50+ job hunters - any success with new format resume?
 

not sure employers like anything other than the strict chronological format. I feel like my last writer pigeon holed me into hunting for what I was doing last, and by eliminating too many previous accomplishments, handicap my search for a new (related) career

Just submit an application and a short cover letter. I'm not sure resumes help much after 50, as age dominates their selection criteria in most fields. When the prospective employer reads a long winded experience summary, he knows the person is likely older and washed out.

Join the club. :)

I list specific skills before listing work history (Sales Management, Technical skills, Marketing skills, Product Management). This seems to work well.

Instead of an employment objective, use a "summary of qualifications". I keep my list of things I've accomplished
in "bullet point" format. It seemed work, the last time I had to "go on the hunt", but that was 16 years ago. At this point,
my objective is to retire. I will have no problems at all, getting used to retired life. Don't forget, the purpose of the
resumé is to get them interested enough to grant you an interview.

You are correct, sir! I agree, it is likely that a resumé may not help after age 50. My own employer is all over 20-somethings these days. They know their computer stuff. Who cares if they can't write cursive?

What do you mean by "new format resume"?

I'm a hiring manager and see dozens of resumes every week, of candidates of all ages - and I'm not aware of any new format..?

I'd like it if you could share what you think works best, most often.

At the library, we have to help people with their CVs all the time--every hour it seems. While we hear from people who got the job, we don't hear from the other side of the table.

We lean towards the Summary of Qualifications with them listed as bullet points, followed by a Just the Facts Ma'am chronological listing.

We also advise older workers to limit this to the past 10 or 15 years max. Not only does a longer chrono list mark you as an older worker, that experience you're so proud of from decades ago probably isn't valid in today's workplace. Best to save it for the interview.

Advice that's seldom taken, is to tailor your CV to each job you apply for. Sure it's more work. But you're willing to work, right? Otherwise you'd be signing up for DSS instead, right? I've done this for every job I've landed successfully. The custom-tailored CV makes me look like the custom-tailored applicant.

To the OP: The benefit of the Summary of Qualifications method is that you get to put at the top what you think is most important for this postion, regardless of where or when you gained the experience that makes you qualified. Then it doesn't matter if it was two or three jobs ago, it's right at the top the CV.

I think their issues go a bit beyond the inability to write cursive. It's a little more basic than that. ;)

I would agree that putting your qualifications at the top is probably the most efficient way to go about things.


It would probably be against the law, but I've had the desire/dream to go work for a startup created and staffed by nothing but 50+ers. That would be, like OMG, the most totally awesome place to work, ya know?!?

before I hired a writer I had bullets at the top with qualifications and then the listing of jobs over the years.

my new resume is more of a story / description and less of the old fashioned listing in chronological order showing dates. meaning: since I'm older and my last job lasted about 10 years, the theory is don't show any other work experience but work those experiences it into the story.

Ah. Narrative style.

The problem is presenting technical material in a narrative style. You need a technical writer, not a storyteller. Technical writing is an entirely different discipline. The bulleted Summary of Qualifications is just one example of technical writing.

The other problem is that it runs counter to the Just the Facts Ma'am way that (we're told) hiring managers read a CV. On the first cut, they scan for things that match their requirements to decide in or out. The first rule of writing is write to your audience and their expectations. Make it easy for them to decide "in".

The narrative style is fine for the cover letter. I'm not so sure it works for the CV itself.

That said, what the narrative *can* do is bring out the "soft" sides of the applicant. More and more, employers look for these things in new hires.

Our library looks to this almost exclusively. Given our budget, we can afford only to hire fresh MLS grads--baby librarians. Their qualifications are so similar that they're nearly identical. What sets the applicants apart is personality. This comes out both in the narrative, and in a CV section I call "Other (Specify)".

One recent hire who has worked out marvelously listed that she owns and performs in a local comedy improv troupe. That one line told us that she thinks on her feet, is sensitive to others and how they think, works well in a team, and has some management and financial skills. In our line of work, anyone can do a search on the computer, and order bestsellers. It's the people skills that count. We're excited over a new hire that starts next week. She's a actress in local amateur theater.

Those things may be less important in your line of work, whatever it is, but everyone wants a new hire who can get along with everyone else.

ah ... thanks for sharing that perspective. I have taken acting classes but I don't own an improve troupe ... maybe I should at least get on stage and slap that promo in the cover letter ...

In my experience as a hiring manager, this is the key piece of advice, not just for a CV, but for a cover letter too. Do some homework about the place you are applying for and say what you like about them and why you would be a good fit.

And remember, it's not about "why do I want this job," whether it's in writing or in an interview. The question you have to answer is "why am I the person you want for this job." I can't tell you how many people I have interviewed or seen applications for where they say "I want to work for you because I need experience in the sort of work you do" rather than "I want to work for you because I'm absolutely awesome at the stuff you do."

(Ask not what this job can do for me, tell what I can do for this job.)

~ Boudicca, wow, good stuff:

"say what you like about them and why you would be a good fit"
"why am I the person you want for this job"
"I want to work for you because I'm absolutely awesome at the stuff you do"

I just spent an hour applying for a great job. I think I covered these things, but if I read this post just before writing my letter/application I may have stressed these points more directly.

