Make Your Resume Ageless

If you are a job seeker over 40 and are concerned that your age can get in the way of being considered for a job, be sure that your resume does not give away your age. 

The language, format, and content you include in your resume can date you.  Here are ten tips for writing your resume that will reflect your qualifications for the position you are seeking rather than revealing how close you are to collecting retirement benefits.

Tip one:   Avoid language that signals that you are concerned about your age.

Job seekers over 40 often open their resumes with adjectives like “Energetic” or “Youthful” to convey that they can compete with younger applicants.  Instead of using language that highlights that you are older, show how engaged and current you are with state of the art business trends and practices.

Tip two:  Exclude stating your total number of years of work experience.

Just because you have over 25 years of experience in an industry or profession does not mean that you are more successful or competent than a younger applicant.  It is what you accomplished in those 25 years and how you can leverage your experience for a new employer that makes you valuable.  Your competitive advantage is not total years, but your results in how you led people or projects, attracted or retained clients, made or saved money, or introduced or improved business processes.

Tip three:  Limit your resume to the most recent 12 -15 years of professional experience.

If you try to document your entire work history of 25 to 30 years of experience, inevitably you will include industries, roles, business practices, and technologies that have become obsolete.  Even if this experience was novel or impressive at the time, it has lost its relevance and value.  Your resume should focus your most recent  12 – 15 years’ experience and the most current business practices and technologies you have applied.  If you have experience from over 15 years ago that is critical to selling your qualifications for a position, add a section called “Additional Accomplishments” and do not include dates.  This will support your candidacy, but not draw attention to your age.

Tip four:  Omit your dates of graduation.

When you list college or graduate / professional degrees, do not include the dates, which will pinpoint your age.  Also, if you received a degree or professional credential over 20 years ago, what you learned at that time may be out of date or irrelevant now.

Tip five:   Include recent certifications and training.

If you have completed a professional certification or training in your industry or in leadership skills, business processes, or state of the art technology, include a section on your resume entitled “Recent Professional Development”.   Demonstrate any knowledge or specialization you have gained in emerging industries or professions that are in demand.  Convey that you stay current and are a lifelong learner.

Tip six:  Downplay titles.

Many organizations have become flatter and have eliminated layers of management.  If you focus on your past titles or any entitlements they suggest, you may be perceived as someone who is not able to function in a more modern and streamlined organization.

Tip seven:  Showcase your project and team based experience.

Companies are currently organizing work around projects that are managed by teams.  Highlight your project based experience and demonstrate your skills and accomplishments working on teams.   Provide examples of experience leading or participating on global or virtual teams.  List any project management certifications or training that you have attained.

Tip eight:  Sell rather than tell about your experience.

Job seekers over 40 will describe themselves as  “Veteran” or “Seasoned” to indicate that they have extensive work experience. However, these words suggest that you are older, but do not promote the actual experience you have that is relevant and valuable to the potential employer.  Gain the employer’s interest in your experience by citing the projects, clients, and technologies that you been involved with and the results you achieved. 

Tip nine:  Include metrics to demonstrate your effectiveness.

Highlight your worth to a potential employer by quantifying the results you have achieved.  Stating in your resume that you are “Proficient in” or “Excel at” at something is vague, unconvincing, and does not communicate what you can contribute to an employer.  Use numbers and percentages to show how many people you managed, the dollar value of a sale, revenue from a project or new client, and money saved by your efforts. Again, this is an advantage over younger candidates because they may have not had the opportunities yet to achieve comparable results.

Tip ten:  Communicate that you are versatile and flexible.

Change is the only constant in business these days.  Industries, companies, and jobs continuously evolve and you must show that you are able to adapt.  Include examples where you have dealt successfully with industry and business change:  rapid growth, mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and re-organizations. Project that you are a change agent and welcome new ideas and situations.

A resume is one of your key tools to promote yourself for the next step in your career.  You are creating and substantiating the image that will be perceived in the job market.  If you strategically choose the language, format, and content you use in your resume, you will be seen as a viable and valuable candidate and age will not be an issue.

