Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Your Resume is Dating You: Stop Writing Like It’s 1999
19 Plays1 month ago
Is your resume sending the wrong message? If you’re over 50 and not getting callbacks, your resume format might be stuck in the 1990s along with big hair and rock ballads. In this video, we break down exactly how to age-proof your resume, beat the bots, and get hired in today's digital job market.
If you have been applying for jobs and hearing absolutely nothing back, you are likely falling into the "Resume Black Hole." The hard truth is that for job seekers over 50, the rules of engagement have completely changed. The resume that got you hired 15 years ago is the exact same document that is getting you rejected today. Why? Because it reads like an autobiography, not a marketing document.
In this episode of the Ageism Survival Guide, we are tackling the biggest obstacle standing between you and your next interview: The Applicant Tracking System (ATS). We explain why your "experience" is actually hurting you if it's not formatted correctly, and how to pivot from a "duties-based" history to an "accomplishments-based" sales pitch.
IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL LEARN:
1. How to Beat the ATS resume scanners:
Did you know that 75% of resumes are rejected before a human ever sees them? We reveal how ATS optimization works and why fancy templates, columns, and graphics are destroying your chances. You will learn the specific file formats and layout tricks that ensure your resume actually reaches a recruiter's desk.
2. The "15-Year Rule" for Work History:
One of the most common mistakes in a job search over 50 is listing every job you have ever held since college. We discuss the strategy of limiting your history to the last 12-15 years to maintain relevance and reduce age bias.
3. Removing the "Date Stamps" from Your Education:
Ageism is real, but you don't have to hand them the ammunition. We show you ethical ways to remove graduation dates and outdated certifications that unintentionally signal your age.
4. Transforming Duties into Accomplishments:
Employers today don't care what you were "responsible for"—they want to know what you achieved. We provide concrete examples of how to rewrite your bullet points to focus on metrics, revenue, and efficiency.
5. Modernizing Your Summary:
The "Objective Statement" is dead. We replace it with a powerful Professional Summary that acts as your elevator pitch, packed with the right keywords to rank higher in recruiter searches.
WHY THIS MATTERS NOW:
Ageism in hiring is a pervasive issue, but often we inadvertently make it easier for employers to bias against us by using outdated norms. By modernizing your approach, you signal adaptability, tech-savviness, and current relevance. This isn't just about changing a font; it's about changing your mindset from "employee" to "solution provider."
Whether you are looking to pivot industries, recover from a layoff, or simply want to stay competitive, this guide is your blueprint to get hired after 50.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY:
You don't have to navigate this journey alone. Connect with other professionals who are rewriting the narrative on aging in the workforce. Share your resume tips, get feedback, and find support in our exclusive Discord server.
👉 Join the Ageism Survival Guide Discord here: https://discord.gg/rrdaq48xJ
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Modern Resumes for Job Seekers Over 50
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to the Ageism Survival Guide, the show where we talk honestly about navigating work, identity, and reinvention after 50. I'm John Steck, and today we're diving into a practical topic that every job seeker over 50 needs to understand. The modern resume and its impact.
Why Old Resumes Fail in Today's Job Market
00:00:21
Speaker
If you haven't updated your resume in 10, 20, or even 30 years, this episode is going to be a game changer. Because the resume you used in the 1990s, or even in the early 2000s, it's simply not going to survive today's hiring systems. And I mean that literally. Many older resumes get rejected before a human even sees them.
00:00:43
Speaker
even if the applicant is actually qualified.
What's Changed in Resume Writing Since the 1990s?
00:00:46
Speaker
When I left the corporate world in 2020, I didn't know any of this, and I learned the hard way until I studied up on the Modern Resume.
00:00:55
Speaker
Today, I'm going to walk you through what's changed in resume writing since the 1990s. Trust me, it's a lot. How to format your resume for the applicant tracking system or the ATS.
00:01:08
Speaker
How to age proof your resume without actually hiding who you are. And the most important resume strategies for getting interviews after 50. If you're watching the video version of this episode, I'll show you my own before and after. My old resume from the early 2000s, an attempt to be fancy with formatting in 2020, and finally, my own modern resume.
00:01:34
Speaker
And I still use this one today for consulting opportunities.
From Autobiography to Marketing Document
00:01:38
Speaker
Let's get into it. But before I forget, i want to make sure that you click subscribe below so that you don't miss any of these important how-tos for workers in their fifty s and sixty s
00:01:54
Speaker
Let's start with section one. What's changed since the 1990s? A lot I already said. Let's start with the big picture. The resume, it used to be a career autobiography. You listed every job you ever had, every responsibility you ever had, and every tool you ever touched. You wrote about your job roles in long paragraphs, and you possibly had three, even four pages.
