By J.M. Auron ACRW. Expert IT Resume Writer—Providing Professional IT Resumes Writing Services for 15+ Years.
Originally published December 2011 • Last updated December 2025
When I was recruiting, I was frankly shocked by the prevalence—and openness—of age discrimination. Needless to say, I "fired" clients for insisting on an illegal—and wrong-headed—insistence of recruiting within a given age range. So, when I write an IT resume for job seekers in their forties, fifties, and beyond, I'm very conscious of mitigating these risks. Here are several strategies that I—and my clients—have found useful.
1) Focus on Recent Achievements in Your IT Resume
**<em>(New section for 2025 clarity)</em>** An IT resume should be an "inverted pyramid"—with greater weight given to the current job, a bit less to the previous job—with earlier jobs significantly streamlined. This is best practice for all IT resumes, but it's extremely helpful if age discrimination may be an issue. The heavier visual and content "weight" on current accomplishments will be the first thing that draws the reader's attention—and that will build a positive initial view. **<em>(/New)</em>**
So put the greatest weight on the most recent jobs, by giving more detail on all aspects of the position—from duties and responsibilities to accomplishments.
2) Streamline Your Earlier Career in Your IT Resume
Professional Resume Writers (and Recruiters) differ on how far back to take a detailed career history. Personally, I rarely go back more than ten years in detail. That's because it's the most recent years of your career that are most critical.
Prior to 10 years? I generally include only a couple of bullets.
3) In Your IT Resume? Let Go of the Past
This is probably good advice in many areas! But it's absolutely critical in writing a strong IT resume.
I certainly recognize the understandable pride in early successes. I also realize that many job seekers demonstrate skills or industry expertise in early career that may not be visible in later jobs.
But, unfortunately, there's bad news. Experience that's more than 15 years old—at the outside—just isn't going to be perceived as particularly relevant by most hiring authorities.
So I would encourage you to omit detailed discussion—and dating—of earlier career experience. It's far more likely to do more harm than good.
4) Use "Previous Professional Experience" to Summarize Your Early IT Career
This can take a form as simple as "Previous professional experience with Acme Roadrunner Traps as Lead Tester, and with Acme Demolition as Engineer." That eliminates the early dates that scare off unethical recruiters.
But even here, be aware that people can add up—if you've had a stable career, with only 3 or 4 roles in the last 15 years, don't include too many job titles. Recruiters will assume (rightly or wrongly) that if your career has been stable for the last years, it always has been. That means too many undated titles can actually increase the risk of age discrimination.
5) Don't Date Education in Your IT Resume
Finally, don't include the dates for your College degrees, if those dates can influence perception of age.
Also, since consistency on a resume is critical, if you do decide to omit dates on education, it's usually better to omit dates on training as well.
I wish that this blog weren't necessary—and certainly hope that there's a weather change in hiring practices that does not discriminate against job seekers in their 50s and above. But I do hope that these tips are helpful in removing information from the resume that may lessen the chance of winning the first interview. **[CTA Button: Get a Free IT Resume Age-Bias Review Today]**
December 2025 Update
As I revisit this blog from 14 years ago, I'm sorry to say that things haven't gotten better. Far from it. Recent research shows 70% of developers are now under 35, and 61% of tech workers over 45 say their age directly affects employability. (Read the full WhatJobs report here)
There are a lot of reasons for this. A devaluing of software development best practices—which devalues the experience and skill that older developers (many of whom can write C++ code in their sleep) bring to the table. There's also the view that tech has, in some way changed, and older technologists can't keep up. This is absurd on many levels; tech and development haven't really changed that profoundly—and greater experience leads to greater adaptability, not the reverse.
I'm going to follow up with further posts on navigating an IT career path in your forties and beyond—so keep an eye out for future posts.