Why It's OK to Say How Old You Are
Older job seekers think omitting details that show their ages on
their resumes will help them win more interviews. But will it?
Employers, recruiters and some successful older candidates say no.
Experience is the real reason candidates are selected for interviews, they say,
and tactics such as not citing diploma dates sometimes create problems.
As a job seeker two years ago, David Russo, chief people officer
for Peopleclick Inc., a Raleigh, N.C., recruitment-software and consulting
firm, made no secret of his age when he interviewed for his current position at
age 60. Mr. Russo had retired in 1999 after 19 years as head of human resources
for SAS Institute Inc. and was consulting when he applied for the Peopleclick
role. His graduation dates are on his resume, he says.
His age wasn't an issue, says Mr. Russo, now 62 and glad to be
working. "I thought I had a lot of juice left to help an
organization," he says.
But some older job seekers think it's best to leave off resume
information that will "date" them. Tim Hickey, 56, is seeking a
senior marketing role near his home in
"Pretty much everything you read is that there's no reason to
hammer anyone over the head with your age," says Mr. Hickey, adding that
his resume probably makes him seem to be in his mid-40s.
Recruiters don't like diploma dates being omitted, says David
Hardie, a managing partner with search firm Herbert Mines Associates in
As a hiring manager, Mr. Russo says he isn't concerned about
whether information that dates a job seeker appears on a resume. "It has
no importance," he says. "I want skill sets and contributions."
Job seekers who lack confidence in their skills and experience are
most likely to leave off diploma dates, says Deborah Wile Dib, an executive
coach in
On the other hand, older executives who present rock-solid reasons
why employers need them never fret about their ages being an issue, she says.
If you're worried your age might keep you from getting hired, put
more thought and effort into identifying reasons why you would be valuable to a
future employer, Ms. Dib suggests. With plenty of accomplishments to cite, your
age will become a nonissue.
Most older candidates have more valuable experience and knowledge
to put on their resumes than they realize, she says. "They have a lifetime
of institutional memory, experience with market cycles and so forth, and that's
irreplaceable experience," Ms. Dib says. "Their resumes don't say
that."
Job hunters who feel the need to trim the length of their resumes
could list their most recent 20 years of experience and then summarize
early jobs in a statement at the end of their experience section, says
Louise Kursmark, president of Best Impression Resumes in Cincinnati. Use a
heading such as "Early Career," above a statement such as
"Progressive sales, marketing and management roles at XYZ Co., culminating
with Division Marketing Manager position," she suggests.
If you decide to omit graduation dates on your resume, be prepared
to answer a question about it when you first talk with an interviewer, Ms.
Kursmark adds. "Any time you have a strategy to hide something on a
resume, such as a work gap or graduation dates, you need to prepare yourself to
deal with it when it comes up," she says.
-- Ms. Capell is a senior correspondent for
CareerJournal.com.
Email your comments to perri.capell@wsj.com.
Article from
CareerJournal.com October 2006