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As the economy continues to improve, technical recruiters are finding that the people who still struggle a bit finding IT jobs are those over 50.  What do IT staffing firms suggest that IT professionals over 50 do to help make themselves more marketable to both hiring managers and IT staffing agencies? Here are a few tips.

1. Clean up your resume—don’t leave every job on there.  The longer your resume, the more it suggests to hiring managers, IT recruiting companies, and IT recruiters, that you’re older.  If you want to avoid making this obvious, as most people do in the IT field, it’s time to take a few jobs off your resume.
2. Make sure your resume highlights the technologies you’re proficient in, especially current and new ones.  Fair or not, companies sometimes hesitate to hire older IT candidates because they’re concerned about whether their technical knowledge is up to date.  If you can demonstrate that you’re well-versed in current and new technology to IT recruiting agencies, you can make yourself a much more attractive candidate.
3. If IT recruiting firms call you about jobs, take the time to explain why you’re qualified, but not overqualified, for them.  When you’re older than 50, sometimes this is a concern.  Take a little time to assuage it.