THANK YOU

I'm at the beginning of a job search now. I'm due to start some resume counseling as of Friday - we'll see what comes of it.

I'm usually looking for fairly senior positions, or technical positions in task areas that benefit from diversity of engineering experience with depth. I generally find leads based on contacts and networking, rather than cold resume distribution. I feel I should show my experience in this situation.

question for the hiring managers here, any advice on answering the question: "reason for leaving?" this in variably comes up on forms and in interviews.

Depends why you left, of course. If you were sacked for gross incompetence, or dismissed after being caught with your hands in petty cash, there's not that much you can say. :)

Greener pastures. I saw that once on an application and I've used it myself a couple of times.

Fortunately, I am not job seeking. But, I read where HR folks search the internet for your posts, etc. Do they ask for screen names? Can they search based on IP address? Other??

I'm 60-something, and I can't write decent cursive, either. I guess that makes me relevant. :)

Seriously, I always struggled with handwriting and abandoned standard cursive (which favors right-handers) for semi-connected printing as soon as I was allowed to. Even better, my 5th and 6th grade teacher insisted everyone learn to touch type (which by design favors left-handers), making him way ahead of his time in 1960. Hearing my paternal grandmother, a retired school librarian and seasoned traveler who wrote long letters to her many friends around the world, clatter away at 90 WPM gave me additional incentive.

My resume format:

2-line teaser: quick summary of who I am and what I seek

Expertise -- bullets

Tool skills & languages

Major contributions, reverse chrono, dates in parens, but only back to 2000

Patents

Publications

Education (reverse chrono, but college degrees before certificate)

Experience (reverse chrono, no dates before 2000)

I graduated in 2011 with a degree completely unrelated to a job I was interviewing for in 2012. I had no experience in the field, but knew I was able to learn the job. I tweaked both my resume and cover letter to high-light the skills, education, and experience pertinent to the job for which I was applying. Finessing one's resume is key.

As a side note, shortly before I finished school, I attended a job interview seminar. The speaker mentioned that at the end of the interview, the employer usually asks if you have any questions. Have a few ready, and finish with this one: "Is there anything I have said today, or that you have read on my resume, that would make you hesitant to hire me?" His or her answer gives you the last opportunity to clear up any misconceptions or confusion about something that may have caused the employer concern.

When I asked this at my last interview, the interviewer seemed taken back, then he thought about it for a moment, smiled and said, "No!" Now he's my boss. :)

One of the big criticisms of CV versus resume is that the CV is what someone submits when they have no job experience and a resume is what someone submits when they understand business and don't have to rely on embelishing their academic achievements. I write resumes (done so for many years). The narrative-style is an attempt to make up for inexperience.

We see lots of people with education and little experience. They don't perform in the field when hired. We have also found that twenty-somethings tend to look at anyone over 40 as a fossil. The guys like me look at young folks as perpetual job-hoppers.

In the end, it all comes down to business. The new management moto seems to be "somehow we manage" (ineptitude is everywhere).

They don't search forums, per se. They "google" you and candidates who have Facebook pages are the ones that run the highest risk of saying stupid things online that could kill any job opportunities. People need to be aware that using their real names on forums can be a benefit and a curse, depending on affiliations and what they say and do. For me, as a writer, it has always been a blessing.

This is one question that is a two-edged sword. Saying "career advancement" or "opportunity" is probably the best way to handle it, but, that also paints the impression that you might do the say to them-- take a better offer. Unless they feel that they are giving you a genuine career path. Do your research and apply for a career opportunity, not just a "job" and you'll have a better chance of getting just that.

Years ago, when I got laid off, going to job search classes was a requirement for getting UIC, and they really pushed the "functional" resume. I got nowhere with it, and finally a recruiter at a technical placement firm gave me some very straight feedback. He told me that engineering companies (I do CAD design/drafting) DO want to see all the details in chronological order. They don't care about gaps because they know work is cyclical, especially in oil and gas. It was the most useful information I'd gotten, so I immediately dumped the new "functional" resume and went back to the old style.
So, I'd have to say, it really depends on what kind of work you're in. Knowing people in the company you're hoping to work in is still probably the surest way to get a foot in the door.

My son whom is not over 50(thank God) just was hired after a 10 month search.He tried all kinds of resumes,cover letters etc. He knows 2 HR managers and they wrote 2 different style resumes for him.He took a resume class,hired a resume writer.Nothing but an offer in Europe and another between Maryland and Germany.He landed a good job by a recommendation from an employee of a former employer.They keep in touch over the internet. He was dismissed from his last job for refusing a transfer to another state.In NJ one cannot collect unemployment for refusing a transfer.So no one is happier than the bank of dad.Here is the crazy part.He was accepted and given material to learn about the company and product.After 2 days he was told he failed a backround check.He was told to contact the investigating company to see what the problem was.He does so and is informed he has to wait 5 working days for the report.After 4 days the CFO calls and says you start Nov 4.He starts the job and no one ever brought up the backround check.