Should You Adjust Your Resume to Avoid Age Discrimination?
If you’re a job hunter past the age of 40, it’s probably occurred to you that age discrimination could affect your job search.
- Maybe you’ve seen advice on limiting your resume and LinkedIn work history to 15 years or less.
- Perhaps you’ve wondered if your resume is too long, or “dates” you based on the content.
In 5 Tips for Preventing Age Bias in Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile, you’ll see ageism-ready strategies to help you compete with job seekers at all ages.
However, you may not need to use all of these techniques, depending on your industry and job goals.
What works for a technology innovator, for example, could differ SIGNIFICANTLY from that of a senior-level healthcare executive. There’s no way to prevent employers from finding out your age, but you CAN counteract potential obstacles in your job search with a few simple changes.
Here are the main factors in deciding whether to adjust your resume and LinkedIn strategy for age bias:
Is Your Career in Healthcare or Academia?
In some fields, lengthy career experience is looked on favorably; there’s little to no need to adjust your tactics.
For example, most healthcare executives need not be concerned about disclosing experience from decades ago. It’s common for hospital or healthcare system CEOs, COOs, and Chief Medical Officers to possess lengthy career histories that include research, residencies, published articles, or presentations.
Academia is also an industry in which age bias isn’t a primary area of concern. Academic administrators and other executives often spend many years in administrative, professorship, faculty, instructor, and researcher positions – and employers expect to see these details.
It’s rare to eliminate or remove dates from these types of positions. In addition, healthcare or academic leaders can benefit from a longer resume, or a curriculum vitae (CV), that spans dozens of pages.
Are You Applying in “Fast-Moving,” Innovative Fields?
Technology-related fields are well-known for expecting even senior-level candidates to show agility and familiarity with cutting-edge ideas.
Engineering, AI, cyber security, IT, or software development job descriptions typically mention the type of technology or methodology experience you must have in order to be considered.
In these cases, it’s best to trim your achievements, resume summary, and LinkedIn Profile to focus mainly on these areas of newer expertise. It’s also a good idea to describe earlier career wins in a succinct manner (and remove related dates of employment), rather than providing excess pages of outdated technical jargon that evokes the 1980’s.
Will You Pursue Sales, Operations, Finance, or Similar Roles?
If your career falls into these traditional business support categories, you’ll find other factors that could affect your candidacy as an “older” job seeker.
For instance, CFOs usually serve as a Financial Analyst, Controller, or Director of FP&A earlier in their careers. Unless you’re applying to a company known for innovation, most employers will expect to see the bulk of your experience described in detail, including dates of employment.
Software sales, on the other hand, is usually populated with earlier-career candidates who are eager to display youthful energy and cutting-edge skills. Here, you’ll want to carefully adjust your work achievements, dates of employment, and technical content on your resume to show your competitive spirit and cutting-edge insights.
Operations leadership roles can fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to employer age preferences. Even if your industry is embracing AI or automation, your resume and LinkedIn Profile should describe career moves such as Plant Manager, Supply Chain Analyst, or similar logistical roles prior to pursuing COO positions.
Unsure if You Should Change Your Resume or LinkedIn to Avoid Age Bias?
Try a market test, with early career positions summarized without dates of employment for some job applications. Send out a few resumes with your full job history and details for other roles.
Track your results carefully. Do you see any trends in the responses you gain or the reaction when you attend your interviews? Measure the effectiveness of the techniques you’ve used.
In summary, no single resume tactic can prevent age bias! The idea is to demonstrate proficiency in your chosen field, using keywords, accomplishments, and metrics to back up your value proposition and personal brand.
Lead with your qualifications – NOT your age – and show awareness of your competitive value among other candidates.
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This is where your personality and career story come into play.
How much revenue, growth, profit, or process improvement do you achieve or influence?
Intentional brand building, in which you take purposeful steps to help strengthen and convey your brand, is crucial.
Even if you have decades of experience, employers may NOT have the time to read about it! 
To help make more space on your resume or LinkedIn profile, summarize the high points of your career.
As shown in this healthcare CEO and COO resume, a summary section conveys this candidate’s influence and accomplishments.
You resume must also describe your impact on the important pillars of a healthcare or academic system, such as community engagement or consensus building.
Recruiters and employers have been unimpressed by bland resumes for YEARS.
If you’re pursuing an early career position, some of your accomplishments and career path might look similar to other professionals.
After you’ve documented your value, 
Some bosses may be caught off guard when you bring up your salary, in which case you can ask for some time to meet with them again.
For example, you could negotiate more remote work days by mentioning a high productivity rate… allowing you to confidently predict that you can get MORE work done than your in-office peers.
