Over 50? How to Write a Winning Resume

How should you write your resume if you’re over 50?

You might be tempted to add your last position to an already outdated resume.

But you’ll get a better reaction from employers if you emphasize your personal brand and the skills they’re seeking… making your age a non-issue.

Use these age-proof tips to create a strong over-50 resume strategy for a winning job search:

Check Your Resume Against Job Market Realities.

Don’t build your over-50 resume (or job goals) in a vacuum.

Instead, talk with recruiters and trusted contacts in your network to gauge the right target job level aligned with your skills.

Stay on top of happenings in your field, including potential hiring trends, by subscribing to industry news or joining trade associations. Contact private equity or investor firms to determine who they’re likely to hire.

Further clarify your goal by reviewing job postings or LinkedIn profiles of competing executives at your level – which will help you gain insight on your marketability, competitive value, and what employers want at your level.

If needed, ADJUST YOUR GOALS in light of your findings. Your resume (and job search) should be tuned for the right level the first time.

Tune Your Resume Summary to Match Your Career Goal.

Don’t recite your entire career history or mention the number of years of experience! Instead, pull in keywords from job descriptions for your target job, and then show your value proposition (without implying your age).

Build a powerful resume summary that shows the ROI you will deliver and the reasons you’re a viable candidate, as illustrated by these examples:

Manufacturing CEO

Strategic growth driver, mentor, and quality visionary with epic growth and financial performance record ($12B over competitors). Establishes team synergies enabling unsurpassed customer value, low-cost footprint, advantageous sourcing partnerships, tight production benchmarks, and best-in-class products.

Chief Technology Officer

High-energy technology and business executive who accelerates growth to create market-leading advantages – while preserving scalability and reliability. Leadership team member behind expedited cloud and AI transformation, including stakeholder buy-in, 50% better engineering team retention, innovation, new Centers of Excellence, low-cost offshore models, and customer collaboration.

Build an Age-Appropriate Strategy for Your Over-50 Resume.

How far back should your work history go?

Many resume guides point to 10-15 years, but you’ll also need to be realistic. Employers also expect an executive to possess decades of experience! You need to assess which of your past jobs are relevant.

For example, a CIO might find that earlier IT Manager positions should be listed on the resume, but not junior-level software development jobs. A VP of Operations could show roles dating back to Plant Analyst.

The key, of course, is to put just enough data in front of recruiters without CONCENTRATING on your age.

Don’t forget your Education section. A degree earned 15 years ago is probably relevant, but many college programs lose relevancy after that point. Therefore, you’ll want to drop dates off your degrees as you climb further up the corporate ladder.

Add Achievements DIRECTLY Tying Your Experience to the Right Jobs.

The key to a successful over-50 resume? Get close to your own personal brand by interviewing yourself! Answer these questions against the goal you defined in Step #1:

Which of your achievements directly tie into the career goal you’ve defined?
What strategies do you use to influence decisions, motivate teams, or secure new business?
What are the peak cost savings, revenue, operational efficiencies, profit, or sales wins of your career?
Name the skills and business capabilities you’ve demonstrated most often as a leader.

Now, write short success-story bullets for each major career accomplishment – sticking to the major wins that most closely match the jobs you want, and incorporate these statements into your resume.

Refresh Your Over-50 Resume Format for a Modern, Yet Classic Look.

No matter if you fit the over-50 category or not, many resumes now employ a mix of graphics and other visual elements.

You’ll want to modernize the look of your resume in order to stand out.

By adding even a splash of color or a different border to your resume, you’ll help employers distinguish your credentials from others.

Use executive resume samples (keeping in mind that many of these examples were created for candidates of your age and career level) to gain more ideas for a fresh new visual approach.

In short, it’s not the 1990’s anymore!

By choosing your words, messaging, format, and strategy carefully, your over-50 resume CAN compete as a strong contender in the race for a leadership job.

How to Write a Great Executive Resume – Fast!

by Laura Smith-Proulx

Executives, what if a recruiter called you today? Or your job was eliminated?

Would your executive resume and LinkedIn Profile be ready in a hurry?

