Dear Sam: I am looking for ways not to show my age in my resume. I am in my mid-50s and think my age negatively impacts my job search. To combat the ageism I fear is happening, I have removed dates from my college degree, eliminated my earliest three positions, and only presented the past 15 years of my professional history from about 2007 forward. Will the omission of that data and information come back to bite me? — Sadie

Dear Sadie: Not at all. Presenting a strategic picture of what you have done is exactly what a resume is. Hiring managers do not expect you to include every position you have ever held and instead prefer you focus on your most recent and relevant experiences, typically spanning the last 10 to 15 years. Now this does not mean that you can’t include additional information, but unless you are at a senior management or executive level, rightsizing the presentation of a 30-year career is the right move.

I am glad you mentioned that you removed the dates on your college degrees because some candidates forget to do so when omitting their earliest job experiences. As you are choosing not to present the first 15 or so years of your career, including your graduation date from college would completely undo your strategic effort to minimize the appearance of your age. So yes, your approach is aligned with best practices-based personal branding strategies and ensures you are presenting a competitive picture of your candidacy.

I will note that if there were pre-2007 experiences that you want to discuss during an interview, you could include a foundational experience section on your resume with select early employers, titles, and perhaps even a highlight of the work you performed. These foundational experiences do not have to be presented in the context of the dates they occurred. This allows a candidate to prompt interview questions about early experiences that still add value to their candidacy today.

Samantha Nolan is an Advanced Personal Branding Strategist and Career Expert, founder and CEO of Nolan Branding. Do you have a resume, career, or job search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at [email protected]. For information on Nolan Branding’s services, visit www.nolanbranding.com or call 888-9-MY-BRAND or 614-570-3442.