You would never intentionally do something to hurt your chances at a job would you? Of course not. But some of you are doing just that right now. It is subtle but it is there.
I grew up using a typewriter. There I said it. In fact, I wrote college papers on an old mechanical Remington typewriter. The keys stuck sometimes. I used white out. I remember using a typing pool.
I have a wide range of experiences many of which are completely useless in today’s world. When I talk about these old experiences, young people roll their eyes. We could have been having a perfectly fine conversation as equals about “Orange is the New Black” but when I make a reference to something that happened more than ten years ago they turn away from me. It happens. It doesn’t have to hurt.
If you remember the typewriter then I am talking to you.
Take a look at your resume right this very minute. You could be marked as an older person and out of sync with the modern world if you have these items on your resume: a home telephone number or an AOL email address or an email address provided by your local Internet provider like rr.com. Those two simple items signal you as out of touch.
Marc Miller has some suggestions for you in his great article, “5 Surprising Ways Your Resume Gives Away Your Age”.
Telephone: These days most people under 50 do not have a land line any more. Everyone has a cell phone. A land line is just an added expense. It doesn’t make sense. If your resume shows two phone numbers, one with a little H and the other with a little C, then you are revealing that you have a landline. The reader will probably assume you are over 50 and no longer connected to technology.
You don’t have to give up your landline. Just don’t put it on your resume. Only show your cell phone. Marc Miller suggests that if you don’t want to give out your cell phone then get a Google Voice number. He says you can set it up to ring on your other phone. It even can transcribe the message and text or email it to you. What a clever idea! But simpler still, just put your cell phone number and leave off the home phone.
Email Address: I know AOL is just the greatest and you’ve had that address for 25 years. It is time to give it up. Or you can do as I do and give out the AOL address to solicitors. That way all your junk mail goes to AOL. Get a gmail address. It is free. Marc Miller suggests an e-mail forwarding service from a professional society or your alumni association. I have never done that but I know people who have done Marc’s other suggestion – get your own domain name. I could get a domain name of KatherineBurik.com if I want. So much better than AOL.
Here is a freebie from Marc Miller. Stop putting two spaces after a period when you type. That was a rule when we used typewriters. But we don’t use typewriters any more. We use computers. We are not typing we are printing directly on paper. We now use the printing rule that there is only one space after a period.
Don’t make yourself look old. You take care of your body, clothes and hair. Now get up to date with your contact information on your resume!