Put it All Together and…

The bad news is… your good news

You’ve worked for 20 years. Or was that 30 years? Could have been 40?

In all that time you have amassed a trove of work experience. In fact, that’s one of the big advantages that you bring to the table as a job candidate. It should be a clincher. But it’s not.

Listing work experience that is 30 or 40 years old says that you also are old. And there are many employers – rightly or wrongly, legally or illegally – who don’t like, or don’t prefer to hire older applicants. Rather than a plus, all that experience also may be a killer.

How to play your strongest card

So do you take something that is one of your biggest advantages and just omit it? Not on your life.

The problem is the dates that are associated with some of that experience. Here’s an area where many job coaches, recruiters and job search experts are divided. Some advise to only include work experience that goes back 10 years. Some say 15 years. Others counsel to cap your work experience at 20 years.

No matter where you draw the line, it doesn’t mean that you have to lop off your other work experience. Experts agree that work experience more than 20 years old can be summarized in a section that could be headed: Additional Work Experience. Or: Additional Accomplishments.

Under that heading, aggregate your significant information in bullet point form. Rather than highlighting the wheres and the whens, focus instead on what you did, what you accomplished without mentioning the dates. The hiring manager may surmise that you’re older, but you’re not calling attention to it either.

If it’s good information, or valuable experience or accomplishments, by all means include it in your resume. Just don’t date it. Let it stand on its own merits.

More tips.