10 Old-School Resume Rules That Don't Apply Today
March 12, 2009 (1:00PM) by Julie O'Malley, CPRW
Last week I wrote a guest blog post over at What Would Dad Say, talking about how older job seekers might need to think like 13-year-olds to succeed in job interviews today. But over the past couple days, I started thinking about all the ways we should NOT repeat behaviors from times gone by. 
Specifically, we need to ditch at least 10 of the old-school resume and cover letter rules that were popular back in the '70s, '80s, and even into the '90s.
Here's a fun little retrospective of 10 outdated resume and/or cover letter guidelines from the past few decades, and the new rules that have replaced them:
1. Old School: Never abbreviate anything on a resume or cover letter
New Rule: Abbreviating is fine, as long as it's understandable
This is the age of texting and Twitter, where everything is abbreviated, condensed, and minimized. It's fine to write St. instead of Street. However, acronyms should still be spelled out the first time they're mentioned. Example: Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
2. Old School: Keep your resume and cover letters very formal
New Rule: Keep them professional, but not stuffy
Everything is more casual these days, from our work clothing to our career documents. Don't cross the line into unprofessional, but keep in mind that readability, clarity, brevity, and authenticity are much more important than outdated propriety and formality.
3. Old School: Create one perfect resume and one cover letter that covers all bases
New Rule: Create a master resume and cover letter, but customize them for each job
You don't need a major rewrite for every employer; just make sure your keywords match the employer's job description, and maybe adjust the order of your skills listing for emphasis. Make it easy for the reader to see the parallels between your qualifications and their needs.
4. Old School: Start the cover letter with "Dear Sir or Madam, Enclosed please find …"
New Rule: Use the hiring manager's name, and skip the blah-blah language
If the hiring person's name's not listed in the job description, do some research on the Web. Find the name and use it, if at all possible. Then, give your first sentence some meaning and impact. Also avoid these other cover letter screw-ups.
5. Old School: On the resume, list every single thing you've ever done for work
New Rule: Leave out any details that aren't relevant to your desired position
Write your resume and cover letter as a marketing pitch to sell the value you'll bring to your next employer. Don't make it a memorial to what you did every day at your old jobs.
6. Old School: List your job responsibilities for each job under a heading such as "Duties Included:"
New Rule: Skip space-eaters like that – they're already understood
You'll waste a lot of resume real estate if you write "Duties Included:" on a separate line after every job. Just summarize your main accomplishments and qualifications in bullet points, and start each with an action verb in past tense (e.g., Led, Managed, Streamlined, etc.)
7. Old School: On your resume, indicate your reason for leaving each job
New Rule: Prepare an answer in your mind, but don't volunteer it
The resume and cover letter are not the place for this, especially if the reason for leaving was involuntary. However, do plan and practice a response for your interviews, and make it a brief, factual statement. (No whining.)
8. Old School: Include your age and your hobbies in your resume or cover letter
New Rule: Stay focused on your qualifications for the job
Ix-nay on the age, and unless your hobbies are directly related to your desired position, leave them out, too. For example, let's say you play in a co-ed basketball league. It's relevant if you want to be a high school athletic director, but not if you're seeking a violinist position in the symphony.
9. Old School: If you're married, say so on the resume (also, children – how many? how old?)
New Rule: I repeat … stay focused on your qualifications for the job
The more irrelevant personal detail you provide, the more the hiring manager's personal biases can come into play. For instance, in their minds, they might think Newly married? = Might need time off for family leave soon; Children? = Probably has daycare concerns.
10. Old School: At the end of the resume, say: "References Available Upon Request"
New Rule: Leave it off, they know you'll provide them if asked
This is another archaic waste of space. When you're a job seeker, it literally goes without saying that you'll provide the prospective employer with whatever reasonable materials they request.
What about you? Have you ever received any job-seeking tips that have since turned out to be wrong? Leave a comment below!
RELATED LINKS
Good and Bad Resumes: Want to See the Difference?
Good vs. Bad: Make the Best of Your Cover Letter
I used to always have the name of the high school I graduated from and the year I graduated in the Education section of my resume. I am much older now, and I was really surprised how much more of a response I received from my resume after I removed my high school graduation year.
Age discrimination is indeed alive and well in America.
@S of S I hear you. At some point, you realize your graduation year could be your interviewer's birth year!
It's also advisable to stop listing old jobs after 10 or 15 years, unless they are still highly relevant.
I read this line somewhere, and have been using it ever since: "Nobody cares anymore what you were doing in the '80s."
Let's not even go there in regards to the earlier decades.
