Crafting a good resume for a job search is difficult enough. Doing so in later life -- when issues like age discrimination potentially come into play -- is tougher yet.

To get a better idea of how job seekers age 50-plus should approach this task, we spoke with Don Weintraub, managing director of performanceimprovement and career services at ExecuNet, a business and careernetwork for senior-level executives.

Here are edited excerpts of that discussion:

MR. WEINTRAUB: I think sometimes the person at the top really needs a document of this type more so than perhaps less senior folks. In the past, people came after them. Now they're finding that the phone isn't ringing.

MR. WEINTRAUB: A resume has become a document that's intended to brand, package, market and presell. And so folks need to think about this as their personal marketing brochure.

Our research shows that you have less than 45 seconds to capture the attention of the reader. What's most critical is the top half of the first page. You should have four or five accomplishments with metrics, literallyspelling out what you did. Up on top [you need] about 12 to 15 core competencies, like 'strategic planning' or 'mergers and acquisitions.'

If I'm doing a search [to fill a position], I tell the software to go out and find me candidates who have certain keywords in their resume. The software . . . searches [resumes], looking for these keywords.

MR. WEINTRAUB: There are two schools of thought. One is that it may help get the attention of the reader if they get something in the mail. But at most companies [an application] has to go through the resume database system. Even if you sent a paper copy to someone, they would more than likely ask you to repeat the process [online]. They need to have it on file in a common system.

MR. WEINTRAUB: The question is, will it be read? When I was a recruiter, I would skip the letter and go straight to the resume. But if it was someone whose resume really captured my attention, I'd go back and read the letter. Experienced applicants are more likely to have skills relevant to the companies doing the hiring. They have an advantage in the cover letter. If they match up their experience and accomplishments, they're more likely to have stuff to say.

MR. WEINTRAUB: They use words like 'seasoned,' or start out with 'over 35 years of experience.' You're immediately playing the age card.

I eliminate dates of education. You don't want to put that in at all. List the schools, list the degrees -- [but] no dates. Never go back more than 20 years [unless] you did something really interesting and/or you worked for a company that has real impact in the marketplace like General Electric.

MR. WEINTRAUB: They assume, 'I'll go out and look at job postings, do a little networking and ask my buddies if they know of any jobs.' The higher up you go in terms of role and salary, the less likely it is that the job will be posted anywhere. If you aren't making it easy to be found, like being on LinkedIn or ExecuNet or one of the other executive-level sites, you're eliminating 92% of the job possibilities.