00:02:20
Speaker
That was normal. Your LinkedIn probably looks the same, reflecting every aspect of your job description. But today, the resume is a marketing document.
00:02:32
Speaker
It's not about your entire career. It's about the value that you can deliver right now to a company that has a specific problem that you can address.
00:02:43
Speaker
And here's the biggest shift.
The Role of ATS in Resume Filtering
00:02:44
Speaker
Most resumes, they're never seen by a human being. That's right. You can submit a hundred applications on a job board and perhaps a a small handful will have a human being looking at them. Instead, they're scanned by an applicant tracking system, an ATS, which filters out candidates before a recruiter even opens the file.
00:03:07
Speaker
And this can even happen to applicants who are actually qualified, but who have poorly constructed resumes. I was in that boat in 2020, I'm i'm sure In the 1990s, a recruiter sat at a desk with a stack of paper. Today, an algorithm decides whether you move forward in the process.
00:03:27
Speaker
That means that your resume, it needs to be keyword rich with words taken directly from the job description. It's got to be machine readable for the ATS.
00:03:38
Speaker
It needs to be minimalist for both the the ATS and for a fast scanning human. it It needs to be focused on accomplishments, not responsibilities. And lastly, it's got to be custom tailored for each and every application.
Transforming Resumes for ATS Success
00:03:55
Speaker
If you're watching the video version today, I'm going to put my oldest resume on the screen now. It's from 2010 because I must have thrown out my floppy disks from the nineteen ninety s Look at this thing. It's a wall of text, big paragraphs. It has my full address. it has jobs from the early 90s. It's basically a historical document.
00:04:16
Speaker
But I do have to admit, I was already putting in accomplishments, not only responsibilities. Then look at how I went astray. I was given a format by a friend who was in a more creative field. So I threw out my old 1990s format and I tried this new one in early 2020.
00:04:36
Speaker
It looked beautiful and creative, but wow, was it even worse from a modern perspective. The ATS couldn't read across the columns. The full mailing address was still in there and the columns ended up soaking up valuable space from entering more accomplishments.
00:04:52
Speaker
It was a disaster. And I didn't even know it at that moment. That's when an experienced recruiter from one of my former employers saved me.
00:05:04
Speaker
Thank you, dawn After chiding me for my terrible resume, she sent me a modern ATS readable format. She taught me about accomplishments versus experience. She coached me on the skills listing and on keywords. And she helped me pare it down to the essential time frame, not a full history of my adult employment.
00:05:26
Speaker
Now, compare that creative disaster to my modern resume. Clean, simple, one column, a strong professional summary, a skills section, accomplishment-driven bullet points, no paragraphs, no dates that reveal my age, and it's optimized for ATS scanning.
00:05:47
Speaker
This is the transformation we're aiming for today. It's a learning process, and and my own resume today is probably not perfect. Now for section two, modern formatting essentials and what the heck is an ATS?
Understanding and Optimizing for ATS
00:06:03
Speaker
Before we talk about formatting, we need to define something that many job seekers over 50 may have never heard of, or they heard of it but don't fully understand. What the heck is an ATS?
00:06:16
Speaker
Well, ATS stands for an applicant tracking system. It's software that employers and recruiters use to collect resumes from job boards. They organize applicants in their database. They automatically filter candidates.
00:06:30
Speaker
We don't like that part. um They so search for keywords, the ones that I'll talk about shortly. And they rank resumes based on relevance to the role being advertised.
00:06:42
Speaker
Think of it as a a giant you know digital filing system combined with a search engine. When you apply for a job online, your resume doesn't go to a person. It goes to the ATS database. the recruiter then just types in keywords like project management or customer service or CRM tools or budgeting or leadership.
00:07:05
Speaker
And the ATS then pulls up resumes that contain those exact terms for the job or jobs that the recruiter is currently filling. If your resume doesn't match the keywords, the system may never show your application to a human being.
00:07:22
Speaker
That's why ATS-friendly formatting and keyword optimization are essential for older workers. Now, let's talk about formatting because this is where most older resumes, they they just fall apart.
00:07:38
Speaker
Let's start with what's out. No more text boxes, no tables, no multiple columns. Remember my disaster?
00:07:49
Speaker
Graphics and icons, no more. Fancy fonts, nope. Headers and footers, no. Objective statements? Not anymore. And no more full mailing addresses. These elements, they confuse the ATS systems. They they break the the parsing process and they make your resume basically unreadable to the software.
