What do you do if you need to showcase your achievements on a late career resume?

2 Tailor your resume to the job

One of the most important things you can do to showcase your achievements on your late career resume is to tailor it to the specific job you are applying for. This means that you should carefully read the job description and identify the keywords, skills, and qualifications that the employer is looking for. Then, you should match your resume to those criteria, using the same language and highlighting the achievements that are most relevant and impressive. For example, if the job requires leadership skills, you should emphasize the projects you led, the teams you managed, and the results you achieved. This way, you can show the hiring manager that you understand their needs and that you have the right skills and experience to meet them.

4 Focus on your recent and relevant achievements

When you have a long and successful career, it can be tempting to include every achievement you have ever accomplished on your resume. However, this can backfire, as it can make your resume too long, too cluttered, or too outdated. Instead, you should focus on your recent and relevant achievements, and omit or minimize the ones that are older, less important, or unrelated to the job. A good rule of thumb is to limit your resume to the last 10 to 15 years of your career, and to highlight the achievements that are most aligned with your current goals and the employer's expectations. This will help you to keep your resume concise, clear, and current.

5 Showcase your transferable skills

One of the challenges of writing a late career resume is that you might be changing industries, roles, or fields, or that you might be facing a gap in your employment history. In these cases, you need to showcase your transferable skills, which are the skills that you can apply to different situations and contexts. For example, some transferable skills are communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and adaptability. To showcase your transferable skills, you should use examples of achievements that demonstrate how you used them in various settings and scenarios. You should also use keywords and phrases that match the ones used in the job description, to show that you have the relevant skills for the role.

6 Highlight your professional development

Another way to showcase your achievements on your late career resume is to highlight your professional development. This means that you should include any education, training, certification, or other learning opportunities that you have pursued or completed during your career. This will show the hiring manager that you are motivated, curious, and up to date with the latest trends and practices in your field. It will also show that you are willing to learn new skills and adapt to changing demands and expectations. You can list your professional development in a separate section on your resume, or you can integrate it with your work experience or skills sections, depending on the format and relevance of your resume.