Your personal brand message and value proposition need to be clear-cut (as shown in this CEO and Board Advisor resume) in order to compete at the executive level.

Even if you’re not even thinking about making a career move, the unthinkable can happen… corporate changes, downsizing, or the opportunity to pursue a great new job. Too many executives are caught off-guard in these scenarios, and panic when asked for a resume.

If you’re still using a college-era resume or you haven’t been tracking accomplishments for a while, don’t despair.

Use these 6 steps to fast-track the process of writing your executive resume so you don’t miss out on a great opportunity:

1 – Start with a Resume Title.

First and foremost, recruiters need to see your career goal. The simplest way to do this is to state your career level (also called a Resume Title) at the top of your resume.

A Resume Title helps readers to focus on your career level and desired position. Perhaps you’re pursuing a clear career goal, such as VP of Sales, that can be used to title your resume.

If you’re trying to straddle multiple career levels, consider using a more general Resume Title, such as “Senior Operations Executive” for an SVP who is also open to a COO role.

In the opening example, “Senior Executive: Chief Executive Officer and Board Advisor” squarely positions this candidate at the top echelon. Consider one of these Resume Titles as inspiration for your own resume:

VP of Sales
Technology Executive
Healthcare Administrator
Chief Compliance Officer
Director FP&A
Controller / CFO
Healthcare / Hospital CEO

2 – Develop a Resume Summary.

Next, write a short profile or Resume Summary that describes your readiness for the goal, condensing your message down into just a few lines for easy reading.

Struggling to summarize your experience? Blend your career level, reputation, and achievements into just a few sentences, mentioning your career goal and leadership style.

Your Summary does NOT need to be lengthy to be effective!

For example, this summary quickly shows this candidate’s interest in sales leadership and describes career-long accomplishments:

“Strategic and hands-on sales leader known for over-quota results, post-M&A sales team integration, and strong ROI from new CRM systems. Focuses on cost-saving sales methods and tools. Delivers consistent 34% year-over-year gains in aggressive healthcare markets.”

3 – Make a list of top Career Wins.

Compile a list of top career accomplishments, including that great project you delivered ahead of schedule or the new growth ideas you led to profitability.

Your Career Wins might include some of these successes:

Digital transformations showing new automation and efficiency improvements
Creation of revenue-generating products and services
Greenfield operations, particularly those generating strong ROI
Sales techniques improving the effectiveness of your sales force
Technology initiatives affecting staff productivity
Revenue or profit growth as a result of your efforts

These achievements can also be smaller-scale wins; the idea is to gather examples that demonstrate innovative thinking or passion for your work. You’ll then need to flesh these out in the next step (and save your top Wins for a Page 1 summary, as described in Step #6.)

4 – Describe these wins in Achievement Bullets.

Achievement Bullets are succinct descriptions of your Career Wins and success stories; the idea is to provide employers with a frame of reference to gauge your qualifications.

Don’t be afraid to boast a little; remember that you’re being compared against other applicants and put your cards on the table accordingly!

You can write short sentence fragments that reference your results in each bullet (“23% sales improvement from new CRM system” or “New international operations representing first non-US ventures”).

You can also write longer sentences that explain accomplishments, such as “Implemented new production system delivering growth throughout recession.” Be sure to use first-person language, but omit “I” in your bullets.

In this Private Equity CFO Resume, you can see how Achievement Bullets can even be used without the bullet symbol, as shown under Executive Benchmarks & Fiscal Results, as well as within the General Partner & CFO job.

5 – Supply a Job Description for current and past positions.

Every position shown on your resume needs a clear Job Description showing the typical duties and responsibilities of the position, including budgets managed, size of your teams, specific geographies (countries, states, regions) you oversee, and other areas of authority.

As an example, the following Job Description outlines the duties of a CIO in the healthcare industry:

“Head strategic technology planning, including 5-year roadmaps, cost-saving compliance projects, and IT improvements enabling steady growth. Roll out complex architectures and champion cost-effective RPA, help desk, cybersecurity, mobility, and data center projects. Oversee 70 reports and $45M budget.”

If you’d rather make it shorter, you can simply state “Managed 4-state territory, 320 sales reps, and 3 lines of business.” This description should be placed immediately under each job title in your career history.