Recast Your Network for the New Year

Where do you want to go professionally in 2011?  You have a range of options:  a new role, a different industry, a promotion, self-employment, retirement, or a combination of several of these options.  As you develop your career goals for the New Year, it is critical to have the right network in place to help you plan, assess, and achieve your goals.

Re-evaluate your network:

Often, your network takes shape without much forethought or design.  You meet people and develop relationships in school, at various jobs, and through professional organizations. These accumulated relationships become your network. When you are looking for a job or making a career change, you reach out to this network for advice and support.  However, they may not be the right people to help you attain the goals you set for 2011.

To reach your goals, you need information, insights, and influence.  For example, if you want to change industries, you need assistance from people who have worked in that industry, who can tell you about the trends, opportunities, and pitfalls of that industry, and who can introduce you to people who have the potential to hire you for that industry.  Because your network developed based on relationships you had with people you knew when you worked in other industries, it may be unlikely that you have the appropriate people in your current network to help you with the transition to your target industry.

As you develop your career goals for 2011, take an inventory of your current network and identify those people who have the relevant information, insights, and influence to support your new goals. Then, begin to design a new network.

Re-align your network:

To design a network that aligns with your 2011 goals, first create the strategic framework. Start by developing profiles of the people who would be in your ideal network. For example:

What industries do these people work in?

What companies do they work for?

What roles do they hold?

Who are their managers, mentors, and colleagues?

What professional organizations do they belong to?

Who are their thought leaders?

Who are the consultants, vendors, and distributors they use?

Once you have the strategic framework for your 2011 network, next fill in the framework by identifying specific people who would belong to this network.  For example, find people who are working in your desired industry, company, or role, the hiring managers and decision makers, potential colleagues and mentors, thought leaders, and consultants, vendors, and distributors.  You can find this information by researching industry / trade publications, web sites, and blogs, company web sites, association directories, and business directories.  Once you have your networking framework populated with specific names, you have designed the ideal network to help you reach your new career goals.

Re-energize your network:

Now, your current network really can help you.  Some of them may belong in your ideal network, many may not.  However, even if they do not fit the profile of someone who should be in your ideal network, they know you, they believe in you, and they want to help you.  Leverage your current network to help build your ideal network. Show them your networking framework and the people who would ideally be a part of it.  Ask if they can provide introductions or referrals to those specific people.  If not, can they suggest other people who might be in the industries, companies, and roles you are targeting?  As you start to make connections and build new relationships, you are creating the support system to reach your new career goals.

Resolve to recast your network every year:

Your old network cannot support new career goals.  Make it a step in your annual process of setting your new career goals to re-evaluate, re-align, and re-energize the network you have to create the network you need to move forward with your career.

Interview Best Practice: 

Use Tell Me about Yourself to Sell Yourself

 When you are asked to “Tell me about yourself” during an interview, your response can make or break the interview.  You are being requested to introduce yourself, provide your relevant skills and experience, and validate your candidacy.  Your response to “Tell me about yourself” is your first, and sometimes, your only opportunity to sell yourself.  If you do not gain the hiring manager’s interest and respect with your response, the rest of the interview may become irrelevant.

Unfortunately, many job seekers are unconfident, unprepared, and unfocused and miss this opportunity.  For job seekers over 40, there is even more pressure to make a strong introduction and impression because you may have additional concerns about competition from younger candidates, age discrimination, and higher salary expectations.

Common mistakes to avoid when answering, “Tell me about yourself.”  

Giving general rather than specific information:  Because you have a broad background and wealth of experience, particularly if you are over 40, you assume that you will impress the hiring manager with a long list of your skills and accomplishments.  Instead, your response will seem vague and irrelevant and the hiring manager may assume that you do not understand the position or that you are unqualified.

 Citing employers, industry knowledge, and experience that are out of date:  You will create the impression that you are out of date and will not be able to learn new skills or adapt to new environments.

 Saying that you have little knowledge of or little use for new technologies:  Again, you will be perceived as someone who is out of date and unwilling to learn and adapt to change.