00:08:11
Speaker
And if the software can't read it, well, no human being ever will. Now let's cover what's in a clean single column layout.
00:08:23
Speaker
standard fonts like Calibri or Arial, clear section headings, simple bullet points, a short keyword rich professional summary. a skills section whose keywords match the job description, and a link to your LinkedIn profile is in there too.
00:08:43
Speaker
Think of your resume like a modern website. It's clean, it's simple, it's mobile-friendly, and easy to scan. Nothing fancy, just pragmatic.
00:08:54
Speaker
If you're watching the video version today, I'll zoom in on the formatting differences between my old resume and my new one. You'll see how much easier the the modern version on the right is to read. No more paragraphs, only bullet points with accomplishments.
00:09:12
Speaker
Let's move on to Section 3, ATS Optimization. How to get past that algorithm. Now that you know what an ATS is, let's talk about how to how to beat it, or rather how to work with it. You know, if you know how the machine works, you'll need to think like the machine, or in the Immortal words from Caddyshack, be the ball.
00:09:37
Speaker
ATS software, it will scan your resume for keywords and job titles, skills, certifications, and relevant experience. If your resume doesn't match the job description along any of those factors, the system simply filters you out and no human will ever see your resume.
00:09:59
Speaker
So here's how to optimize for the ATS. First, use keywords directly from the job posting. Pick out the ones that are important to the role.
00:10:12
Speaker
If the job says project management, use project management. If it says CRM tools, use CRM tools, assuming, of course, that you have the skills they reference.
00:10:24
Speaker
Second, use standard section titles so that the ATS isn't confused. summary and skills and experience and education and certifications. Third, spell out acronyms at least once.
00:10:39
Speaker
CRM, Customer Relationship Management. Fourth, save your resume as.docx. All ATS can read this. PDF is okay, but only if the poster says that PDF is okay. Because if the ATS can't read it, you may never know that.
00:10:58
Speaker
And your application could be a complete waste of time. Fifth, avoid anything decorative. ATS systems, they can't read icons or graphics or text inside of shapes. So just stick to simple black and white text. Boring but effective.
00:11:15
Speaker
Sixth, use modern job titles when appropriate. If your title was Personnel Manager in the 90s, update it to HR Manager. But it's 2026 now, so you shouldn't have any titles going back to the 90s anyway.
00:11:29
Speaker
More on that later. Finally, let's test that new resume of yours. When ATSs score your resume, they'll assign a number between 1 and 100. The higher the better.
00:11:40
Speaker
And 80 is generally the minimum that gets your resume accepted and potentially shared with a human. There are some online resources that offer you a free scoring test of your new resume.
00:11:53
Speaker
I don't have a business relationship with this one, but I've personally used it in the past, about six years ago. It's called ResumeWorded.com. They'll allow you a few test scans of your resume just to optimize your scoring, see where you stand.
00:12:08
Speaker
I'll put the link below in the notes. Look, ATS optimization, it's it's not cheating. It's simply Speaking the language of the software that screens your resume.
00:12:22
Speaker
If you don't speak the machine's language, your application and your resume will simply be lost in translation and in cyberspace, never reaching human hands.
00:12:34
Speaker
Next in Section 4, let's talk about age concealment strategies that are both ethical and effective.
Addressing Age Bias in Resumes
00:12:41
Speaker
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Age bias. That's why I created this channel in the first place. So what do we do about it during the application process?
00:12:51
Speaker
Well, you don't need to lie about your age. In fact, well, you shouldn't lie. You just need to stop volunteering information that that triggers bias.
00:13:03
Speaker
Here are some tips to age proof your resume. First, remove graduation dates. If your degree is older than 15 to 20 years, the the date is irrelevant.
00:13:14
Speaker
Just list the school on the degree. Second, limit your work history to the last 12 to 15 years maximum. That means 2011 and based on today's date should be the first thing that shows up.
00:13:27
Speaker
This is standard practice for everybody, not only older workers. Three, create an additional experience section. Here you can list early career roles or notable relevant accomplishments without dates. It probably goes after your job roles, but before your education listing.
00:13:46
Speaker
Fourth, update any outdated job titles. Use the modern equivalent. For example, like I said, it used to be personnel, then it became human resources, and now it seems to be people.
00:13:58
Speaker
I guess it depends on the company. Five, Remove outdated skills. If it timestamps, you delete it. Things like fax machines, lotus notes, word perfect, out.
