Sample Resume: 50+ Corporate Trainer in 30's Career Field
This chronological resume is for George Benicio (not his real name), a 53-year-old job seeker who wants to continue his career as a corporate trainer. How old does he look to you, based on this resume? Sample Resume for 50+ Job Seeker (a new window or tab will open for all sample resume links).
At this point in his career, George is concerned about competing successfully against much younger job candidates, knowing that an employer would want someone who has lots of energy and state-of-the-art know-how in presentations.
George knew he just needed to get through the door for a job interview, at which time he would be able to demonstrate that he has what it takes to do the job. To get that interview, his resume needed to make him look the part age-wise.
He conducted some research to get an estimate of the average age for professionals holding similar positions to the one he's shooting for.
He used LinkedIn to get a sense of the demographics of the company he's applying to.
He Googled the company and studied its website to learn about the corporate culture.
He asked for opinions within his professional network about what age was most prevalent in his line of work.
He factored in his own observations about the age of fellow corporate trainers he met at trade association meetings, networking events, and online.
He also considered the age of his potential supervisor, who's probably assuming that she'd hire someone younger than herself.
Based on his research, George arrived at this conclusion: His potential hiring manager is looking for a corporate trainer who's in his early 30s. With this age in mind, George was able to create a resume that markets himself as the ideal candidate for the particular job he has in mind.
Here's how George handled the dates on his resume to inform the employer that he is at least 30 years old, without revealing his real age.
In the Experience section, he listed dates for the most recent eight years (this resume was written in 2010).
He created a subsection called More Experience, under which he listed three jobs without mentioning dates of employment.
Under Education, he did not place a year next to his college degree.
The employer will deduce that if George graduated college when he was 22, then put in 8 years of work experience, he might now be 30 (22 + 8 = 30). Perfect for the job he's applying for!
Notice that George didn't lie on his resume. He simply gave the employer enough information to draw her own conclusion, which just happens to be the most marketable age for the job.
Susan
Ireland is the author of four job search books including The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect
Resume, now in its 5th edition. For more information
about writing your resume, read Susan's books or visit Susan's Website SusanIreland.com. For immediate help with your resume and cover letter, check out Susan's Ready
Made Resumes and Cover Letters, an online resume builder to help job seekers quickly create an effective resume. Follow Susan on Twitter @SusanIreland, visit her JobLounge blog, and interact with her on the LinkedIn's JOBS Group (Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connections!) in her ** Let's Talk Resumes ** featured discussion.