Bragging about your former status or accomplishments:  There is a fine line between confidently providing evidence and examples of your qualifications and boasting.  If you go too far, the hiring manager may perceive it as egotism or one-upmanship and that you will not be content with the position for which you are interviewing.

 Best practices for answering, “Tell Me about Yourself.”

 Understand and respond to the hiring manager’s needs (not yours):  A hiring manager’s main concern is to hire the person who can solve his /her current business needs: the need for additional staff, specific industry or functional knowledge, defined skill set, and / or appropriate attitude.  In answering the question, “Tell me about yourself,” you must position yourself immediately as the person who can meet the hiring manager’s business needs.  You are selling yourself as the solution to his/her problem.  Prior to the interview, use both formal research and any anecdotal information you can gather to gain an understanding of the business needs the hiring manager is seeking to fill.  Evaluate your knowledge, experience, and skills and extract those that are most relevant. Emphasize the qualifications you offer that best translate as solutions to the hiring manager needs when answering “Tell me about yourself” and as themes throughout the interview. 

Dissect the position description:  The position description for which you are being interviewed contains critical information about the specific knowledge, skills, and credentials the hiring manager is seeking.  Carefully analyze each one of these and list the specific experience, accomplishments, and training you offer that meet the requirements of the position. Develop examples of your accomplishments that illustrate how you can fulfill the key qualifications described in the position. Again, the hiring manager has a need and you are the solution to that need.

Use the same language:  Be sure to use the same language used in the position description.  For example, if you have expertise in corporate training, and the position description asks for someone who can conduct organizational learning, use the words organizational learning rather than corporate training during the interview. If you speak the same language, it will be easier for the hiring manager to see you as part of that culture and as one of his staff. 

Craft your answer ahead of time:  Develop your script prior to the interview.

• Open with a broad statement of your experience, skills, and credentials, emphasizing those that support how you can provide solutions to the hiring manager’s needs.  
• Include an overview of your work history focusing on your most relevant experience and usually not going back more than 15 years, unless your earlier experience is key to the hiring manager’s needs.  Briefly describe your roles , responsibilities, key accomplishments, and why you made job transitions. Focus on your strengths that are the most critical to the position and the business needs. 
• Finally, describe how you would use your experience and strengths in that position, which will enable the hiring manager to envision you in that role.

 Practice your delivery:  Once you have written your script, practice delivering it.  Ideally, use a career coach or colleague who understands your background and the requirements of the position.  Ask for feedback as to how clear and persuasive you are.  If you do not have a coach or colleague to assist you, practice in a small, quiet space where you can really hear your response.  Revise your script, as needed. Practice again.

If you demonstrate that you understand the hiring manager’s needs, provide the solutions to those needs, and speak his /her language, and you deliver your sales pitch convincingly, you will set yourself up for interview success when answering, “Tell me about yourself.”

Use the Hidden Job Market to Your Advantage

Beware that traditional job search methods are ineffective for job seekers over 40:

If you are a job seeker over 40, the traditional approach of looking for advertised openings, sending your resume, and then waiting for a response can be a long, frustrating, and demoralizing experience.  Job openings that are advertised are restrictive.  You need to meet specific criteria in terms of experience, responsibilities, and skills. You must be a square peg to fill a square hole.  However, the experience, responsibilities, and skills acquired by someone over 40 often deviate from or exceed that of a position description.  Because you respond to an advertisement by submitting an application or resume, you are not able to explain how your experience could be used very effectively for that position.  Therefore, your application goes into a void and you are confused why you never heard back from them.

Using these traditional job search strategies, you are up against fierce competition, bureaucratic hiring practices, and the anonymity of selling yourself to a company recruiter or hiring manager using a resume.  Rather than waiting for a call that may never come, take a proactive approach to your job search.  You will save time, energy, and your self-respect. One of the most effective methods to conduct a proactive job search is to leverage what is called the “the hidden job market”. 

