Chances are your résumé exceeded one, single-spaced page sometime during the Reagan administration. Since then, the challenge has been accurately portraying your wealth of experience without overwhelming your audience or receiving the ultimate kiss off: "You're too overqualified for this position!"
ExecuNet, an online career resource designed for seasoned executives, suggests several strategies for revamping your résumé after 50 -- ways to edit, refine and rethink a document that's been around longer than your children, even your wife. In short, whatever skills and perspective your professional experience may promise, it doesn't mean a thing if the average employer can't get past that ubiquitous (and stale) Personal Objective on page one. So, now is the time to rethink your résumé from top to bottom -- summary statement to personal interests -- with a new era in mind.
Devise an 'Age Advantage' Summary Statement
To immediately gain readers' interest, open your résumé with an introductory section that showcases your most exciting accomplishments:
• Focus on three to five major points; don't try to list everything you've ever done and keep sentences short and snappy. Highlight areas where you have demonstrated expertise.
• Avoid clichéd words: "seasoned" is better applied to meatloaf than it is to people. We assume you're "dependable," "reliable" and "conscientious," and certainly wouldn't expect you to tell us if you weren't! "People skills" and "communications skills" are meaningless terms. Does communication refer to sales, arbitrating, giving orders, public speaking, writing reports or managing people? People skills may mean you are very persuasive, congenial and noncontroversial, or it could mean you are an effective supervisor or negotiator. If terms like "detail-oriented," "big-picture thinker," or "results-oriented" really do reflect your style, try to find a more interesting way to say it, as these overused terms don't paint a clear picture of your unique professional identity.
• Choose terms precisely: "comprehensive experience" and "in-depth experience" are excellent terms to describe the background of an older applicant, but they mean two different things. "Comprehensive" implies a wide range of experience in your field. It means you have perspective that would be valuable in positions where strategic, big-picture thinking is important. You identify problems quickly but probably rely on others to do the hands-on work. "In-depth experience" means you have a number of years of experience in one specific area and are probably an expert in the field, so you would do well in tactical situations, rooting out the problem and doing the hands-on work yourself.
• Do not begin your résumé with "24 years experience in..." The number of years you've worked in a particular field is not important in and of itself; it is what you have done in these years that is critical.
• Managers should clearly communicate their defined style of management, the "how" and "why" of their success. Show you know what you are doing!
• Use power words, but be sure they reflect the way you really speak.
• Be ready to support every claim with specific examples. The summary makes bold claims about your skills, and they will be the first things challenged in the interview, providing your first opportunity to show why your age is an advantage.
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