1. Resumes for Older Workers:
New Rules, New Tools
AARP Education & Outreach
March 30, 2011

2. 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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3. How to Ask Questions
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4. How to Download the
Slides and Handouts
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5. Your Presenters
Deborah Russell Susan Ireland Susan Joyce
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6. Refresh Your Resume
to Succeed in Today’s
Job Market
Susan Ireland
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©Susan Ireland

7. You Need Two
Resume Versions
The “Magnet” Resume
and
The “Grabber” Resume
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8. 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

9. 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

10. 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
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©Susan Ireland

11. 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

12. 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
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©Susan Ireland

13. Magnet
Resume
Sample
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14. 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
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©Susan Ireland

15. Grabber
Resume
Sample
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16. Resume Format
 Use chronological format
 Add skill headings if needed
 Good for magnet and grabber resumes
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©Susan Ireland

17. Chronological Format
 Remain in
same field
 Vertical career
move
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©Susan Ireland

18. Chronological Format
with Skill Headings
 Career change
 Long time at
same job
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©Susan Ireland

19. 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

20. 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

21. Use Dates Wisely
 Dates tell:
 Your possible age
 How much experience you have
 How relevant you are
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©Susan Ireland

22. For Many Jobs
Older Is Better
 Senior management
 Teaching
 Financial services
 Business consultants
 Social services
 Find 50+ friendly employers:
www.aarp.org/employerteam
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©Susan Ireland

23. 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
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©Susan Ireland

24. 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.
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©Susan Ireland

25. 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
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©Susan Ireland

26. "Job Titles" That Show
Good Character
 Student
 Independent Study
 Full-time Parent
 Family Management
 Estate Management
 Caregiver
 Personal Travel
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©Susan Ireland

27. 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

28. 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?
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©Susan Ireland

29. 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
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©Susan Ireland

30. 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

31. 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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32. Job Search Techniques:
What Has Changed?
Susan Joyce

33. What Works Today
Successful job seekers:
 Focus
 Are PRO-active
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

34. Job Boards Are Tough
for Recruiters
Fewer employers use job boards
Why?
 Expensive
 Ineffective
 Inefficient
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

35. Job Boards Are Tough
for Job Seekers
Extremely competitive!
Ineffective and inefficient
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

36. Where the Jobs Are
Online NOW
Employer websites
Job aggregators
Social media
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

37. 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

38. 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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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

39. Where the Jobs Are:
Social Media
 Post profiles
 Search for jobs
 Network
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

40. Recruiting in 2011
Moving to Social Media
Less expensive
More efficient
More accurate
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

41. Social Recruiting
 92% recruit via social networks
70% search thru profiles when recruiting
Source: 2010 Jobvite.com Social Recruiting Survey
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

42. Social Hiring
58% have hired via social networks
Source: 2010 Jobvite.com Social Recruiting Survey
Only 13% of hires via job boards
Source: 2010 CareerXRoads.com Sources of Hire survey
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

43. Job Search in 2011:
Social Media
Business resource
“Permanent personal
marketing”
Connect with employers
and jobs
Show you are up-to-date
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

44. Job Search in 2011
Starts with LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn profile is your
online resume
Profile should be 100%
complete
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

45. 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
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©Susan Ireland

46. Sample Profile
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47. Sample Profile
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48. More Ways to Use
LinkedIn
Groups & Answers
Networking
Company Profiles
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

49. LinkedIn Group:
Job-Hunt Help
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50. You Are Being Researched
By Potential Employers – Often!
Employers: Job Seekers:
29% of consumers
think their online
79% of reputations is worth
employers worrying about
conduct online
research always
or most of the
time.
* Source: Microsoft funded privacy research reported in Dec, 2009.
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

51. 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

52. Recap
Less time on job boards
Explore social media
Join LinkedIn
Be active on LinkedIn
Invisible = out-of-date
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

53. Where to Find
Susan P. Joyce
 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
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© Copyright Job-Hunt.org

54. 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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55. Other resources for
resumes and cover letters
AARP Job Tips
RileyGuide.com
QuintCareers.com
About.com Job Searching Blog
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56. 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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57. Q&A with presenters
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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