Almost 80% of all job openings are never advertised using company web sites, job boards, or newspapers.  Companies use employee referrals or social networking sites to save the costs, time, and manpower associated with advertising.  Often overwhelmed by other duties, hiring managers circumvent advertising to avoid complicated recruitment processes, the stampede of applicants, and fruitless reviews of generic resumes.  Instead, they use referrals, social networking, and professional associations to find potential candidates.  This is the “hidden job market” and the best opportunities are found in this market.

Change your approach and leverage the hidden job market:

When you use a traditional job search approach, you become a passive participant in the process.  To leverage the opportunities in the hidden job market, you must take control of your job search.  You no longer wait for an opportunity to be advertised.  Instead, you target employers, uncover opportunities, and actively engage in selling yourself for that position. 

Methods for developing an active job search include:

• Focus your job search by conducting market research and identifying companies that would need your experience and skills.
• Create a list of target employers.
• Use your professional network to make contact with decision makers at these employers.
• Request informational meetings to discuss their needs and to introduce yourself to them.
• If you continue to have an interest in this employer and believe that there are potential opportunities for you, design a customized marketing campaign to promote yourself for this opportunity.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of potential employers and opportunities and market yourself until you land a new position.

Initially, this proactive approach to your job search may seem strange, uncomfortable, and labor intensive.  However, rather than wasting your energy, time, and emotions on a waiting game for advertised jobs, you will be focused, engaged in meaningful conversations with decision makers, and moving towards your desired career goals.

Reap the benefits of the hidden job market if you are over 40:

Leveraging the hidden job market with a proactive approach is advantageous to job seekers over 40:

• You have worked for more than one employer and often have experience in more than one industry.  Consequently, your target job market is much richer than that of more junior job seekers. You can create multiple career options and look for several types of positions simultaneously.
• You have built a stronger professional network including former managers and colleagues, customers, vendors, and consultants who can assist you with making connections in the hidden job market.
• You have better project management skills to plan and execute your job search.
• You have had more experience with senior management which facilitates your conversations with hiring managers.
• You have solved a range of problems and can sell solutions to potential employers.
• You know who you are and what you want professionally, which will enable you to make a good decision about accepting a new position.

In the hidden job market, your age and experience are assets.  Make leveraging the hidden job market your competitive advantage.

Would a Portfolio Career Work for You?

In an environment of economic uncertainty and high unemployment, a portfolio career offers you the opportunity to be independent, choose the skills you want to offer, work for the employers you want to work for, and create a worklife that reflects your interests and values.

What is a portfolio career?

A portfolio career is a nontraditional approach to jobs, the job market, and career management.  The term “portfolio career” is attributed to the British management expert Charles Handy.  In the early 1990’s, Handy predicted that the model of a having full-time job working for one employer would not endure and instead, evolve into a new model where an individual works for multiple employers, sometimes simultaneously, performing a series of short term assignments.  In this new model, everyone would be self-employed and responsible for planning and managing his / her own career.

A portfolio career can be packaged in several ways:

• A core occupation blended with one or more additional occupations.
• A core occupation combined with one or several hobbies or personal interests.
• A core profession offering multiple services such as consulting, teaching, professional speaking, and writing.

Examples of these types of portfolio careers would be:

• A human resources professional who works for one employer three days per week and who is a customer service representative for another employer 2 days per week.
• A software developer who contracts for a high tech firm who also is a watercolor artist who sells his paintings in a gallery he operates on the weekends.
• A finance expert who consults to the CFO of two start-up companies, teaches accounting at a community college, speaks at professional meetings, and writes for a financial periodical.

In each example, the individual is an independent agent who earns a living from multiple income streams often working for multiple employers in various capacities:  part-time employee, contractor, consultant, and freelancer.

What are the benefits of a portfolio career for people over 40?

People over 40 often experience longer job searches and more discrimination than those under 40, despite their more extensive experience and proven accomplishments.  If you are over 40, building a portfolio career allows you to leverage your expertise, retake control of your career, and define success in your own terms.  The benefits of a portfolio career for people over 40 include:

• More autonomy
• More egalitarian relationship with employers
• More freedom from corporate politics
• More variety:  in projects, colleagues, and environment
• More responsibility for results
• More opportunity to create the desired balance between work and personal life.

