Feeling old? Tips for your next interview.

It’s a New Year, and you’re one year older than last year. You may have signed up for a new gym membership and are watching what you eat. If you’re like most people, getting older isn’t a fun idea.

When you’re interviewing, you may even find that your age is causing people to judge you. You may even feel discriminated against. Even though companies aren’t supposed to take things like age into account, what can you do?

You cannot change their thinking, but you can change how you present yourself. If you want to avoid being labeled as “too old” in your next interview, consider these tips:

Get an up to date e-mail address. I know I’ve mentioned this a few times, but I can’t emphasize it enough. Having an e-mail address that ends in “AOL.com” screams out that you’re either older or very technology challenged.
Update your look. If you’re actively interviewing, ensure that your clothes are up to date in terms of style. Check to be sure your hair, makeup, and shoes are all up to date as well. Have a friend or family member help to give you an unbiased opinion.
Don’t include all jobs. On your resume and on LinkedIn, you don’t have to include every job you’ve ever held. Unless you’re trying to highlight something special, you can consider limiting your experience to the last ten to fifteen years. Dropping off your first job can help to quickly drop off years.
Remove your graduation years. Did you know that you don’t have to include the year you graduated on your resume? That’s right! By removing your graduation years, it’s harder for an employer to quickly calculate your age. But when you do, remove these years from LinkedIn and Facebook too.
Remove the year you were born from Facebook. Facebook requires you to provide your birthdate, but you get to decide whether or not it’s public information. At a minimum, hide the year. Employers will look you up on Facebook when you’re interviewing.
Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date. You don’t want to fall into the camp of those who never learned LinkedIn, so are choosing to opt-out of it. LinkedIn is a necessity for job searching.

This list may seem like tiny details, but in reality it’s these details that are the social cues to let someone know how old you are. By reducing the ability to guess your age, you will increase the chances someone will assume you’re younger – and the chances that you’ll be discriminated against in your job search.

And — if you have questions about your job search that you’d like me to address in an upcoming newsletter, please send me an e-mail at Angela@CopelandCoaching.com.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. Thanks.

Happy hunting!