00:14:09
Speaker
Slide rules? Banished. If you're working on AI or other tech skills, those should be the ones that are in there. Six, use a modern email address like Gmail or or Outlook.
00:14:23
Speaker
I hate to tell you this, but AOL Hotmail Yahoo and Comcast, these scream older candidates and they're going to immediately trigger age bias.
00:14:33
Speaker
Really. Seven, avoid age revealing language. Don't put in there 30 years of experience or or seasoned professional or veteran leader.
00:14:45
Speaker
No, instead, focus on your value, your impact and your results. These should line up exactly with what the employer is looking for in the job description. They're looking for someone that that will solve a key set of issues. Describe yourself as that person.
00:15:02
Speaker
Next up is Section 5. What do today's resumes actually emphasize? the The modern resume, it's all about accomplishments. So in the old style, responsible for managing a team of 10.
00:15:20
Speaker
in the modern style, led a team of 10 to increase customer retention by 18%. See the difference? it's It's subtle, but it's really important because one is a job description and the other is a business result.
00:15:35
Speaker
It demonstrates that you can accomplish something. It then follows, of course, that modern resumes, they emphasize accomplishments. What did you do?
00:15:47
Speaker
Metrics. Put some numbers in to share the context. The impact. What did you bring the company? Skills. Keep them modern and relevant to the job.
00:15:57
Speaker
And keywords. You need to nail these. They gotta come directly from the job description. Then modern terminology. Don't use outdated terms.
00:16:09
Speaker
Adaptability. Demonstrate your ability to handle change like we covered in the last video, which I'll tag here. And technology comfort. Show that you have an understanding of modern tech tools.
00:16:24
Speaker
Finally, your resume should answer one question.
Highlighting Accomplishments Over Responsibilities
00:16:29
Speaker
What can you deliver today to an employer who has a specific need? Now,
00:16:36
Speaker
Let's cover Section 6, tips to increase interview chances after 50.
Strategies for Job Seekers Over 50 to Increase Interview Chances
00:16:42
Speaker
Let's wrap up with the most important strategies for older job seekers. These are the important make it or break it steps you'll need to nail.
00:16:51
Speaker
First, tailor every resume to each job application. Every single one. Generic resumes, they rarely pass ATS filters. You can have one that you use as a base, but each one to each company needs to be unique to that application because the keywords are unique to each job.
00:17:12
Speaker
Two, show adaptability. Highlight new tools, certifications, remote work experience, and digital skills that you've acquired. Show that you can continue to learn and grow. But don't overdo it. Don't list everything you've done in the last couple of years. Just keep it relevant.
00:17:31
Speaker
3. Keep it concise. One page is ideal. Two pages, okay. But remember, it's not a catalog of your entire adult career. It's an advertisement to the employer that you are the person that can solve the problem that they have. 4. Modernize your language.
00:17:49
Speaker
Use current industry terminology. Don't dig out old terms. For example, the words, dial up internet, they are fully banned from your vocabulary. Fifth, strengthen your LinkedIn profile.
00:18:04
Speaker
Recruiters, they will cross-check your resume with your profile. There will be a completely separate episode that I'll dedicate to diving into LinkedIn and bringing that to your full advantage.
00:18:16
Speaker
Sixth, focus on value, not tenure. You're not selling your age, you're you're selling your impact. Through the keywords, be sure to tell them why you are the right person to solve their need.
00:18:29
Speaker
I hope this has all been clear and sets you up for creating a ah killer resume. Try it on your own at first, but if you feel uncomfortable, of course you can always hire a professional service to do it. Just bear in mind that can be pricey.
00:18:45
Speaker
Let's wrap it up.
Conclusion: Starting Smarter, Not Over
00:18:47
Speaker
Your resume It's not a lifetime biography. It's a strategic, age-neutral, keyword-optimized marketing tool that's designed to get you past the algorithm and into the interview room.
00:19:00
Speaker
If you're watching the the video version today, I'll again leave both resumes on screen one more time so you can compare the disastrous old with the new.
00:19:11
Speaker
I mean, just look at that poorly formatted horror show on the left and in the middle. You've got to avoid those and and get your resume right. Thanks for joining me today on the Ageism Survival Guide.
00:19:26
Speaker
If this episode helped you, please share it with someone else that you know that is navigating the job search after 50. And remember, you're not starting over.
00:19:37
Speaker
You're starting smarter. You can also join the conversation or ask questions or share about your resume on the Discord app. The link for that can be found in the notes down below.
00:19:50
Speaker
As I always say, youth runs fast, but age. We know the terrain. See you next time.