What are the success factors for a portfolio career?

To establish and manage a successful portfolio career you must set clear goals, stay focused, tolerate risk, be flexible, adapt to change, and manage your time and resources effectively.

Some of the steps necessary to design a successful portfolio career include:

• Identify your most saleable skills and interests and the customers who would want to buy them.
• Design an overall framework for how you will package your portfolio career.
• Develop a marketing plan.  You may need more than one marketing plan depending on how you package your portfolio.
• Create financial goals and manage an annual and monthly budget.
• Determine the benefits such as insurances you will need and purchase them.
• Put the necessary technology and resources into place.
• Develop a weekly schedule and action plan; measure results.
• Create a professional network and consistently expand the network to reflect your portfolio.
• Defend against the pitfalls of a portfolio career:  isolation, poor planning and budgeting, insufficient networking, etc.
• Make adjustments to your portfolio based on the market, financials, and your evolving interests.

 Would a portfolio career be viable for you?

 If you are over 40 and have had a traditional career, it can be intimidating to consider a portfolio career.  You would be self-employed, have an uncertain income, and be responsible for continuously finding new job assignments and employers.  Where would your job security come from?

If you honestly evaluate the realities of the new job market, all of these aspects of a portfolio career are the norm:  essentially being self-employed, facing economic uncertainty, and manging frequent changes in jobs and employers.  Your security does not come from a job or an employer, but from your ability to uncover new opportunities and sell yourself as the best person for these opportunities.

In the current environment,  a portfolio career may well be a viable option for you.

You are over forty and have decided to make a career change.  Whether your decision is based on your desire to pursue a dream or your need to find a new career due to a job loss, use these career change strategies to make your transition successful.

Vet your new career choice carefully:

Choosing a new career can be exciting:  filled with new possibilities and potential.  Rather than be carried away by the romance of a new career, be wise and vet your career choice carefully.  Typically, a career change involves transitioning both to a new role and to a new industry.  Before making a move, thoroughly investigate the new role and the new industry you are targeting. 

First, learn as much as you can about the role and the industry.

• Conduct research using career exploration websites for information about required skills, occupational outlook, career paths, and salaries. Two of these career websites are:  www.onetcenter.org and www.jobstar.org.
• Speak with practitioners in the field.  Identify people who currently hold your desired position and work in your target industry and ask for an informational meeting to discuss qualifications, trends, compensation, and career entry.
• Gather additional insights and information by attending professional meetings and industry or trade association conferences.  A key focus of these organizations is to support the development and advancement of individuals in that specific field or industry.

Next, assess your current qualifications for your desired position.  To evaluate how you would measure up for this position, look for an example of your target position on a company web site or job board.  Review the key competencies, level of experience, and results expected. Do you have the transferrable experience and skills to meet the criteria for this role?  If not, what kind of knowledge and training will you need to meet those requirements?  Is there is a sizeable gap in your knowledge and skills?  If so, how much time and money would it take to bridge these gaps?

Also, get an expert opinion on how a hiring manager would perceive your qualifications for this position by speaking with recuiters for this profession or industry.  Would they see you as a viable candidate?  If yes, ask how you would market yourself effectively for the position.  If not, ask if there are alternative paths for you to make a transition to this role or industry.

Use multiple methods to assess your career choice.  Be realistic in determining your strengths and weaknessess to make this change.  In some cases, you may have to pause and revise your career target.

 Minimize the risks:

As you vet your career target, you will discover risks involved with pursuing your goals.  These risks usually are to your current professional status, reputation, and compensation.  To make a successful career change after 40, you may have to make a lateral career move or take a step back, sacrifice your current standing and become an unknown in a new field, or accept a lower salary or fewer benefits. Are you willing to undergo these risks for the possibilities of new rewards and new challenges?  If not, you may wish to reconsider making this change.

If yes, you can minimize the professional and financial risks.  Assess the value you would bring to the new role and industry.  Just because you are making a transition, you do not leave the knowledge, experience, and results you have achieved behind.  Develop a value proposition for your new career and communicate how you can contribute your current assets to impact your new role and industry.

