On the Today Show, Matt Lauer interviewed Jean Chatzky and featured a segment with Lisa Johnson Mandel. They gave quick and insightful overviews of changes you can make on your resume and with your appearance if you are 50 or older. Jean's website is: Jean Chatzky - and the clip is currently saved on her page. Lisa's website is: www.filmazing.com. The following is some of the take-away information I garnered.
1) The date you graduated from college? Leave it off. If a recruiter or hiring manager asks, you can say you do not want to be screened out based on a date. You are looking for an opportunity to help a company meets its goals. (This statement should sound like you and contain at least one or two of the "buzz words" in your industry).
2) Executive summary at the top? Do not start with 20+ years. Use phrases such as: Extensive experience in; Proven track record; Professional Engineer in the area of design and modification; Sales Professional who consistently meets/exceeds corporate expectations.
3) Your professional appearance? For women: Hem length should be at the knee (not too long and definitely not too short); Gray hair - - an age appropriate color can take years off your looks as well as a good hairstyle. For men: Do not wear a tie if the office is business casual. Gray hair - - probably okay.
4) Most important? Your attitude. If you sound grumpy you will immediately be excluded. It helps if you smile while you're talking during a telephone pre-screen. Not sure how you sound? Record your voice answering questions. Don't like the way you sound? Work on improving it.
Lisa's update of her blog site and her resume' resulted in two new career ventures. Well worth the investment for someone in the entertainment industry. Jean Chatzky's suggestions were excellent. Bottom line? Stay current with your resume, your professional persona and always, always, always have a positive attitude.
I turned on the TV just as the segment was ending, so I missed it. Thanks for the recap.
However, I don't totally agree with the part about leaving off the length of experience, i.e., "20 years." In attending numerous H.R. panels, I have learned that H.R. people like to see that number upfront. I would be careful, though, that no matter how much experience you have that you don't use a number higher than 20.
Donna Tucker, CPRW
Phoenix, Arizona
Posted by: Donna Tucker | July 12, 2008 at 10:42 PM