Careers
Does Looking Old Hurt the Job Search? How One Makeover Worked
Posted Jun 26, 2008, 07:46 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A 49-year-old entertainment broadcaster and film reviewer couldn’t help but think she was being rejected for jobs because she was looking old, at least on paper.
Lisa Johnson Mandell trumpeted her 20-plus years of experience at the top of her resume, but she took the advice of her husband and removed the reference, the Wall Street Journal reports. She also removed the date of her 1980 college graduation and some of her early jobs.
But she went even further, creating a video blog site to show that she is on top of technological advances and referred to it on her resume. Then she hired a stylist and photographer who chose a young-looking outfit and shot photos of her, one of which she attached to her resume.
She started getting responses immediately and soon landed a new job.
Maxine Martens, chief executive of the executive-recruitment agency Martens & Heads in New York, told the publication that attitude and knowledge of today’s world are important. Her advice for job seekers: "It's your job to stay contemporary."
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