There are enough jobs out there despite a lagging economy and no one is too old for change when an opportunity will present itself.  Old is not a number it is the measure of your experience. Leverage your experience in ways that makes you invaluable to someone looking to hire.  There is no job out there where you are overqualified if you position your experience, value and knowledge at the forefront of how you market yourself. Knowing that there are hundreds of thousands of jobs still open even though the unemployment rate is high should awaken you to the possibilities of what is available to you.  You are the only one who perceives yourself as old and unavailable if that is your thinking.  Change your thinking and get the job you want.

Many people today are so overwhelmed with the choices that are out there they often do not know what they want to do or are confused by the opportunities available.  If you find yourself being offered a position or a promotion that is not what you want, be honest with yourself and with those who are making the offer.  Realize that chances are you will not be successful in a job you do not like or want. If you are in a situation where you need to earn a living in the meantime, then take the job or promotion as a transition and quickly find courses, lectures, people you can talk to that might open up some avenues for you about possible work situations you had not ordinarily considered.  Generally speaking however, if you are not ready to commit, don’t take on the challenge.

Typically it’s not a great idea to include your hobbies, personal information about family members & pets, etc., or anything that will disclose too much unnecessary personal information about you or your family.  It’s ok to include associations unless they are affiliated with organizations that someone might deem objectionable or questionable then it’s best to keep that off your resume.  Examples of that might be , clubs or groups that promote violence, etc. From a formatting standpoint starting your resume off with your education rather than your experience in my opinion is not as strong, unless of course you are seeking a job in education or your professional experience requires such things as a CPA, JD or other accreditation or, if you are seeking a job in education.

Having a traditional resume always on hand is the preferred choice.  There are different formats of resumes that many people use but the one I prefer is 1-2 pages maximum, formatted by objective, strengths followed by current employment and work your way back to prior employers.  If you have more than 5 employers in the past 20 years, I would stop there.  No need to go back to your first job out of high school or college.  Stick to your current line of work so if you dabbled in areas outside of your current area of expertise, eliminate or modify them to fit into your current career path.  A bio can be used particularly if you are a senior executive with 20 + years experience, have written or consulted for awhile, or if there are major gaps in your work history that don’t flow and are better explained by the story your bio will tell vs. seeing it on printed paper.

It’s never easy making a change and knowing when to move on is sometimes just as difficult.  You are the only one who can tell whether it’s time to pick up and start looking.  Don’t be afraid of a bad economy though.  Good people are always in high demand.  Three good signs you should follow and know it’s time to move on are: 1) You are no longer challenged by the work that you do; 2) You lack motivation and drive and don’t want to go the office; 3) You are not compensated for the work you are doing nor do you like working for the company.  If any of those rings true for you than don’t procrastinate, dust off the resume and hit the interview trail.