Conventional Age Job Search 40+ Wisdom Isn't Always So Wise

Much of the conventional job search advice given to age 40+ job seekers isn't so wise ...

This conventional advice is guidance that's regularly given by friends/family/mentors, outplacement, most career coaches/authors, used by certified professional resume writers, high volume resume "mills", and job board resume services. It's the advice you seem to see everywhere, when you search for job search advice.

While these recommendations might sound good, they usually fail when put into practice - Especially when you have more challenging job search issues, like you do when you're 40, 50, or 60+. Instead, most of the time these tips cause you to lose opportunities when you're qualified.

Job seekers use it because they've heard that this is good advice over and over - It's been pounded into your head, so you think "this must work".

Here's an example of advice that is given to most age 40+ job seekers, but almost always fails:

Specific Exclusion: Age 40+ job seekers are regularly given advice to exclude specific information. This typically includes jobs early in their career, dates of those positions, and graduation dates. You've probably been given this wisdom also - Maybe you've been told that it's too early in your career, that employers don't care about it, that it can get you screened out by ATSs (that search for dates prior to a target, as a proxy for age), it's been described as an "ageless resume".

But you don't see why this advice causes you to lose opportunities, because employers use many evaluation methods to catch candidates who hide information.

• Based On False Information: HR leaders don't allow screening based on dates, because it fills their HR databases with evidence of hiring age discrimination.
• "Null Searches" And Human Screening: Some recruiters/HR reps will do what's called a "null search" to screen out resumes that exclude data where it's expected ... like dates. Human screening easily catches candidates hiding dates and early career.
• Sets You Up For Interview Failure: What kind of first impression do you think you make in a face-to-face or video interview, when you've set expectations on your resume that you're younger than you appear (to a stranger, in a stressful situation, on video that adds 10 lbs)? When the first thing an interviewer sees is that you've deceived them to get an interview, how can you possibly build any sort of trust? Employers don't hire candidates they don't trust.

Wouldn't you rather learn how to portray your age as your best asset? Wouldn't that make you a more confident candidate, interview better, feel better about your job search?

Wouldn't you sleep better at night by making your age an asset, rather than deceiving hiring managers about your age and hoping they don't notice ... but knowing they usually will notice?

I can show you far more effective age 40+ job search strategies than functional resumes or hiding your age during my next Resume Webinar.

During my next free Resume Webinar, Beating Job Search Ageism, I'll show you different resume/interview/job search strategies that will help you sell yourself more effectively. I'll teach you how to make age your superpower and employers will clearly see that you're worth higher compensation than younger candidates. No matter what your compensation requirements, I'll show you how to prove to employers that you're a steal, compared to the impact you can deliver.

When we're done with that, I'll teach you other ways to overcome age bias, so you can accelerate your job search so much, you can find your next job faster, easier and more successfully in 2025 when you're 40/50/60+.

Join me Thursday morning 2/27/25 at 11:00am ET/8:00am PT or Friday morning 2/28/25 at 11:00am ET/8:00am PT for my free Resume Webinar - Beating Job Search Ageism (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/Registration at no charge) to learn how to overcome job search ageism and find your next job faster in 2025.

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