I read a lot of "tips and tricks" for the, shall we say, mature worker.
Among the many resume suggestions, the one that remains a constant is the "don't use an old email address like AOL as it signals to a potential employer that you're a dinosaur.
I gave my email to a millennial and he chuckled and said "Old school, huh?" Not only was I offended, I let him know that I had multiple email accounts including gmail, hotmail and yahoo, but that my AOL account was the one that I used as a "file cabinet," so to speak.
While I appreciate and embrace new connections, I certainly don't want to lose the old ones. Let's face it, they all get hacked from time to time. And unless you have your own personal server, you're still at the mercy of the people who own your email domain.
Anyway, it started me thinking that "if it's not broken, why fix it?" Is it really important to a potential employer if you're using AOL or gmail or whatever?
If I were applying for jobs, I would err on the side of caution and use gmail on my resume.
However, does it really make a difference? Most employers know what they're looking for and it's either experience (which means they're willing to pay) or a younger person for less money. And besides, if you do land the interview, they're going to see your face at some point.
Sometimes I think we buy into these "myths" and "stereotypes" that don't always play out in reality.
