy L. Adler, MBA, MA, CARW. I am a successful Career Search Strategist who helps job seekers get the right interviews for lucrative jobs. Visit me at http://www.inscribeexpress.com or call me at (801) 810-JOBS.

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