Why 40-year-olds are becoming 30-year olds on their resumes

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

When Lily, a marketing strategist in Montreal, wrapped a long-term work contract in the fall of 2024, she immediately hit the ground running, applying to multiple jobs a day. Six months and more than 500 applications later, she had nothing to show for her efforts but a few fruitless interviews and a whole lot of radio silence.

When she hired a resume consultant for advice on getting her applications noticed, she expected she'd get formatting hacks or a crash course in keywords.