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5 Things You Should Know About Age Discrimination and What To Do About It

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Age Discrimination: What to Know & Do About It
Photo: Klaus Hausmann

An older worker is considered anyone in their 40s and above. Although it’s not a guarantee, as we get older, there’s potential to find that age may be a hindrance to landing the job we want or moving up the corporate ladder in the job we have. A 2017 survey by the AARP found that almost two thirds of workers age 55-64 feel their age is a barrier to getting a job. Although it seems that more law suits are brought up in the work realm over gender or race discrimination, age bias is still an important topic any mature worker should be mindful of each time they’re in a job search. But before I dive into a checklist of helpful tips, let’s look at why and how discrimination happens and what the law says.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) states that, “…it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.” This applies to companies with 20+ employees and their job postings, pre-employment inquiries, apprenticeships, and benefits. The ADEA also makes it illegal to retaliate against someone who opposes or files a charge against discriminatory employment practices, testifies to such, and/or is involved in the investigation/litigation process in such a case.

WHY WOULD A HIRING MANAGER BE AGE-BIASED?

Well, with the ADEA in place we’re safe, right? Not necessarily, which I’ll go into shortly. So what would make an employer discriminate against an older worker?

  • They’re concerned an older worker may not be as up on their technical skills/training, current events, technology, and/or industry trends. In many places, there’s a perception that older workers may not have the tech savvy that younger ones possess.
  • Some could assume that an older worker will want a large salary and thus feel like they can hire in someone younger for a lower salary.
  • They might feel an older worker may not fit in with the current staff, particularly in small startup companies or those with a primarily young team.
  • Other assumptions still persist such as, “Older workers get exhausted by their work or neglect their health,” or that mature job seekers are looking to coast toward retirement.
  • Some hiring managers may have an idea of what the “best” employee age is for a team, and some may straight up think you are too old for the job.
  • Not all companies have implemented such initiatives as bias awareness training and employment auditing and/or rid their applications of identifying characteristic questions.

HOW ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH IT?

If bias—unconscious or not—is happening in the hiring process, how, you may ask, are companies getting away with it?

Some employers’ online applications contain questions (such as graduation dates) that can lead to age bias. Some go so far as to ask for an applicant’s date of birth, which is illegal at this stage of the candidate soliciting process.

If pushed when an applicant follows up (or if ever brought up in court), a hiring manager could use excuses like, “You’re overqualified,” “We don’t think you’d be happy…,” or “You won’t be a good fit for our team,” when the underlying decision was in reality age-biased.

Unfortunately for applicants, workers already on the job are in a better position (and probably more likely) to bring up a complaint about age discrimination vs. someone who’s job hunting. So let’s look at several things you can do to increase your chances of securing rewarding fairly compensated work.

SIDEBAR: How do say, bars, clubs, or Abercrombie stores get away with picking and choosing the young attractive applicants? They are most likely getting away with this by saying they need to hire workers that can help the company relate and appeal to their target customers—or that younger folks may work for the pay they can offer moreso than older candidates.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

A.) The Application

The most crucial place age discrimination could come in, since the hiring manager will see you in person during a webcam or personal interview, is the application process. Do your best to omit dates of graduation and military service, and don’t list your birthday.

For companies who have a mandatory date blank for degrees earned, if possible, enter “9999” there in order to satisfy that field and move on. When there’s something you don’t feel comfortable answering on an application, try entering “flexible” or “will discuss” as the field allows.

