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My conversation with LinkedIn News

Ageism is real. It isn't fair, and while we keep fighting myths around what experienced workers want and how they can bring real value to employers, there are some things that you can actively do to increase your chances of finding a great role in your 50s, 60s, and beyond.

I recently talked with LinkedIn News Editor Andrew Seaman about staying confident and competitive in your job search at any age.

First off, if you aren't following Andrew, you should be. He's constantly dropping great advice and tips for all career stages.

One of the things that we talked about is:

“Are startups really going to hire people in their 60s?”

You know what they say about assumptions, right? We can’t assume that experienced folks won’t fit in at startups - my 69-year-old client just landed a great role with a startup that appreciated the wealth of experience that he brings to the table.

Yes - ageism is real. There are lots of biases and assumptions that people make every day around experienced talent (again - not fair, but real). With that said, there are real things that you can do to position yourself (even in a challenging market like this one).

So, how did my 69-year-old client position himself? Here are the biggest tips that Andrew and I discussed:

1. Get clear on your goals: What are your income goals? Do you want to take a step back? Are you looking to be an individual contributor? Are you looking for a promotion? What kind of companies do you want to work for?
2. Create a positioning strategy: Obviously you need to update your resume. LinkedIn for candidates of all ages for me is underrated. You’ve got to make sure you have that strong profile. 90% of recruiters search for talent on LinkedIn. If you just have it as a placeholder where you’re just putting your titles and that’s it, you’re missing out.
3. Talk with people: Networking is another big piece of it. And it doesn’t have to be just people that you worked with in the past two or three years. Your advantage as an experienced worker is having a vast network. I was talking with someone recently who was in their 50s who had an extended job search. How they finally landed was a network connection, someone they had worked with 20 years ago. You just never know where those conversations will take you.

Thanks again to Andrew and the LinkedIn News team for the opportunity to talk through this important topic.

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📄 A transcript of the episode is here: https://lnkd.in/dnM5_kvM​
👂🏻 Listen to the conversation on your favorite podcast platform: https://lnkd.in/da8c7q9F​

Upcoming events:

I'm heading to SHRM25 in San Diego next weekend - I'll be talking about "Silver Tsunami Success" with Claire Casey (President of the AARP Foundation) and Andy Ortiz (SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) as a part of the Executive Network Experience - more to come!

Question of the week

Hi Colleen, I checked out the tips on writing an ageless resume. Great information, thank you!

I noticed it focuses on executive roles. I'm aiming for a non-executive role, i.e., Project Coordinator position, and would love your assistance or advice on improving my resume.

There are some basics to writing your resume that work for people at every job level, industry, and age.

Here’s 4 things to think about as you get started:

1. Be clear on your goals: Know what you want to do next (the types of roles/clients that you are looking to attract) and focus your efforts on highlighting the impacts/results that you have delivered in these areas in the past.
2. Demonstrate your value through numbers: I’m an engineer by training, so I make spreadsheets for everything. I get that this might not be you - however, I challenge you to quantify what you can and show numbers (product revenue, etc) whenever possible.
3. Weave early experiences into your summary: When you have high-profile early experience, you don’t need to leave that on the 2nd page of your resume. Highlight this in your Executive Summary to show your career journey in a clear and concise way (yes - this works even if you aren’t an executive).
4. Use headlines to grab the reader: Leave the objective statement in the 1900s where it belongs. Modern resumes and LinkedIn profiles focus on what the employer/client is looking for. Your goals are important to you, but not necessarily important to future employers.

Forget about hacks and focus on what’s most important: make it clear to the reader how you can step in and contribute on Day 1.

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In case you missed these LinkedIn posts:

​How do I talk about my career break?​

​Poll: At what age do you plan to retire? (2100+ votes)​

​There are some basics to writing your resume that work for people at every job level, industry, and age.​

​"Are startups really going to hire people in their 60s?"​

​"I felt so worthless."​

Want to up your game on LinkedIn? Need a new resume or executive bio? I deliver resumes, executive bios, LinkedIn profile optimization, and 1-hour strategy calls. ​ Learn more about 1:1 Coaching & Services ​

​ Limited time only: We'll be offering the current version of the Ageless Careers Toolkit through June 30, so if you're looking to take the course, you'll want to start it now. The Ageless Careers Toolkit is a self-paced job search program with 5 modules: Build Your Ageless Career: I answer your biggest job search questions and troubleshoot common issues for Gen X and Baby Boomer job seekers Write Your Ageless Resume: I've written 1000s of resumes - this is my 43-page guide for writing a winning resume ​ Craft Your Ageless Cover Letter: My tips for writing a cover letter in 10 minutes or less The Art of Ageless Interviewing: Boost your confidence through my biggest interview tips Create Your Ageless LinkedIn Presence: We are going to optimize your LinkedIn profile so that opportunities find you​ ​ The toolkit includes both written guides and video presentations with 10 sample resumes across various functions (marketing, finance, engineering, manufacturing, sales, etc) and roles (Project Manager, Director, VP, C-Suite). ​ Get instant access for $49

Other ways that I can help: Question of the Week: Do you have a question that you would to have answered in the Question of the Week? If so, reply to this email and let me know what's on your mind. Corporate Presentations: I deliver customized presentations for businesses and universities, offering webinars/in-person presentations across topics including ageism, resume best practices, LinkedIn optimization, job search, and more. Hiring Help: Reach out if you have any open roles that you would like to share with this community. Sponsorships: Reach Gen X and Baby Boomer executives by sponsoring this newsletter (we're currently at 4800+ subscribers for the newsletter and 75,000+ followers on LinkedIn, so you can easily reach a wide base of readers). ​ Learn more about Ageless Careers

Take care of yourself and have a wonderful weekend!

Colleen