Sep 4, 2008 6:17 pm US/Eastern
Too Much Experience May Hurt You When Job Hunting
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
In today's competitive job market, standing out in a crowd is crucial. But did you ever consider that your years of work experience might actually work against you? Career experts say some job-hunters may appear "old" on their resume, even when they're not.
Dawn Passaro knows all too well how important those first impressions can be. She worked as a human resources recruiter for years until she was recently laid off. "I have 20 years of experience in HR, actually more than 20 years," she said.
But Dawn knows too much experience can actually be a liability. "Job candidates do get screened out based on the age that they present on their resume," she said.
Melanie Holmes of Manpower admits age does matter. "I would really like to say that you can't look too old on a resume, but I think the reality is that some recruiters do judge us by how old we are," she said.
Dawn knew from her own experience she had to "de-age" her resume. "I do not include all of my experience," she said.
That's a smart move, according to Tyngsboro career counselor Jeanne Knight. "What Candidates can do to make themselves look younger in a resume is only list 10 to 15 years of work experience," said Knight.
If you're looking for an executive position, Knight says up to 25 years would be appropriate.
College graduation dates are also a dead-giveaway so experts recommend leaving those out.
You should also list any seminars and workshops that focus on new technology. Forget the lists of tasks and responsibilities.
Most experts agree you should focus on key words to show you are up to speed on the latest industry trends.
Finally, Holmes warns job seekers not to underestimate the importance of being connected on the Internet. "Every recruiter I've ever talked to uses the Internet to look for candidates," she said. "Having a presence on the Web is extremely important."
It may sound daunting, but it can be as easy as joining a professional networking site like
LinkedIn. Experts agree it's even better to have your own Web site. In the end it's all how well you
"Google." If you "Google" yourself and you don't like what you see, or you don't see anything at all, you may have some work to do.
Here are some articles about companies that use LinkedIn to recruit candidates:
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