6 – Pull it all together for a fresh executive resume.

Now, use the content you created thus far to write your executive resume: your Resume Title, Resume Summary, Achievement Bullets, and Job Descriptions (all shown in the diagram below).

Use this resume example as a guide for placing your Resume Title, Resume Summary, Achievements, and Job Descriptions in the right spot for maximum effect. You can also see the full Global CFO sample resume here.

This resume shows how to break out your best Achievements into a Page 1 grouping (named “Capital Administration, Strategic Planning, & Executive Leadership” in this example).

By listing your TOP Achievements on the first page, your executive resume has a better chance of attracting attention.

Your remaining Achievement Bullets can then be shown under each Job Description.

You can see a similar strategy employed in this CEO and Board Advisor sample resume, which adds headlines such as “Growth Strategist Behind Burgeoning Market Share – With Peak Rise in Valuation.”

With a little forethought and assessment of your skills, your executive resume can be pulled together for a quick submission to a top job or recruiter.

By writing out Achievements and giving thought to other components of your executive resume, you’ll be ready for the next (unexpected!) opportunity.

What to Put on LinkedIn When You’re Unemployed

by Laura Smith-Proulx

So your job was eliminated, you quit, or you were laid off – how should you update LinkedIn when you’re unemployed?

What current job should you list on LinkedIn while you’re unemployed?
Should you even mention your unemployed status – or keep it under wraps?
How can you write a strong LinkedIn Headline when unemployed?

You’ll need a strategy for LinkedIn that helps head off questions, while drawing more employer traffic and representing your personal brand.

Here’s how to write a strong LinkedIn Profile that ignores your unemployed status and puts the focus back on your TALENT and VALUE PROPOSITION:

1 – What to put in your LinkedIn HEADLINE when unemployed.

Here’s where you’ll want to ensure your leadership value proposition (NOT than your unemployment status) stands out.

After all, your Headline is prime real estate—displayed in nearly EVERY interaction you’ll have on the site AND the #1 most heavily weighted field in LinkedIn’s indexing scheme.

In other words, get your Headline right, even if you don’t touch the other fields!

Your employment status is NOT the brand message to send to employers. Recruiters and employers need your skills; they don’t need to know the exact last date you’ve used them.

Instead, display a clear promise of value, while alluding to (but not directly stating) your executive job search.

These examples (making full use of your Headline’s 220 characters) show how you can make your message clear to employers, without the negative connotation of “unemployed” in your Headline:

Revenue Officer. Consistent #1 Market Share & Customer Acquisition for US, Canada, & India. Aligns Sales, Marketing, Channels, Analytics, & CRM for Customer Experience in Telecom, SaaS, or Retail

IT Director, VP of IT. Infrastructure, Applications, & Networking Leadership. Managed Services, DevOps, Agile, Automation, & IT Security. Creates Efficient IT Teams Delivering Cost Savings & Business Capabilities

How do you write a Headline like this? Use job postings and review other LinkedIn Profiles to build a keyword list similar to these examples. Keywords are critical in your Headline, because they attract employers and increase your traffic through the site’s algorithm. Add a brief statement of value, too (Grows Sales Up to 65% Through Consultative Techniques).

See A Fast Formula for a Powerful LinkedIn Headline for more insight on creating an effective Headline that attracts employers.

2 – What to put in your LinkedIn ABOUT / SUMMARY section when unemployed.

Just like your Headline, the About section (formerly the Summary) can be used to deliver a direct message to employers that clearly outlines your personal brand.

Show powerful achievements in your About section – and introduce them with a personalized message similar to this example:

“I take companies to next-level growth – building IT operations as CIO that cut OPEX up to 30% and delivering apps that generate revenue, heading digital transformation, and cutting ticket resolution time 50% using analytics.

Cost, value, and ROI are crucial factors in operationalizing business decisions and improving our productivity.”

Note the keywords built into this introduction (IT operations, IaaS, digital transformation, analytics, OPEX, ROI), telling employers this executive is interested in another CIO role. There is NO mention of employment status!