B.) Your Resume & LinkedIn Profile

  • Omit the dates mentioned above in the previous section.
  • In order to show you’re involved beyond your time at work and on top of industry trends, you could list any professional associations, meet up or networking groups, and industry groups in which you’re involved.
  • Avoid statements like 25+ years of experience, and just say, “more than 10 (or 15) years of experience…”
  • Exclude all clues to your age in the syntax of the email address you use (e.g., janesmith1962@aol.com) or your website (www.bobjones1975.com/resume.html).
  • Omit any obsolete software with which you worked. Instead, be sure to include any current critical software you’ve learned that pertains to the job at hand. Definitely include any relevant new skills and recent training you’ve completed.
  • Don’t list or give references until asked, and of course, make sure the contact info for your references is up to date. If you feel like you might get the job, be sure to send them a quick text or email letting them know to expect a call and what the job is so they can be a little more ready to speak to your qualifications.
  • Freshen up the formatting of your resume. Make sure there’s some white space, and feel free to punctuate certain sections with some color or underlining. Try another professional font, like Calibri. Include either your last 10 years of work history or your last 3 jobs. If you have a varied job history, use a functional or combination instead of a chronological style resume, and reference your latest 3 or 4 jobs that mirror the requirements of the one for which you’re applying.
  • If needed, find a good photographer experienced with taking headshots. With a flattering hair style, sharp clothing, and the right lighting and background anyone can look up to date and professional. Use the new photo at your LinkedIn profile.

C.) Your Skills

Whether you’re competing with someone in their 20s or 50s, you need to be on top of keeping your skills current and competitive. Stay in the know on trends in your industry and current events—especially those relevant to your field. Have an online presence. If you feel like there’s training you need or software you should learn, seek out a source. If you’re employed, start by asking your supervisor. Who knows; maybe the company will cover the cost of the training or allow you to train during work hours!

D.) The Company/The Interview

Age discrimination can also factor into the interviewing process as well as the final decision. If you’ve typically or recently worked in a large company, you could seek out smaller or growing businesses where your experience will be needed and valued. You can use seniorjobbank.org, aarp.org/work, retirementjobs.com/search, grandparents.com/money-and-work/career/jobs-people-over-50, and retirementliving.com/retirement-jobs to research companies that are older-applicant friendly.

Don’t go too far and dye your hair jet black. And if the style of dress is casual, don’t show up to the interview in a 3-piece suit. Find a fashion savvy friend you trust to give you a few pointers on your wardrobe, hair, etc. with the goal of being able to compete with the sharpness of younger applicants while still maintaining the authenticity of who you are. Go contemporary and professional while being age appropriate.

As you interact with the interviewer, show energy, enthusiasm, and your knowledge of the industry and the company. If you feel your age may be an issue, be proactive and mention the skills and experience you bring to the job and that you’re willing to put in extra hours as needed. Talk about a time when you brought a team together when things got tough and/or stress that you’ll use your skills to help the company maintain and increase profits.

E.) Other Tips

Networking – Mature workers should have a large network of contacts. Start there, and draw upon those you know as you begin your job search. These folks know you and have a sense of how you are as a person (and most likely what kind of employee you are), and may be able to get your foot in the door at their company or one where they have a colleague. Some companies’ HR departments are in the “hire younger/inexperienced workers at a lower pay rate” mindset and may be searching in that manner. Networking may help you bypass typical HR screening.

Career shift – Some job seekers may want or need to move in the direction of creating their own job or business, which could be partly linked to their career path, interests, or network. You could offer to work on a consulting or project basis for companies on your target list—or present on topics.

Physical fitness – Get and stay in the best physical shape you can. Come up with a fitness routine; at a minimum, try to walk for 30 minutes 4 times a week. Allow yourself some relax and de-stress time, reading, watching some TV, and spending time with friends and family.

HOPE

Keep at your job search. Even if you feel your age has been a hindrance, slowing down or letting a bummed out attitude take over won’t help you.

The statistics show that employers are softening on skewing toward a preference for younger workers. In October of 2016, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) found that by 2019 it’s projected that over 40% of Americans age 55+ will be employed, making up over 25% of the US labor force.

This is up from 13% in 2000 and 22.2% in July 2014! Further, a study by London Business School researchers found most negative assumptions about older workers to be untrue.

