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Is your resume making you look too old or too young to hiring managers? If so, you might be getting ignored for the best jobs. Age discrimination in the hiring process is illegal, but it still happens every day.

Putting together a resume that is age-proof can be a little bit challenging, but it should not prevent you from receiving job interviews. In today’s competitive job market it is very important to have a resume that does not show your age. The reason for this is that you do not want to put yourself at a disadvantage based on your years in the workforce. Even though choosing someone for a job based on age is illegal, you do not want to give an employer the opportunity to do so.

Here are some ways to take the age out of your resume, and leave them guessing!

Remove Education Dates from Resume

The first step that must be taken to age-proof a resume is to remove all of the education dates from the resume. When you keep education dates on your resume is shows how old you are and how long you have been in the workforce. Do not give an employer any reason to figure out how old you are by leaving your graduation dates on the resume. This also goes for any special training or classes taken following college. Make sure these dates are also removed from your resume. As a rule of thumb, take any date off your resume that occurs prior to the year 2000. Employers want to see what you have done over the past 10-15 years, so keep this in mind the next time you look at your resume.

Be Mindful of the Language you Use

When writing your resume, you must make sure you are mindful of the language used. Try to avoid cliches and other statements such as “35 years of experience in the business world.” Other cliches that should be avoided include “seasoned professional,” “veteran of the industry” and many others. If you can keep these cliches out of your resume, then you will be able to age-proof it.

Update School Names

One way to show your age is to leave the old name of a school on your resume. This tip is fairly simple; update all the school names on your resume. If the school you attended for your undergraduate degree has since changed its name, make sure you do the same on your resume. For example, if your school has changed from a college to a university, make sure you make the change on your resume in the education section. Employers will take note of these mistakes, which is why the changes need to be made as soon as the school names are changed. The longer you wait to update your resume, the more likely it is that you will send an outdated resume to a potential employer.

Having an age-proof resume will help you succeed in the business world and ensure that you are not looked over for a potential job.


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