--Julie
I am running into this myself: Learning fast, I hope. I have worked all my life, all over the USA, office environment. I am able to do work from my home now and searching. Thank you. Posted by: D L Fischer, Albuquerque, NM, Senior w/disabilitie | March 14, 2009 at 11:37 AM | Quote This Comment
@DL Fischer We have several other posts in the blog archives that might help give you some ideas. Use the "Search" box in the left margin, and type in key phrases such as:
older workers retirement returning to work
Someone out there is wishing for your extensive experience right now! Best of luck to you.
--Julie
IT IS A NICE TIM TO GET THIS MESAGE AND IT IS MUCH USEFUL.KEEP IT UP
Age descrimination is very alive.
@Ratha -- That's very kind of you to say :)
@Donald -- I agree, age discrimination is very much alive, as are many other kinds of discrimination. But as job seekers, we have to avoid going in with chips on our shoulders, expecting discrimination, lest it become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Thanks! --Julie
I would also like some assistance with my cover letter. I had used one of your templates for my resume last year. It may need some up dates too. But individualizing my cover letter for each interviewer is a trick. Could you please email a template for a cover letter? Thank you, Anne Bateman
@Anne Bateman
Hi Anne, You can view a variety of cover letter templates by logging in to your Pongo Resume account.
If your old account was canceled, you can call our Customer Support team at 866-486-4661 and reinstate it.
Julie
I am finally at a point where I can be a better employee. Children married and gone-no school activities to miss. I honestly feel I am am MUCH WISER and that my years in the work force and experience will benefit an Employer. Can you remove your Graduation year and dates of College attendance and still appear Professional? I went 4 months without one call and got 12 in the 3 days after I removed my graduation dates. And I'm not that old.
HI Robyn,
Yes, of course you can leave off the years of your education! You can also omit jobs from more than 10 or 15 years ago (unless they are relevant to and support your qualifications for the job you're currently seeking.)
Your resume doesn't have to give every detail of your past history -- it's a marketing pitch for what you have to offer an employer today, which sounds like quite a lot -- I like your upbeat attitude!
Best of luck, Julie
In a nut shell, I have been out of work for a year and have been told that my experience is perfect for jobs posted but am not qualified because I don't have a college education. I have been in sales for 20 years and went to school to be a secretary. Back then, you didn't go to college for that you went to Secretarial School. How can I overcome this on my resume?
Your not kidding!!! I am avoided like the plague. When readers of my resumes put two and two together, I get filed into the round file cabinet. Even tho I can't prove it, I feel that is what is happenning to my apps. I am very qualified to all my apps, but still get ignored when they figure out my work experience and and todays date.
Watch your spelling, as in the above - "your" should be "you're" also proofread, "happening" only has one n. todays should be today's.
I am also older and are trying to reenter. More magazine for women says you shouldn't feel badly because you took a lot of time off. Say, for example, I took time off to spend time with my children, and now I am ready and motivated to return to work!
I've left the dates off the resume, but when it came to filling out the application I found they asked for dates of graduation. The employer will have a good educated guess of age before the interview.
@MJ
Yes, applications ask for graduation dates, and they often ask for salary history and/or requirements, which is another thing you don't want to volunteer if you can help it.
Unless the application is an online form that requires completing each and every field, you can leave the year blank on the application, just like you did on the resume. Or, you can fill it out -- either option has pros and cons, and it's really a judgment call.
I always resent it when a company asks for your resume, and then makes you fill out a detailed application as well. Maybe there's a legal reason some companies do that, but it sure doesn't make any common sense.
Good luck.
Julie
I am in my mid-40's and unemployed for over a year. I applied for a job on a website where I have experience over the youngsters. On the website application, it asked if I was 40 or older. Wonderful. Considering the millions of jobs lost, I also was mass interviewed for a $12 hr job with real estate agents and car salesmen who were making 6 digits annually. How does someone with simple background work compete under these circumstances? Companies can be real choosy now that the market is saturated with people looking for ANY work. I'm trying to constantly update my resume and cover letters, but with credit checks also in the mix, it makes it even harder to pay those bills when companies won't hire you so you can pay the bills. Hard to support a family at a fast food place.
@n9wff
I hear ya! Job seeking can be so demoralizing and frustrating. And the worst part, as you say, is trying to keep your head up and project a positive, confident image when everywhere you turn you're getting rejected.
The only thing I can say is keep trying new things. Get yourself out into the world. Go to the library, volunteer your time, talk to your neighbors, join a club or a networking group.
Sometimes just a change of scenery can help get your head out of a rut.
One of these days, it will all come together for you. Best of luck!
Julie
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