Older Nursing Student - How Should I Handle My Age on My Resume?

[seconddegreebsn]

I'm a second degree student who spent several years in the workforce before coming to nursing. During college, I worked as a CNA and have about six years worth of experience in that area. I also hold a bachelor's degree in another field.

I've been trying to apply to the sort of CNA and PCT jobs, as well as externships and volunteer work, angled towards nursing students, but I think I may not be getting callbacks due to the fact that I'm older than your average college student. Most of these jobs pay very poorly and I'm likely overqualified (my last job was a managerial position), but I'm looking to get patient contact and medical experience and am willing to take the pay cut. The money isn't a big deal to me but the experience is. People generally think I am younger than my actual age and I get a lot of double takes when I tell them my date of birth (flattering, most certainly!) so if most times, if I had not disclosed the year I graduated college or the years when I worked as a CNA, I wonder if people would think me to be a more suitable candidate?

Here's my question for those of you who do hiring: how much should I disclose on my resume that might give hints at my age? Should I list my previous BA and my previous medical experience but leave off the years? Should I leave off my previous degree completely? What about my last managerial job working in financial services? I don't want to be dishonest, but I also hate that I feel like I can't leverage having a really excellent background in direct patient care. I'm trying to make myself as marketable as possible, so I appreciate any guidance you can offer.

[sourapril]

Half of my nursing class were people over 40. Some of them got jobs at hospitals, some at LTC, and yet there are still some unemployed. Do you indicate your age on your resume? If not, you shouldn't assume that people discriminate older nurses. I am in my early 30s. Nursing is my second career. I applied over 100 jobs in hospitals and didn't get a single callback. Guess what, my friends who are in their 20s and 40s got interviews and some got hired. So I wouldn't worry too much about your age. Rework your resume and apply in other nursing areas, not just hospitals.