Older job seekers fear interviews in which their age cannot be hidden and in which an initial response of consternation on the interviewer’s face, quickly hidden, confirms their anticipation of discrimination. The mature job seeker often prefers the anonymity of mailed resumes, email inquiries, Internet applications, and telephone contacts.
Interviews, however, are the goal of everyone who wants to work. There is so much pre-screening and screening before an interview is granted that simply going this far in the process provides at least some expectation that an offer will be made. It is when the interviews are not conducted that a real concern is needed. Ask yourself if you may be inadvertently activating detection filters with the documentation you submit.
Review the following three “red flags” and identify if your own presentation could be out of date and unnecessarily sabotaging your employment campaign.
1. Old educational data.
You may have earned a degree or completed a vocational course many years ago. While you obviously cannot change the year of your graduation, you can focus on detailing other more recently received training. Any class, workshop, or seminar you have attended in recent years, even something in progress, identifies you as an individual who continues to learn and grow, someone aware of recent developments and open to new ideas and up-to-date approaches. .
2. Job titles.
A job title is designed to briefly explain your typical duties. Over the years, these titles change even when the tasks and responsibilities remain similar. Review the titles on your resume that may reflect what your position was called at the time, but no longer fit the current business environment. “Secretary”, for example, is now weird. Similar job tasks, flexed for innovations in technology, are now known as “Administrative Assistant,” “Office Manager,” “Office Analyst,” or “Personal Assistant.” Check your local classifieds and focus on titles that seem to involve job tasks you’ve done in the past. Then review your resume and applications and update job titles accordingly.
3. Jargon.
You probably have a resume that lists the duties and responsibilities of each of your previous positions. Reread those descriptions, concentrating on the actual words you have used, especially the verbs (actions). Do those descriptions date you? Some obvious phrases are the old “variety duties” which are now generally referred to as “multitasking” and “assisted” now translates to “customer service”. “Typing speed”, so ubiquitous thirty years ago, is now invariably “keyboard dexterity.” There are many other less obvious areas. One way to approach them is to go to the newspaper or the Internet and review a series of job descriptions in your field. Any unfamiliar words or phrases should be investigated, as they may describe a task that you have previously performed with a different description. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, check with a library, employment agency, or someone in the field. If the new phrase suits you, replace it on your resume and in all future applications. If it’s important enough to be included in the job description, it deserves your attention, and neglecting the required research can ruin your job search efforts.
Your goal is to have a potential employer read your resume and become familiar with the terms you use. It is your responsibility to be adaptable, flexible, and avoid being ostracized due to inappropriate vocabulary. Don’t expect an employer to take the time to find out if you really have the skills you’re looking for. Remember that resumes are used to filter, to reduce the pile of “possible interviews” to a manageable size.
When your resume and written applications have been meticulously age-corrected, practice the same terminology verbally, with a friend, to be ready for a fully updated self-introduction when the interview that will inevitably be scheduled soon arrives.