CV over 50: how far back to go, which dates to keep, and the law
Cover the last 10 to 15 years in full, fold older jobs into one short earlier-career block without years, and leave out your date of birth. UK, US and Turkish law all restrict age discrimination in hiring.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Start with the window, not the first job
The UK government's JobHelp page for jobseekers over 50 says to limit your work history to the last 10 to 15 years, and adds that older experience can still go in when it is relevant to the job. That one rule does most of the work: a 32-year career becomes three or four detailed roles and a short paragraph.
Write today's year at the top of a blank page, subtract 15, and draw a line. Everything above the line gets a full entry with an employer, a title and results. Everything below it gets one sentence in the earlier-career block, unless the advert asks for something that only an old job proves.
The exception that keeps an old job in
A licence, a sector or a skill the advert names can justify an entry from 1995. If a hospital wants someone who has run a pharmacy, the pharmacy you managed twenty years ago is evidence, not padding. Keep it, with the result, and drop the routine posts around it.
Length: two pages is still the target
Prospects quotes the University of Chester's careers team: CVs should be no longer than two A4 pages. The same article allows three pages for people in high-level roles or with many jobs in the last five to ten years. A long career on its own is not a reason for page three; many recent jobs or a senior remit is.
| Your situation | Pages | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One or two employers in the last 15 years | Two | Prospects default; the window leaves room |
| Five or more roles or contracts in the last ten years | Up to three | Prospects allows it for many recent jobs |
| Director or board level | Up to three | Prospects allows it for high-level roles; the executive CV guide covers scope lines |
| Returning after a long break | Two | The window still applies; explain the break in one line |
Dates: what JobHelp says and where we would keep them
JobHelp goes further than most advice: it says you do not need to put dates against your work history, that your age should not appear on the CV, and that phrases such as 'over a number of decades' are best avoided.
We suggest a middle path. Application systems and recruiters sort jobs by date, and CitedCV's own free checker reports a CV with no recognisable dates as an error. So keep month and year on the roles inside the window and remove years only from the earlier-career block and from old qualifications.
Phrases that give an age away
- '30 years of experience' or 'over three decades': write what you did, not how long.
- A graduation year from the 1980s or 1990s on the degree line: the degree and the institution are enough.
- Software that has not been sold for years, listed as a current skill.
- An email address with a birth year in it; set up a plain first-name and surname address.
Worked example: 31 years cut to two pages
An invented person, labelled as an example. Margaret Doyle, a logistics manager, started work in 1994. Here is how each part of her history is handled, then the block that replaces the first fifteen years.
| Years | Role | Treatment on the CV |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 to now | Regional logistics manager, 3 depots | Full entry, month and year, four result lines |
| 2013 to 2019 | Depot manager | Full entry, three result lines |
| 2010 to 2013 | Transport planner | Full entry, two lines |
| 2003 to 2010 | Shift supervisor, two employers | Earlier-career block, one clause |
| 1994 to 2003 | Warehouse operative, then team leader | Earlier-career block, one clause |
| 1997 | Forklift licence | Dropped; the current role needs no evidence of it |
The earlier-career block, as it appears
Earlier career: shift supervisor and team leader roles in warehousing and distribution for two national retailers, including the move of one site to a new warehouse management system. Details on request.
One recent line, written for evidence
'Cut late deliveries across three depots from 9% to 4% in 18 months by moving route planning to daily slots, March 2021 to September 2022.' The dates are inside the window, so they stay; the number tells the reader what experience is worth, which a count of years never does.
Skills and the technology question
JobHelp advises listing what you have done with IT, including outside work, and taking a free online or local course if your skills need updating. It also points out that many roles, such as hospitality or social care, depend more on people skills than on technology.
- Name the systems you use now, by product name, in the skills line.
- Put a recent course with the month and year it ended; it shows current learning without saying anything about age.
- Drop tools that no employer in the advert would recognise.
- Match two or three words in the advert, as JobHelp suggests, rather than listing every skill from a long career.
Age discrimination law: what the texts say
This is not legal advice, and an employment lawyer or adviser should look at any real case. What follows is what each text says, read on 13 October 2026.
United Kingdom: Equality Act 2010
- Section 5 defines the characteristic by age group: a particular age or a range of ages. People over 50 are one such group.
- Section 39(1) stops an employer discriminating in the arrangements it makes for deciding who to offer a job, in the terms offered, or by not offering the job. Applicants are covered, not only staff.
