As the talent shortage in the US looms, more older workers are bypassing retirement to remain in the workforce, retirees are coming out of retirement and rejoining the workforce, and many of the over 50 crowd are changing jobs. But what many older job seekers find out the hard way is that the job search has changed dramatically since the last time they put themselves on the job market, which in some cases may have been decades ago.

Most older workers have lengthy work histories and many are not familiar with today’s near requirement for streamlined, keyword rich resumes. Think about it. In just the last 20 years, the internet and technology in general have progressed by leaps and bounds. As a result, the old way of submitting a resume via snail mail and getting a response upon receipt has gone the way of the all the earth.

No longer do recruiters and HR personnel expect to receive paper resumes. Instead, nearly every professional job posting requests some sort of electronic resume transmission, be it via email, through a company website, or facsimile (though arguably that’s on its way out as well). And once the resumes arrive at their destination, they are often screened by a computerized applicant tracking system. Older job seekers need to be aware of these changes and adapt their job seeking approach to today’s tech-dependent society.

Because so much has changed since many older workers last put themselves on the job market, most will find that they need a resume overhaul. For instance, if your resume is more than two pages long or still lists the day you graduated from high school, you need to redo it.

Today’s resumes (with the exception of medical CVs) should not exceed 2 pages. Many senior job seekers may wonder how to accomplish this, and the answer lies in three simple words: relevant employment history. Resume experts recommend that job seekers over 50 include only the most recent 15 to twenty years of relevant work history and suggest including a section entitled something like “positions held prior to 1988,” with just a list of companies the individual has worked for and titles he has held. In today’s “what have you done for me lately?” recruiting atmosphere, the 25 year old HR assistant who’s screening the resumes doesn’t really know what went on before he was born anyway.

I personally recommend this approach because by doing so the screener will be unable to ascertain the older applicant’s age. Some experts recommend playing up one’s age on the resume, but I have mixed feelings about this the more I read about age discrimination in the workplace. The truth is that if you have an age discriminator screening resumes, you likely won’t have the chance to play up your valuable experience as an older worker because he will discount you from the start. But I do like to think that the majority of people are not like that, so playing age up may also work to an older worker’s advantage.

Today’s job market values skills, qualifications, and achievements slightly more than it does previous titles, duties, and experience. In order to highlight skills, qualifications, and achievement, some senior searchers may have to switch from a chronological resume format to a skills based format. When putting together skills based resumes, older workers need to avoid referring to outdated technology and include the latest software and applications (ie Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Older workers can also simply wrap up their computer knowledge in a simple statement like “understanding of operating systems and electronic media,” to get the point across.

Older job candidates need not get discouraged by the many changes that have modified the job seeking landscape over the years. While on one hand job seeking has become easier and quicker because of technology, it also has become more competitive. Older job candidates and younger job candidates are essentially on the same level playing field when it comes to the cyber job hunt. (read: if you don’t hear anything back from an employer after submitting your resume online, it probably has nothing to do with your age).

Older job candidates need to be proud of their skills, experience, accomplishments and their age. While employers do value skills and accomplishments a little more than before, they still value an older individual’s experience and ability to competently make decisions and deal with the everyday drama of the workforce. So even if you think you are lacking in the skills and accomplishment area (even though you probably are not) you will likely find that in the long run, most employers appreciate and value your experience in the workforce as well.