You can close your About section with a call to action like this:

“As a Business Development VP who opens C-suite relationships, I close multiyear sales opportunities for cloud services, AI, and software sales.

I welcome connections at Laura@AnExpertResume.com.”

In this example, Business Development VP, sales, cloud services, AI, software, and other industry-specific terms are all used as keywords to attract attention from the right employer.

Remember, you actually have BETTER opportunities to promote yourself on LinkedIn when unemployed! Use the About section to openly display your expertise, without worrying that your CEO, Board, or team are viewing your Profile with suspicion.

3 – What to put in your LinkedIn EXPERIENCE section when unemployed.

List your career history and job titles as usual, with a sprinkling of accomplishments and description of your role in the company.

However, don’t get creative when it comes to your last job! If your employment ended only recently, you have several options.

You could just leave your former role as if it’s still current, especially if you’re still receiving severance pay or helping your previous employer on an as-needed basis.

Another option is to simply give your former job an End Date on your LinkedIn Profile. While doing so will drop your Profile’s searchability (slightly), this is also the most straightforward way to show your current status. Again, you don’t have to say you’re unemployed when doing this!

In some cases, executives add a “current job” entry to give recruiters an idea of the title they’re seeking, while making it clear they’re currently unemployed. Should you decide to do so, a simple “COO in Transition” at “Manufacturing Company” or “IT & Program Leader” at “Technology Industry” will suffice.

What you should put on LinkedIn when you’re unemployed, basically, is a reflection of what you offer employers going FORWARD.

It’s NOT about your unemployment status, but what you uniquely offer the RIGHT employer.

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How to Write a Board of Directors Resume

by Laura Smith-Proulx

Ready to target Board of Directors opportunities?

There are critical differences between a “typical” executive resume and the information you’ll need to target a Board role.

Whether you’ve already served in this capacity or you’re seeking your first opportunity to sit on a board, your Board resume must concisely convey your influence as a strategic advisor with progressive leadership and business acumen – ready to expand value to shareholders and inspire trust among the executive team.

Keep these considerations in mind when writing a resume to pursue a Board seat:

1 – Keep your Board of Directors resume short and to the point.

It might sound easy to produce either a single or 2-page summary resume for Board readers, but writing for a tight, condensed space is anything but simple.

You’ll need to incorporate a short snapshot of leadership abilities to drive reader interest. This executive summary area should reflect turnarounds, strategic direction, change, and new profit initiatives you’ve led during the high points of your career.

Condense your professional history into relevant, concise success stories, with an eye toward your fiscal authority and impact on strategic decisions. These could include new partnerships, industry affiliations, turnarounds, and other profitable ventures.

Remember – your typical executive resume may be longer and provide more context, depending upon your career goal. As shown in this example of a Board of Directors resume, you’ll need to ruthlessly trim or summarize irrelevant information from your Board resume by only selecting data that shows readiness for Board leadership.

2 – Add examples of leadership success and business insight.

How you achieve results is often as important as the results themselves!

You’ll need to show your leadership style and culture fit, especially if you’re seeking a Board seat in a company undergoing significant transformation.

If you’ve taken part in whole-company change, including M&A, consolidations, company exits, capital raising, and strategic planning, these items need to be featured on your Board of Directors resume. Include the business case and consensus-building efforts required to influence and shape buy-in at all levels.

Of course, previous Board experience should also be featured, as well as leadership roles in professional or civic organizations. These should be more prominent than otherwise featured on your executive resume.

3 – Focus on bottom-line and scalable growth results in your Board of Directors resume.

The scope of your work is important to a Board of Directors, particularly where it applies to your skills in differently scaled environments (startup, Fortune 500, growth, and other situations).

If you have handled large teams, built greenfield businesses, led global sites, boosted cash flow, or planned for worldwide growth requirements, these details need to make their way onto your resume.

Your Board resume should also note specific metrics illustrating a pattern of margin improvement, cost savings, new revenue streams, competitive market share growth, and the impact of product or market strategy. In addition, your awareness of new digital transformation and technology trends should be highlighted.

While these details should also appear on your executive resume, you’ll need to ensure they are succinctly condensed and highlighted on your Board resume.

