HOW OLD ARE YOU? Three Easy Hints To Avoid Age Discrimination.

by: Marty Tarabar,CPC

marty@geckohospitality.com

Don’t let your resume stop you from getting the interview.

Yes, it is illegal to discriminate because of age, but, corporate recruiters can decide whether or not to interview based solely on what they see on your resume.

“Over 30 years of management experience” says you are close or over 50 years old. Does the target company, you are sending your resume to, have 50 year old managers running their operations?  Let’s face it, you don’t see many 50 year old managers at your local Applebee’s or Chili’s.

How to avoid this type of discrimination.

FIRST  -  Always be honest!  Any falsehood on a resume or an application can be a justification for dismissal once hired by a company

SECOND  -  Don’t offer too much information!  Employment history older than 15 years is unnecessary. Employers want to know about your recent employment and successes. Listing earlier positions will only “age” you in the eyes of the person reading the resume

THIRD  -  Eliminate graduation dates!  When listing education, list degrees obtained, but not dates received. After you have an initial interview, when filling out an application, you will be asked for dates of schooling.  Listing your high school graduation year gives the recruiter your age.

 Your resume should be designed for the sole purpose of getting your foot in the door, by presenting your career and accomplishments.  Corporate recruiters spend only seconds, yes, just seconds scouring your resume.  After all, your resume came in with hundreds of others in response to a job ad for a hotel or restaurant manager. 

The “over 30 years of experience” headline might work for someone looking to fill a corporate level position. But, the recruiter wants to be able to see where you’ve worked recently, and what your accomplishments were.

Limit your list of experience to your last three management positions .  Using bullet points, list 3 or 4 major accomplishments for each position showing your leadership, sales building and cost control successes.

Your educational background is very important. Most posted restaurant and hotel management  positions require a college degree.  List the college(s) you attended and the degree(s) received.  Again, be honest. Employers will check with colleges to see if you indeed graduated.