Dear Sam: I spent 24 years in the barcode industry and 3 years in telecom. From 2007 through 2017, I became a caretaker for my father and mother-in-law, who passed away in 2015 and 2017. Later that year, in 2017, I began working for a retail store and spent 5 years with them until mid-2022.

I am 63 years old, and I want to return to work in some capacity. Even after 12 years out of the professional arena, I succeeded at the retail company and earned a promotion to turn around an underperforming region.

I was hoping that you could share some details on structuring my resume as how far I should go back employment-wise, keeping at one page, discussing my time off, and highlighting my successes.

I am grateful for any feedback you can share. – Tom

Dear Tom: What a wonderful gift to spend those years with your mother-in-law and father. It is also fantastic that you were able to transition back into the workforce, excel professionally over the past five years, and demonstrate your strengths by turning around an underperforming region.

In terms of structuring your resume, of course, include your 2017-2022 experience and achievements, as that will primarily guide the presentation of your professional journey. Next, in the 10-year gap, briefly mention the career hiatus you took and why. Hiring managers appreciate this level of transparency, and it is better to present the facts rather than have readers attempt to guess what you were doing for that decade. I would then likely present about 10 years of prior industry experience, allowing you to show the expected 10-15 years of professional history on your resume.

Your resume does not need to be one page; I would expect the exploration of your 15 years to take two pages to accomplish effectively.

Regarding moving forward in your job search, I’m unsure if you want to return to what you did before the gap in your professional career or continue in the sales and management arena. Given your recent history in that field, it would likely be a more straightforward point of entry to continue in sales management. If that is the case, build your qualifications summary based on the successes that you have achieved over the past five years. If you are seeking to return to what you did for two decades, before your absence from the workforce, shape your qualifications summary to focus on what you did in that specific arena.

I believe you have already accomplished the most challenging part of your job search, which would be the first return to work position after your absence. If you present five years at the retail company and 10 years of history and the barcode industry, combined with your 10-year gap, that shows a 25-year record for employers, mitigating aging your candidacy within the resume screening process.

I wish you all the best in transitioning into the next chapter of your journey.

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.