To summarize, writing a Board of Directors resume requires a unique and strategic focus on your perspective, industry insights, leadership skill, and fiscal results – with a straightforward and detailed story of impact at the corporate level.

The Worst Mistake You Can Make in Your Executive Cover Letter

by Laura Smith-Proulx

After you identify the ideal employer or job, it’s time to court them with a well-written Cover Letter.

Even though your resume and LinkedIn Profile will get the most attention, your Cover Letter (also called a Value Proposition Letter) is a powerful tool that can point out how your leadership approach will create ROI and why you’re the best fit for the company.

Some CEOs, Boards, company owners, and investors will read your Cover Letter even MORE intently than your resume! It’s worth your time to craft a powerful one.

What’s the Biggest Mistake in Most Cover Letters?

Calling attention to your deficiencies as an applicant.

You MUST put your best foot forward immediately in a Cover Letter – enumerating the reasons an employer SHOULD call you.

Are you opening your Cover Letter with any of these lines?

“You might wonder why I’m reaching out to you…”

“Despite the fact that I don’t have the experience listed in your job posting…”

“Even with my experience in a field entirely different than yours…”

STOP! The employer doesn’t even know you yet, and you’ve just given them a reason to dismiss you out of hand.

Consider how quickly you’re ruling yourself out as a candidate when you launch into the negatives of your background.

By over-explaining, calling out your weaknesses, or unfavorably comparing yourself to other candidates, you could be relegating your Cover Letter to the (digital) trash bin.

Re-Think Your Cover Letter Strategy

Lead with your strengths! These could be your skills in a related industry, your career recognition for exceeding expectations, your steady promotions into the C-suite, or simply your affinity for the employer’s industry.

Rework your Cover Letter with a strategy that outlines your readiness for an executive role, including your history of business growth, related achievements, and grasp of their customer needs.

Ditch the negative opening line and start fresh with something like these introductions:

“As SVP at GHI Holdings, I’ve regularly stepped in as interim COO to manage our regional operations, lowering OPEX 23% and providing me with the insight to streamline operations at XYZ Company.”

“Long interested in the technology side of the life sciences business, I offer a strong perspective on digital transformation, AI, and modernization that could benefit your operation.”

“Your posting for a CFO piqued my interest. As the senior finance executive for ABC Company, I’ve created the same culture of stability, accountability, and accuracy as described in your requirements (with 11% better revenue and 6% more productivity.”

Note that these statements all fit the bill for a candidate who is not quite at the level they’re pursuing, but they’re still conversation starters that can get you in the door.

Want a better shot at impressing employers?

Write a persuasive Cover Letter that describes your passion for the industry and how your leadership background directly aligns with employer needs.

Focus on the POSITIVE aspects of your career and the ROI of hiring you to get the response you deserve.

Top Companies Hiring for $100K+ Jobs

by Laura Smith-Proulx

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Among the World’s Top Resume & LinkedIn Writing Experts

“As In-House Counsel for a Fortune 1000 company, I retained Laura to revamp my resume. As a result of her attention to detail, Laura was able to highlight my broad skill set, with a product worthy of my accomplishments.

I highly recommend Laura to all others who want to get on the fast track to success.”

– Kirk Dahlke, General Counsel

Interview-Winning, Award-Winning Executive Resumes

: COO Resume

: Award-Winning CMO Resume

: Healthcare CEO Resume

“As an executive in transition, I vigorously endorse Laura and her work. After many hours of speaking with me, she crafted an amazing new rebranded set of credentials.

I am still astonished at how someone who has not known me for 20 years could define my brand so succinctly.”

– Chris Dancy, Global Technology Executive

As Seen in Global Media

: CIO Resume

: Product Executive Bio

“I want to thank you again for your excellent work. I found a new position quickly, and your resume had a lot to do with that.

I had 4 offers and 7 interviews within 2 weeks – and every single company commented on the resume!

Thanks again for doing such a great job! It is truly a career investment that pays off.“

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“After I started using the resume, I had many calls and interviews. Today, I was offered the perfect position, with higher pay. The one thing that helped was my resume. They just HAD to talk with me once they got it.”

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