Age Discrimination
Question:
I have approximately 25 years experience working in different office situations. I have only included positions back to 2002 (I worked at 1 company then from 1997-2002) when I fill out on-line applications most of them want year of graduation, which in my case is 1965. I'm not sure how to convince companies that I'm up-to-date on skills, appearance, etc. and not stuck in an "old" mind set. Do you think employers pass me by because of my age and what can I do? Thanks, Gail.
Answer:
Thanks for your question, Gail. Unfortunately, you’re right: many screeners do discriminate on the basis of age or experience. That probably sounds illegal, unfair or just plain dumb to a lot of people, so let me explain some of the reasons from an employer’s perspective for a moment. If you can see it from their side, you can communicate with them in a language they will understand.
1. Employers have certain salary limitations for any given position. When they see that someone is well into their 40s or even 50s, they might assume that the candidate is likely to have income needs which exceed what they can pay.
2. Employers need new hires to quickly adapt to their workplace culture. When they see someone well into middle age, they might assume the candidate will be more set in his or her ways and less likely to fit in.
3. Employers are generally looking for new hires to be very high energy and to plan to stay awhile. When they see a candidate who is within 10 years of typical retirement age, they might assume a lower energy level and a short(er) tenure with the company.
4. Employers need their employees to have a fresh, up-to-date and technically savvy mix of skills. An older candidate is often perceived as more likely to either have dated skills or to take longer to upgrade – or both.
Whether or not assumptions based on age are valid, the needs which drive employers to make those assumptions certainly are. I appreciate that this probably sounds pretty depressing, but think of it instead as a sales task. In any sale, you need to understand your prospect’s needs so you can meet them. First of all, I think you are correct to take your Work History back only 10-15 years, depending on the level of experience required for the position. Second, I would encourage you to include recent professional development to modernize your 40 year-old degree, and, if possible, to omit dates for all of your education. Whether or not you include the date, the main thing you need to do is to address the needs outlined in items one through four above.
1. Make your description of your qualifications match the position you are applying for. When you are clearly overqualified, you make employers nervous that they can’t afford you – or they won’t be able to keep you from looking for greener pastures – so you don’t even get a chance to compete. Resumes should include relevant information to the particular position and omit everything else. And if you are intentionally taking a step down, make that clear in your cover letter with a line something like “While I have held many supervisory positions in the past, I am eager to learn more about X industry and open to a position at whatever level might permit me to develop new skills in a positive workplace culture…”
2. Make your application package seem familiar to them. Review their website and collateral materials and evaluate the tone and vocabulary you see there. Match your presentation to theirs; there is a reason that the expression, “we speak the same language,” is used as a metaphor for connection, fondness and fit. Go a step further and include specific references to your research on their company in your cover letter, complimenting them on their core values and workplace culture, and explaining why just that kind of company is exactly what you are looking for.
3. Include information in your letter and resume which shows you are active: sports, community work, extra projects or committee work on the job. Infuse your profile with adjectives which convey energy: passionate, driven, self-motivated… Ask your references to use similar language to describe you, in writing, and then pull a quote from one of your reference letters and display it as a testimonial in your resume. Also communicate in your cover letter your intention to stay. For example, you could say that you want to “find a company where you can put down some roots and invest the next 10-15 years of your career.”
4. Make sure your credentials are up-to-date and you are conversant with the most recent upgrades to software, legislation, policies and even workplace conventions. It is not enough to mask and highlight and spin your background: you have to be the person you represent. If an employer would be right in thinking that you are easily tired, motivated by dreams of retirement, mastered MS DOS and Word Perfect 1.0 and have learned nothing new since, and you still want $65K, then they are just as right to screen you out and you have some work to do before you are ready to find the work you seek.
It won’t be easy for you to overhaul your career marketing, but if you can deliver the results employers need and you do all of the above to display that on paper, you will greatly improve your chances.
Good luck & keep us posted on your progress.
Minto Roy
President
CareersToday Canada
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.mintoroy.net