Industry recruiters today are beginning to notice a trend that candidates are leaving their college graduation dates and other professional time stamps off of their resumes.

Trepidation is part of the reason, and hiring managers likely understand why candidates feel they need to do so. But in the end: Experience matters—especially in the apartment industry.

The reality in the real estate and construction world is that a lot of talent was lost during the downturn. People jumped ship, not because they wanted to, but because they had to, and for a good four to five years, companies that survived did so by operating with a skeleton crew.

Experienced and capable executives left for other opportunities, many to never return.

So the perception that it’s a bad thing, a disadvantage or even a black mark to be over a certain age and be competing in the real estate and construction job market with younger candidates is not reality.

Hiring companies seeking a CEO, CFO, SVP or VP always require that the candidates possess a substantial amount of experience in, and knowledge about, the industry. It is experience they could not possibly have without at least a couple of decades’ worth of work under their respective belts.

Even for non-executive positions, the experience factor really is the key. One client who needed superintendents and project managers for several luxury high-rise condominium projects specifically noted he did not want to see candidates who “manage from behind a desk,” “have never picked up a hammer” and just have a “shiny construction management degree” without having worked their way up through the trades.

Age was not factored into the equation. Experience was.

Additionally, hiring companies expect candidates to be technologically savvy. It’s how the world works these days. Technology has created efficiencies in every facet of this industry, and the candidates who get the jobs are the candidates proficient in the latest software, skilled in their use of social media and are able to adapt to changes in processes and systems.

This may seem to be an implicit deterrent to Baby Boomer candidates’ success in the job market, but recent research indicates the over-50 crowd is consuming more technology than their children and grandchildren, and that 68 percent of them use more than one device, according to Tech.Co.

Technology advice that could be helpful for 50+ candidates includes:

• Ensure a current profile on LinkedIn. That is still the first place companies look for talent. LinkedIn profiles covered in proverbial cobwebs will not get a second look.

• Post a professional picture, please. No bathroom selfies, fuzzy pictures from a fun night out with friends or vacation shots where the candidate is holding a big fish.

• Take the time to train on the standard office suite workplace programs, such as PowerPoint, Excel and the productivity tools in Outlook. There are simple YouTube videos that explain how.

• Avoid using personal email addresses that are some combination of a college nickname and lucky number.

Create a new, professional email address with first and last name, and use a provider such as Gmail rather than Aol. This is the email address you should share with potential employers, have listed on your resume, and tied to your LinkedIn account.

Employers cannot ask a candidate’s age during the interview process, so leaving the graduation date off the resume may give some older candidates a level of comfort. Really, what that screams is: “I don’t want you to know how old I am.”

By properly emphasizing experience in the resume, age, truly, should not matter.

Angie Truitt is a Senior Partner at Joseph Chris Partners, www.josephchris.com, and focuses on executive placement in the real estate and construction industries.