Resumes for Older Workers:

New Rules, New Tools

AARP Education & Outreach

March 30, 2011

What We’ll Cover in

This Webinar

What’s new in resume-writing

Resume formats

Issues for older workers

Changes in job search techniques

Searching online

Using social media

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How to Ask Questions

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How to Download the

Slides and Handouts

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Your Presenters

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Deborah Russell Susan Ireland Susan Joyce

Refresh Your Resume

to Succeed in Today’s

Job Market

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©Susan Ireland

Susan Ireland

You Need Two

Resume Versions

The “Magnet” Resume

and

The “Grabber” Resume

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The “Magnet” Resume

Markets you for ALL jobs you would accept

Post online for recruiters to search and find you

Includes skills and keywords for ALL jobs you

want

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©Susan Ireland

The “Grabber” Resume

Markets you for a specific job or type of work

Sent or posted for specific job

Targeted for each job you apply for

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©Susan Ireland

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When to Use:

Magnet Resume

Use for online profiles (e.g., LinkedIn)

Post to job boards (e.g., Monster, Careerbuilder)

Hand out at career fairs

Grabber Resume

Email or snail-mail to an employer

Post on company website for specific job

©Susan Ireland

Which Comes First:

Magnet or Grabber Resume?

Step 1: Write your magnet resume

Step 2: Create grabber resume by customizing your

magnet resume for specific job or type of work

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©Susan Ireland

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Step 1: Write Magnet Resume

Make a list of ALL things you’re willing to do:

• Skills and responsibilities

• Incorporate throughout magnet resume

Concise headline

• Professional title

• Line of work

Broad Summary

• Highlight breadth of experience

©Susan Ireland

Magnet

Resume

Sample

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Step 2: Create Grabber Resume

Target your job objective

• Keywords from job post

• Delete irrelevant items

Job objective

• Job objective statement

• Professional title

Tailor your Summary

• Only what’s relevant to job objective

©Susan Ireland

Grabber

Resume

Sample

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Resume Format

Use chronological format

Add skill headings if needed

Good for magnet and grabber resumes

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©Susan Ireland

Chronological Format

Remain in

same field

Vertical career

move

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©Susan Ireland

Chronological Format

with Skill Headings

Career change

Long time at

same job

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©Susan Ireland

Where to Download Free

Resume Templates

Chronological template

For staying in same field

Chronological with Skill Headings template (aka

Combination)

For making a career change

www.susanireland.com/aarp

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©Susan Ireland

Translate Experience

for Career Change

Job objective statement

Format: Chronological with skill headings

Highlight transferable skills

Incorporate new keywords

Special skills section

Relevant education/training

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©Susan Ireland

Use Dates Wisely

21©Susan Ireland

Dates tell:

Your possible age

How much experience you have

How relevant you are

For Many Jobs

Older Is Better

Senior management

Teaching

Financial services

Business consultants

Social services

Find 50+ friendly employers:

www.aarp.org/employerteam

22©Susan Ireland

Rules of Thumb

Employers expect only 10 or 15 years of experience on

your resume

Earliest date – no more than 25 years ago

Dates under education are optional

23©Susan Ireland

Early Relevant Experience

Add “Additional Experience” section with no

dates

Example:

2008-pres. Graphic Artist, Riley's Printing, Oakland, CA

2005-2008 Sales Associate, High Records, Berkeley, CA

Additional experience: Package Designer, Grabbit, Inc.

24©Susan Ireland

Conceal Employment Gaps

List only years, not months

2009-pres. Manager Joe’s Burgers, New York, NY

2006-09 Manager Taco Bell, Woodmount, NY

List unpaid "job titles" that are relevant to job objective

(volunteering, personal projects, professional development)

2007-09 Classroom Assistant, Brio High School, Brio, NV

25©Susan Ireland

"Job Titles" That Show

Good Character

Student

Independent Study

Full-time Parent

Family Management

Estate Management

Caregiver

Personal Travel

26©Susan Ireland

Write Achievements

Quantify results

Screened up to 700 job applicants per month,

allowing an average of 3% to move to the next hiring

level.

PAR (Problem, Action, Results)

Improved reliability rates 15% by introducing an

internal technical support system.

Honors and awards

Earned two Employee of the Month awards during

peak sales period.

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©Susan Ireland

Brainstorming

What projects am I proud of?

When did I affect the bottom line?

If someone replaced me, what

would go wrong?

What do people rely on me for?

What would my supervisor say

about me?

