Dealing with Age in Resumes and Interviewing

I work with a lot of clients who are in the 50-plus sector.  Currently, I am working with a client who is 63 years of age and has more than four decades of work experience. Although it is illegal for employers to discriminate based on age, race, religion, or gender, it still happens indiscriminately.

For resumes, I generally recommend listing only about 10-12 years experience for mid-level, senior level / directorial management, and VP level positions.  While showing about 15 years is appropriate for C-level positions.  Listing more than is required for the job to which you are applying will put an “age” on you, which can open you up to age discrimination and being labeled as overqualified.  Both of which can eliminate you from the candidate pool rather quickly.

The purpose of your resume is

Salary History and Salary Requirements

A client recently asked me about including salary requirements in their cover letter.  First of all, do not include this information unless it is specifically requested in the job ad/listing.  I found a great article on About.com that covers the basics of dealing with salary issues in your cover letter that I recommend you read.  Click HERE to be redirected to that article.

Ramsey Penegar is an executive resume consultant and is certified as a professional resume writer by the Professional Association of Resume Writers. She has developed more than 575 resumes for executives all over the United States and for international clients as well. With more than 10 years experience in marketing and sales, she has the skills to build effective job search marketing campaigns and attention-getting resumes.