- Section 13(2) is specific to age: direct discrimination is not unlawful if the employer shows it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
- Section 123(1), in the version in force since 1 October 2026, gives six months from the act complained of to bring a tribunal claim, or another period the tribunal thinks just and equitable.
Acas gives an advert example: asking for a 'recent graduate' is likely to be indirect discrimination, because recent graduates are likely to be younger.
United States: ADEA
The EEOC says the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects people aged 40 or older, covers employers with 20 or more employees, and gives 180 days to file a charge, which state law may extend. Its guidance on prohibited practices says an advert seeking 'recent college graduates' may discourage people over 40 from applying, and that questions which may show an applicant's age should generally be avoided.
Türkiye: İş Kanunu article 5 and Law 6701
Article 5 of the Labour Law bans distinctions in the employment relationship based on language, race, colour, sex, disability, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion, sect and 'similar reasons'; age is not named in its list. Law 6701 on the Human Rights and Equality Institution does name age, and its article 6 covers applicants, adverts and selection criteria. The Turkish page explains both in more detail.
Sources for this page
| Claim | Source, read 13 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| 10 to 15 year window; dates optional; avoid decade phrases; IT skills | JobHelp (UK government), tips for people over 50 |
| Two A4 pages; three for high-level roles or many recent jobs | Prospects, How to write a CV (May 2025) |
| Age group definition; applicants covered; age justification; six-month limit | Equality Act 2010 ss. 5, 39, 13, 123, legislation.gov.uk |
| 'Recent graduate' advert example | Acas, Types of age discrimination |
| 40 or older, 20 employees, 180 days; advert and question guidance | EEOC |
| Article 5 list; Law 6701 grounds and scope | mevzuat.gov.tr |
Where this advice stops
- Public-sector and regulated application forms often ask for full employment history with dates. Answer the form as asked; this page is about the CV.
- Academic CVs list every publication and post with years; the window does not apply to them.
- If you are moving into a new field, the career-change approach (skills first) may suit you better than a trimmed chronology.
- If you think you have faced discrimination, the time limits above are short. Talk to an adviser early.
Next steps
Tailor the window to each advert: the guide on matching a CV to a job description shows how to choose which recent results go first. For a UK application, the UK CV format guide covers the rest of the page layout.
If you would rather not do the cutting by hand, CitedCV can draft the CV from the facts you give it, in English, Turkish or German, and it asks before it fills a gap. You decide which old roles go in; it will not add any you did not list.
Questions people ask
How many years should a CV go back if you are over 50?
Ten to fifteen years in full, which is the window the UK government JobHelp page suggests. Older roles go into one short summary block, unless the advert needs them.
Should I put dates on my CV if I am over 50?
Keep month and year for the roles in the last fifteen years, because readers and systems sort by them. Remove years from the earlier-career block and old qualifications.
Should I take my graduation year off my CV?
Yes, for a degree finished decades ago you can. The degree, subject and institution carry the information; the year mainly signals age.
Can an employer reject me because of my age in the UK?
Not lawfully, unless they can justify it. Section 39 of the Equality Act covers decisions on who gets a job, and section 13(2) allows age-based treatment only as a proportionate means to a legitimate aim.
Is a two-page CV enough after 30 years of work?
Usually yes. Prospects sets two A4 pages as the norm and allows three only for high-level roles or many jobs in the last five to ten years.
How do I show I am up to date with technology?
Name the systems you use now and add a recent course with its end date. JobHelp also suggests counting IT use outside work.
What age does age discrimination law protect in the US?
Forty or older under the federal ADEA, according to the EEOC. It applies to employers with 20 or more employees.
Does Turkish law ban age discrimination in hiring?
Yes, through Law 6701, which names age and covers job applications. İş Kanunu article 5 does not list age by name.
Sources
- JobHelp: Getting your CV noticed, tips for people over 50jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/ways-of-working-that-fit-around-you/50-plus-main/getting-your-cv-noticed-tips-for-people-over-50/
- Prospects: How to write a CVwww.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv
- Equality Act 2010, section 5: Agewww.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/5
- Equality Act 2010, section 13: Direct discriminationwww.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/13
- Equality Act 2010, section 39: Employees and applicantswww.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/39
- Equality Act 2010, section 123: Time limitswww.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/123
- Acas: Types of age discriminationwww.acas.org.uk/age-discrimination/types-of-age-discrimination
- EEOC: Age discriminationwww.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination
- EEOC: Prohibited employment policies and practiceswww.eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment-policiespractices
- Law 6701 on the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye, mevzuat.gov.trwww.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.6701.pdf