CV advice for retirement jobs

Are you unexpectedly job hunting when you thought you were settled into retirement? On one hand, age discrimination at any stage of the recruitment process is illegal. On the other hand, older applicants may find the process harder to navigate, if not due to direct discrimination then maybe because their application doesn’t align with current requirements and show them off to their best advantage. An applicant who hasn’t hit the job market for many years may struggle to make an impact on recruiters for various reasons. Fear not! CV Shed has some handy CV hints and tips to help you on your way to a rewarding retirement job.

Focus on the last 10 years to avoid ageism

Whatever your age, it’s what you’ve done recently that counts. Skills go out of date, you forget things, processes evolve… no-one needs to know the minute details of a role you did 20 or 30 years ago. As a general rule, your CV should focus on what you’ve been doing for the last 10 years. Anything prior to that can be summarised in a line or two, or even eliminated altogether. If you've had a career break in the last 10 years, a short explanation is all that's needed.

Remove outdated information

A CV doesn’t need to include every single detail of your life and there is no need, and no legal requirement, to include absolutely everything. Your CV is your personal sales document, so if something doesn’t sell you, there’s no need for it to be on your CV. If you’re 60 years old and your CV still proudly states that you were Captain of the school netball team… you’re oversharing. Consider the poor recruiter, who has piles of CVs to wade through, and just tell them what they need to know to offer you that retirement job.

Show that you’re up to date

Eliminate the most obvious age concern by showing that you’re up to date with the latest developments in your industry. If you’re in marketing, for example, show that you’re as confident with digital, social media and influencer marketing as you are with traditional print marketing. If you’re in IT, list current technologies that you’re familiar with and don’t mention those that are now obsolete (yes, even if you spent 5 years using them all day every day early in your career!). The focus should be on the skills you have that will transfer into a new role and enable you to contribute to a business, not those that will have minimal impact in your target retirement job. 

Review old qualifications

An age giveaway on a CV is often in the qualifications. If you have a degree, by all means include it. But CSEs and O-levels shouldn’t be there. They were phased out around 1986 - that’s over 35 years ago! Your career trumps these qualifications – play on your professional experience, rather than something which ages you and has very little relevance to the retirement job you’re aiming for. 

Eliminate dates

Dates are the obvious basic giveaway if you’re trying to avoid age discrimination. There’s absolutely no need for anyone to include their date of birth on a CV. You may also want to remove the dates that you achieved your qualifications. Jobs that you had back in the 70s, 80s, or 90s can be eliminated completely, or at the most included as a sentence that avoids any mention of dates. However, dates since the millennium should definitely be included – they’re expected and will be unlikely to negatively influence a hiring manager. 

Choose a modern layout 

A modern layout will attract attention and position you as a professional. That’s not to say you should create an over-designed document full of graphics – quite the opposite! If you’re applying to larger companies for a retirement job they’ll use applicant tracking systems to review CVs, so you’ll need to make sure your CV conforms to some basic rules. Then create a format that appeals and reflects your professional personality, whilst remaining within these guidelines. 

Show your value

The best way for anyone, of any age, to make a positive impression with their CV is to demonstrate clearly the impact they can have on a business. Including quantifiable achievements for each role will show the hiring manager how you have contributed and that you understand the impact your role can have on the wider business. 

Write from the point of view of your reader

This is the number one CV-writing rule. The document you’re producing isn’t about you – it’s about how you can meet the company’s needs. Even if something is terribly important to you, it may not be so to your reader. Focus, tailor and keep every word relevant to the retirement job you're aiming for.

Use your new CV to get that retirement job!

If you find yourself looking for a retirement job, I do hope that this advice has been useful. If you want to makre sure  your CV meets current best practice standards, why not work with CV Shed to get a perfectly written CV from scratch? I'm looking forward to supporting your next steps!