Put your new career to the test:

How do you know whether you will really enjoy or fit in with your target career?  You have conducted research and spoken with people in that role and industry and evaluated the risks, but next you must put your choice to the test.

There are several ways to test out your new career choice:  a part-time job, job shadowing, an internship or apprenticeship, or contract or consulting work.  All of these options provide the opportunity to evaluate your target career while contrasting it to your current career.  The benefits of testing out your new career are that you can learn the expectations, meet the people, try out your skills, and experience the environment, while maintaining the security of your current career. If you enjoy the test experience, you have further validation that you are making the right choice and can move forward with transitioning to your new career.

Build a new professional network:

You current professional network has helped you to get you to where you are now, but you will need to build a new professional network to support your career transition.  First, create the framework for that new network:  who are the key people who could offer advice and assistance in moving you towards your target career?  These key people would include:  professional and industry experts, business and organizational leaders, future colleagues, consultants, and vendors.  You can identify key people by participating in professional and industry and trade organizations, reading business, professional, and trade periodicals, and reviewing social networks and blogs. Once you have a list of key people, use networking and informational meetings to ask for introductions to these people.  Initially, when you make contact with these key people, you will be asking for advice or an introduction to a company or hiring manager.  However, your longer term goal is to build a professional relationship with them.  Developing and maintaining a strong new professional network are critical to your career transition and to future opportunities. 

Enlist a mentor:

A mentor can champion your career change and open professional doors for you.  A mentor provides guidance and feedback as you navigate your new career path and then as you continue to move your new career forward.  He/she can assist you with networking, provide insights and information about your new career, make you aware of any pitfalls or politics, and support you in landing and executing new job assignments.  You can identify potential mentors from within your new professional network or take advantage of any formal mentorship programs available from professional and industry / trade organizations. You have an advantage in making a career change when you have a mentor.

Re-brand yourself:

When you are making a career change, you are reinventing yourself.  To solidify your new professional identify and develop your new reputation, build a new brand.  Think of yourself as a new product that you are taking to market.  Define the key aspects of your product brand and communicate them through your presence, your written collateral like resumes and business cards, and online.  Create awareness of your brand by developing a marketing plan that conveys your value proposition.  Developing and communicating a strong brand will make you credible in your new career.  

You can make a successful career change at 40+ if you are realistic, focused, and determined.  Six strategies to your success:  carefully evaluate your career choice, minimize risks, put your target career to the test, build a network for support, have a champion, and communicate an authentic brand.  Your dream can become reality.

If you are over 40 and looking for a job, one response from hiring managers that can stop you in your tracks is:  “You’re overqualified.” 

If you are willing to take the job, why would the hiring manager have reservations? 

Hiring managers have valid concerns

Hiring managers face many challenges in making a new hire:  hurdles in having a job requisition approved, limited budgets for salaries and benefits, and pressure from senior management to hire the right person who can be a productive member of the organization immediately. 

Many hiring managers have learned that job seekers over 40, especially those who have been in management positions, want the same title, compensation, and prestige they held in prior positions.  If these criteria are not met, the candidate who is over 40 may take the job, but then quickly become unhappy and ask for a better title or pay, or continue to look for a job outside the organization.  Consequently, the hiring manager has made a bad decision, which can have repercussions for his own career. 

How to overcome the hiring manager’s objections and land a job

Adapt to the current work environment:

Over the past 10 years, many companies have become leaner and flatter by downsizing or outsourcing part or all of their workforces.  There is less demand for new hires, particularly for managers.  Employers want a just-in-time workforce, organized by project based roles, who have a contingent relationship with the employer.  They also want the most value for their money.  Job seekers over 40 who are looking for a specific title and high salary do not fit in with this new model.

To be successful, you must become savvy about the current world of work:  learn about growing industries and new business trends.  Target those industries and companies and research their current products and services, how they are delivered, and how their organizations and workforces are structured.  Then, position yourself as someone who can contribute to their business initiatives and who can adapt to their organizational structure, rather than someone who is locked into a title or salary.

