The importance of "acting your age"

And how it affects your job search

On “30 Rock,” Jack Donaghy hired a private investigator to get dirt on his teenage nemesis, Kaylie Hooper. Played by the intense Steve Buscemi, private eye Lenny Wosniak created one of the biggest memes to come out of the show, trying (hilariously unsuccessfully) to pass himself off as a teenager.

Lenny can teach us a thing or two.

A lot of media aimed at older job seekers gives advice about how to appear younger in the face of ageism: delete older jobs on your resume, make sure images of yourself don’t look too old, check that your language isn’t too old-fashioned.

I say, forget all that.

Now, I’m not saying that you should go into an interview wearing high-waist pants and say things like, “In my day, we had a stick and a rock, and we liked it!”

You’re not Grandpa Simpson.

What I am saying is that if an employer is dedicated to hiring a person with fewer trips around the sun under their belt, they are going to go for the actual young person every time over the fake one.

Don’t be the fake one.

Example 1: Don’t try to use your resume to mask your age.

If you remove dates from your resume, as some recommend, you will just cause problems with applicant tracking systems (ATS) and move yourself to the bottom of the stack. And it’s simple enough to figure out your age based on your experience anyway.

Example 2: Don’t delete experience because it’s a few years old.

I’m all for paring down your resume. But not just in a “oldest first” way. If your experience is relevant, leave it in. Promote it. Instead, remove anything that isn’t directly relevant to the job you’re applying for. Which leaves more space to highlight all the ways you can solve their problems.

Example 3: Don’t look at your age as an obstacle.

I’ve written about this before. But the general idea is, always look at your age as an advantage. Think about the discernment, experience and reliability you have gained from your long career. And then find ways to communicate that to potential employers.

Example 4: Don’t try to “look younger.”

You should always strive to put your best foot forward, in your appearance and everything else. But you’re older. I’m older. Trying to look younger just ends up feeling like desperation, like Joey Tribbiani trying to pass as a teenager by wearing his jeans low and saying “Sup!” My friend Rosana Francescato wrote a fantastic piece about this: “I Look My Age.”

Example 5: Don’t psyche yourself out.

If you start with “they won’t hire me, I’m too old!”, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. It can end up running through all your communications, up to and including interviews. Attitude is so crucial in job hunting. If you don’t think they will hire you, they probably will end up agreeing with you.

Be your authentic self. That’s who will give them what they need.

See you next week.