TAILOR.

Writing your CV after 50

Age discrimination in UK recruitment is illegal. It's also widespread, automated, and almost invisible.

The applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen modern job applications make decisions long before a human sees your CV. They filter on keywords, on dates, on tenure patterns. A CV listing your O-Levels from 1985 is technically legal but reads as old to the ATS, which weights recency. A CV with twenty-five years in one organisation reads as risk-averse. A CV with dated software ("Microsoft Office Suite") reads as out-of-touch even if you're using Notion and Slack daily.

You're not the problem. The CV format hasn't kept up.

The fix is sharper than "hide your age". It's: lead with current capability, drop everything dated, foreground modern tools and recent learning, and let the experience depth come through in named outcomes rather than years served. Done well, your CV reads as a senior operator with deep judgement, not a long-stayer winding down. Done badly, it reads as the latter even when you're the former.

TAILOR rewrites your CV to lead with what you've delivered recently, in current language.

Modernise your CV

Free first analysis. No card. Includes age-appropriate cover letter and senior interview prep.

Modernise your CV →

Three real challenges

1. The ATS-aging tells

Specific signals push your CV down the ATS ranking: graduation years pre-2000, software names that read as 1990s, very long single tenures. TAILOR detects these and either removes them, modernises the framing, or repositions them so they don't lead.

2. The "overqualified" reflex

A CV that lists every senior role you've ever had reads as "will leave us in six months" to a hiring manager. TAILOR tailors the CV to the level of the actual role, so you read as right-sized rather than over-shooting.

3. The recency gap

Twenty years of experience can paradoxically read as no recent experience if your CV is built bottom-up chronologically. The recruiter's seven-second scan only catches your top third, and your top third is your oldest job. TAILOR rewrites the top third with your most recent, most relevant evidence.

The TAILOR fit

Free first analysis. Paste any job advert and upload your CV. Get back a CV that leads with what you've done in the last 3-5 years in current keywords, plus a cover letter that addresses your seniority directly and confidently (without apologising for it), and an interview prep brief covering both technical and "tell me about your career" framing questions.

Modernise your CV

Free first analysis. No card. Includes age-appropriate cover letter and senior interview prep.

Free first analysis. No credit card needed.

Start now →

After 50 CV FAQ

Should I remove old jobs from my CV?

Yes, in most cases. Anything older than 10-15 years should be summarised into a single line ("Earlier roles in X sector, 1995-2008, full detail available on request") rather than listed in detail. The recruiter wants relevance, not chronology. TAILOR handles this automatically based on the target role.

Should I include my graduation date?

Generally no for degrees earned more than 15-20 years ago. Listing the institution and the qualification is enough. ATS systems can't infer age from the qualification name alone, only from the year. TAILOR strips dates from older qualifications by default.

How do I show I'm current with modern tools and ways of working?

Foreground them. If you've used any modern collaboration platform (Notion, Slack, Teams, Asana, Miro), any modern technique (OKRs, sprint planning, design thinking), or completed any recent learning (LinkedIn courses, MOOCs, professional updates), put them in your top third. TAILOR does this automatically by reading what you've done and surfacing what's modern.

More UK CV situations