28©Susan Ireland

Over-qualified for the Job

Downplay over-qualifications

Degrees

High-level responsibilities

Lengthy career

Use appropriate language

No management-level achievements

Less attention to bottom-line

Teamwork, not leadership

29©Susan Ireland

Checklist

Create a magnet resume that contains keywords for all

your job possibilities

Pick the right resume format

Translate experience for career change

Use dates wisely

Conceal employment gaps

Write about achievements

Don’t look over-qualified

Create a grabber resume by editing your magnet resume

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©Susan Ireland

Where to Find Susan Ireland

Susan Ireland’s Resume Site: www.susanireland.com

Resume template downloads: www.susanireland.com/aarp

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/susanireland

Facebook: www.bit.ly/fbresumes

Twitter: www.twitter.com/susanireland

YouTube: www.youtube.com/susanirelandresumes

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Job Search Techniques:

What Has Changed?

Susan Joyce

What Works Today

Successful job seekers:

Focus

Are PRO-active

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Job Boards Are Tough

for Recruiters

Fewer employers use job boards

Why?

Expensive

Ineffective

Inefficient

34© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Job Boards Are Tough

for Job Seekers

Extremely competitive!

Ineffective and inefficient

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Where the Jobs Are

Online NOW

Employer websites

Job aggregators

Social media

36© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Where the Jobs Are:

Employer Websites

Job seekers can:

Target employers

Apply appropriately

Connect through social media

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Where the Jobs Are:

Job Aggregators

Collect jobs from thousands of sources

Find employers new to you

Monitor “the job market”

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Where the Jobs Are:

Social Media

Post profiles

Search for jobs

Network

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Recruiting in 2011

Moving to Social Media

Less expensive

More efficient

More accurate

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Social Recruiting

92% recruit via social networks

70% search thru profiles when recruiting

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Source: 2010 Jobvite.com Social Recruiting Survey

© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Social Hiring

58% have hired via social networks

Only 13% of hires via job boards

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Source: 2010 CareerXRoads.com Sources of Hire survey

© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Source: 2010 Jobvite.com Social Recruiting Survey

Job Search in 2011:

Social Media

Business resource

“Permanent personal

marketing”

Connect with employers

and jobs

Show you are up-to-date

43© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Job Search in 2011

Starts with LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn profile is your

online resume

Profile should be 100%

complete

44© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

LinkedIn Profile Tips

Create a strong headline

Copy and paste from Word resume

Bite-size pieces:

Insert bullet points

Add spaces

Use all CAPS to emphasize words -- don’t overdo it

Check the PDF version of your profile to be sure it’s

employer-ready

45©Susan Ireland

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Sample Profile

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Sample Profile

More Ways to Use

LinkedIn

Groups & Answers

Networking

Company Profiles

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

LinkedIn Group:

Job-Hunt Help

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Employers: Job Seekers:

79% of

employers

conduct online

research always

or most of the

time.

29% of consumers

think their online

reputations is worth

worrying about

* Source: Microsoft funded privacy research reported in Dec, 2009.

You Are Being Researched

By Potential Employers – Often!

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Online Reputation Management

What Could Go Wrong?

Damaging material about you

Someone else with your name

Nothing = invisibility = out-of-date

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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Recap

Less time on job boards

Explore social media

Join LinkedIn

Be active on LinkedIn

Invisible = out-of-date

52© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Where to Find

Susan P. Joyce

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Job-Hunt.org www.job-hunt.org

Job-Hunt Help LinkedIn Group linkd.in/JobHuntHelp

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/susanjoyce

Facebook www.facebook.com/JobHuntOrg

Twitter twitter.com/JobHuntOrg

© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

Links from Susan Joyce

LinkedIn for Job Search

Online Reputation Management

Activate and Manage Your Job Search Avatars

LinkedIn Learning Center for Job Seekers

http://learn.linkedin.com/job-seekers/

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Other resources for

resumes and cover letters

AARP Job Tips

RileyGuide.com

QuintCareers.com

About.com Job Searching Blog

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AARP Resources for 50+ Workers

www.aarp.org/work News and information on work and

careers at 50+

www.aarp.org/jobtips Tip sheets and videos to help you

succeed in your job search

www.aarp.org/jobs Search for jobs online

www.aarp.org/thewatercooler Online community forum

www.aarp.org/jobwebinars Learn about upcoming

webinars and view archived events

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Q&A with presenters

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We may not be able to address all questions during the webinar,

but your questions help us develop content for future events.

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