Set new career goals that refect the realities of the workplace:

If you are over 40 and looking for a job, re-assess your career goals.  Open yourself to the possibilities of building a new relationship with an employer and defining your role and compensation differently.  Speak with hiring managers and learn about the knowledge and experience  that is valuable to them.  Sell yourself to the hiring manager based on their needs, not on the title and salary you want.  Quantify what you can do for them:  make or save money, meet project deadlines and goals, train and motivate staff, and increase customer satisfaction.  Once you can prove the value that you would bring to a hiring manager, you will become a qualified candidate rather than disqualified. Often, when you demonstrate your value, the role and compensation you are offered may be more in line with what you are seeking.

What trade-offs can you accept in the next step in your career?  Is the opportunity to work on a dynamic team on a cutting edge project worth forfeiting a title or part of a paycheck?  Your ability to adapt and redefine your career based on new realities are critical.  Rewards in professional growth and job satisfaction can be your new measure of success.

Finding a job when you are over 40 poses a number of challenges:  some real, some perceived.  Employers may have pre-conceived ideas about job applicants who are over 40 in terms of their image, drive, relevance, and potential value to their organization.  Job seekers over 40 may also have their own preconceptions about how they will be viewed in the job market before they even start looking.   To be successful in your job search if you are over 40, you must effectively manage both the prospective employer’s and your own perceptions.

Image:  Your image proceeds you when you are looking for a job.  Prior to any physical contact with a prospective employer, your resume, cover letter, and online profile will project an image and create perceptions.  The language, format, and style have to be contemporary.  You must learn and leverage new technologies to market yourself.  If you use outdated  job search styles,  you will be defined as out of touch.  An up-to-date physical image is also critical to success.  If you have not revamped your wardrobe, hairstyle, or accessories in several years (or decades), it is time for a make over.  Staying healthy and fit will project your physical vitality and convey that you have the stamina to keep up with younger colleagues.

Drive:  Employers often have concerns that job seekers over 40 have lost their drive and that their best years are behind them.  It is very expensive for them to hire an experienced person who joins an organization and wants to coast  until retirement.  One of the greatest advantages you have if you are over 40 is your wealth of experience and skills.  Demonstrate how you will continue to leverage  your experience and skills in your next job.  For example, you can provide the prospective employer will a 30/60/9o plan outlining the goals you  will accomplish for them when you are brought on board.   Also, you can discuss new trends in your industry you find exciting or your plans to continue to learn about new technologies you can apply on the job.  Create a vision for the employer on how you will be a productive and forward thinking member of his organization.

Relevance:  When hiring, employers focus on the critical knowledge, skills, and experience that meet their current business needs.   Unfortunately, job seekers over 40 often try to impress prospective employers with their entire history and range of skills even if they are outside the scope of the position.  If you try to showcase all of your qualifications rather than the specific ones the employer is seeking, you will seem irrelevant.  The employer may also develop the impression that you do not understand how to meet his business needs.  Focus on the specifics of that position and impress the prospective employer with your ability to solve their problems. You have an edge because you have solved similar problems before and can use your past success to help your new employer.

Value:  Employers are seeking the best value for their money when they are recruiting a new hire.  Job seekers over 40 can seem over-rated and over-priced.  They may also seem focused on their title, prestige, and salary. You must make a strong business case for why you should be hired and compensated at a certain level, especially if you are competing with someone who will cost the employer less in terms of salary and perks.  Your value to this  employer is your proven record of producing business results,  improving the bottom line, satisfying customers. and making good decisions.  Market yourself in terms of the dollars you can earn or save for his business, your success in completing projects on time and within budget,  your customer relationship building, and your strong work ethic and you will prove your worth to the prospective employer.

Managing perceptions can be one of the most difficult and subtle challenges of your job search if you are over 40.  You must stay aware of the perceptions that employers may have, even if they do not express them.  You must also guard against your own (mis) perceptions.  Be proactive: project a current image, show that you are driven, demonstrate your relevance, and market your ongoing value to an employer.