6 Resume and Cover Letter Tips for Older Workers - FlexJobs

6 Resume and Cover Letter Tips for Older Workers - FlexJobs6 Resume and Cover Letter Tips for Older Workers -140If youre in your 50s or 60s (or more) and looking for a job, youve probably experienced the frustration that comes along with being a job-searching older professional. Employers perceptions of older workers can be skewed, and its a challenge to overcome the ageism found in most industries. The good news is its possible to thrive in your job search and find employment success, if you follow some guidelines developed specifically for older job seekers.6 Resume and Cover Letter Tips for Older WorkersThis is the first in a four-part series of career advice and tips from experts who help older professionals with their job search. Today, our panel of experts discusses their best tips for crafting your resumes and titelseite letters.1) Say goodbye to the past and embrace the future. First, its important to accept that the job search is different, and that the tactics you once used might not still be in practice. Jennifer Fishberg, owner of New Jersey-based Career Karma Resume Development Career Services, says, Adhering to outdated resume conventions, such as limiting yourself to one page or including vague objectives and phrases like references available upon request make it difficult to compete in the current market.2) Dont include your entire work history. A resume doesnt need to include every job youve ever held leaving off older positions is one easy way to avoid aging yourself, as is omitting dates of college graduation, recommends Fishberg. And Deborah Shane, author of Career Transition 5 Steps to Successful Career Reinvention, says, Lead on your resume with your accomplishments and results and dont go farther back then 10 years when listing your jobs so you dont date yourself.3) Customize your resume and cover letter for each job. Ronald Kaufman, author and expert on career transitions, explains that customizing each resume is absolutely necessary f or job search success. Use a Qualifications Summary at the top of your resume, customizing your experience, skills, and traits that are called for in a specific job description, recommends Kaufman.4) Confront ageism head-on in your cover letter or cover email. One way to get around potential age-related discrimination is to confront it openly in your cover letter. Business marketing expert Barry Maher says that older workers should use some of the letter to stress their positives their energy, how they keep current, the value of their experience. Rather than letting an employer turn your age into a negative, dispel their worries and turn your experience, energy, and value into your biggest positives.5) Get some current experience. If youve been working in the same company or position for several years, your experience might actually be seen as outdated. Update your experience byseeking externships to inquire about new job opportunities or new fields of expertise. This will allow you to learn a new field, introduce your skills and expertise or simply to continue to build new relationships with industry professionals, suggests Nikki Trotter, the founder and principal of Careers Cultures, a career and workforce consultancy.6) Consider volunteering to update your experience. Volunteering helps you meet new people, learn new skills, and get a better sense of the type of work you want to do. Michael Mercer, Ph.D. and author of Job Hunting Made Easy, recommends volunteering in strategic places. Volunteer to work registrations desk at associations and conferences related to the profession or industry in which you want to work. Greet everyone with a big smile. Note which attendees are big-shots company executives, officers, etc. Then, after registration, sit next to those big-shots at speeches or seminars, strike up a conversation about THEM (not about you), and ask if you can contact them to get career advice. They will feel delighted to give you advice and that s hould result in uncovering some job opportunities.Readers, have anything to add to our 6 Resume and Cover Letter Tips for Older Workers? Leave your ideas belowWe hope these tips help you to make-over your job search tactics and find more success Stay tuned for the next three Mondays for more expert career advice onMarch 19 Job Search Tips Where to search, staying positive, and networkingMarch 26 Technology Tips Using LinkedIn, updating computer skills, creating online profiles, and embracing new technologyApril 2 Professional Image Tips Dress, appearance, self-confidence