Aging? 8 Mistakes You Are Making In Your Job Search

Aging in your career?

It happens to everyone and it’s not career ending.

The biggest mistake looking for a job when you’ve been in the workforce for a while is not being current.

It’s a digital workforce now and you must market yourself accordingly.

Here are the mistakes I seen being made:

1. Your Attitude: No one is going to hire me because I’m old. Get over it. If you have the skills the market needs, you will find a job.

2. Stop Answering Every Job Ad You See: Know who you are and what you want. Yes, you could do the job that you did 20 years ago again but no one is going to want you to do that. Applying for jobs below your level makes you seem desperate, lacking in skills and unmotivated.

3. Your Resume Lacks Your History: While age discrimination can happen, leaving off your job history does not hide your age. You don’t need a complete listing of your duties at every job but you should list your job title and company. Listing all your part-time jobs and internships isn’t necessary. When you leave your job history off your resume, it looks like you are hiding something to recruiters.

4. You Don’t Get Social Media: Social media is here to stay and you should know how to market yourself on it. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. can all be helpful in networking and getting your resume out. Learning how to do it is important. It also shows recruiters you are up-to-speed on technologies.

5. Your Resume Isn’t Electronically Ready: Resume formats have changed with the use of applicant tracking systems. You must customize your resume for each ad, emphasize keywords and skills and get rid of headers/footers, columns etc. Remove items like ‘references upon request’ or using ‘http://” before a web address’ as this just ages your resume.

6. Your Email Address Is Dating You: Get a Gmail address using your first and last name. It’s more up-to-date and professional looking.

7. Mention Our Software Skills: If you used specific programs on your job, mention them. Excel and PowerPoint are often included in job descriptions and they should be on your resume. Also, if you’ve used social/digital media at your job, make sure you mention how and what you did.

8. You Need a New Look: Companies have different corporate cultures and you must fit in. Your look for the past 20 years may have suited you in your last job but you need an update now. New outfit, haircut, makeup all help convince hiring managers that you are not stuck in the past.

Age is just a state of mind!

Marie Raperto, The Hiring Hub