How to Write a Power Resume If You Are Over 50

As your career progresses, you'll need to alter the way you approach your resume.

It can be very difficult to tackle a resume when you're older than 50. Odds are, you've been out of the job market for a while. When you find yourself suddenly thrown back into the job searching game, you need to remember that you're competing with a lot of young professionals, as well as other seasoned professionals like yourself. One of the best things you can do for your career is learn to write a power resume.

Instructions

1. Use a combination resume format. A combination resume combines the positive elements of a chronological and functional resume. Start with the elements of a functional resume and list your qualifications and skills you've acquired through the years. Then, list the positions you've held up to this point in chronological order, including the company, your job title and dates of employment. Your responsibilities will have already been listed in the functional section. It's more important at this point to highlight your relevant job skills than to explain which company you worked for when you acquired those skills.

2. Pick and choose which job responsibilities you include. This doesn't mean you should skip over the mid-level management position you held five years ago. It means you should focus your resume on the last 10 to 15 years. List all relevant work experience you've had in the chronological section, even if it goes back further than this, but only include more recent skills, qualifications and accomplishments in the functional section.

3. Don't forget to list your education. Include all degrees you've earned, even if they're not completely relevant to the job you're applying for. However, only list certifications, licenses and classes that are relevant to the job, and that you've received or taken in the last 10 to 15 years. This shows that you've been keeping up with the field and that you're willing to go the extra mile to succeed for your company.

4. Include a "Professional Summary" section at the top of your resume. This is the section that can turn an ordinary resume into a power resume. The summary should be four to six lines long, and it should highlight your most marketable and relevant skills. Emphasize your experience, knowledge, skillsand motivation. Show the company what strengths you have and how they will benefit from hiring you.

5. Proofread! A resume can't be a power resume and get results, no matter what career level you're at, if it has typos and mistakes. Make sure your resume is clean, polished and completely error-free before submitting it. Consider asking one or two people you trust to look over your resume. This will ensure that no typos, misspelled words, errors or inconsistencies are missed.

Tips & Warnings

• Include a section for computer and technical skills on your resume. It's not fair, but age discrimination does exist. If you show that you've been keeping up with technology and can maneuver through the Internet and computer programs with the best of them, there's less of a chance that your resume will be tossed because of your age.

References

• eResumes: Old Workker's Resume