Employers rate mature workers high on characteristics such as punctuality, judgment, attention to quality, and attendance. Mature workers may stay on the job longer than millennials and be more focused. Research shows that Americans age 55 and up adapt to new technology successfully, take fewer sick days, and are more loyal than 30-something aged employees.

With older employees, a company has the benefit of their wisdom and can utilize them as a mentorship resource. They’re also quite a value: Employers can hire someone with a wealth of knowledge at the budget they have since many older workers are not trying to continue to climb the corporate ladder like someone in their 30s or increase their salary with each successive position.

Wherever you are in your job search, if you really need an extra dose of hope, purpose, and encouragement, check out the Epilogue in my book Here Today, Hired Tomorrow.

So while it may feel like aging is a detriment to your career in your later years, know that there are many things you can do to get the job you want and vie for moving up. Older employees who keep their knowledge and skills current and know how to present themselves are not only valuable but putting themselves in the best position to give the competition a run for their money—and youth!

Additional info from AARP Magazine 2018: “3 in 5 older workers have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace. 1 in 4 have been subjected to negative comments about their age from a supervisor or coworker. 44% of older workers who’d applied for a job recently were asked for birth date or other age-related info, and 91% of older workers surveyed support strengthening US age discrimination law. –from “The Value of Experience: Age Discrimination Against Older Workers Persists.” Download the report.

Resources for Mature Job Seekers:
• Learn more about AARP’s fight against age discrimination, plus tips for navigating age in your job search & at work.
• AARP’s Work Reimagined site – is a great place for older workers looking to change work paths.
• Email AARP if you think an employer is discriminating against older workers.
• AARP Job Board – includes FT, PT, telework & flex job opportunities.
• Fifty Forward
• NCOA

Sources:
• Thanks to Guin Tyus and Clay Faircloth at the Nashville Career Advancement Center.
• American Job Center’s “Helpful Hints for the Mature Job Seeker” workshop participant guide; www.ncacworkforce.org
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_discrimination_law_in_the_United_States
• https://www.seattletimes.com/nwshowcase/careers/the-middle-aged-resume-what-to-leave-in-what-to-leave-out
• https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T012-C000-S004-battling-age-bias-when-job-hunting.html
• https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/age-discrimination-five-ways-older-workers-can-overcome_us_5934cd36e4b062a6ac0ad13f
• http://www.precisionstaffing.net/2017/10/13/biased-not-avoiding-bias-hiring-process
• https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/age-discrimination-five-ways-older-workers-can-overcome_us_5934cd36e4b062a6ac0ad13f
• http://college.monster.com/training/articles/1415-hr-says-is-this-interview-question-legal

Have you ever encountered age discrimination in your search or at your job, and if so what did you do about it? Comment in the “Start the Discussion” blank below.

 

Looking for a new job? Want to get what you want fast? Check out my book, Here Today, Hired Tomorrow (kurtkirton.com/hthtbook), and subscribe to my blog (kurtkirton.com) for free advice on your job search.

9 Ways to Dispel Thoughts of Suicide During a Job Search

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Photo courtesy of Flikr Creative Commons
Photo courtesy of Flikr Creative Commons

The holiday season can be so lonely for many or amplify stresses for others—especially those in career transition. Although a sensitive subject, I felt it important to share this section of my book to encourage anyone who’s ever had the thought of suicide skitter across their mind.

As private and ugly a thought as suicide is, I think everyone entertains the option—especially during an extended job search or times when they are not experiencing positive results from their efforts or are receiving a lot of rejections. Here are some ways that have helped me fend off these negative thoughts.

1) Make a list of what you’re thankful for—what you do have and the things that are going right for you currently. Think about what you’ve accomplished today, who you helped or plan to help, what made you happy today, and anything you’re looking forward to next (e.g., dinner with friends, that vacation or holiday party, buying something from your wish list). This should help get you into a more positive frame of mind.

2) Hang in there. Sometimes getting that right job takes longer than we’d all like because it’s a matter of timing. Perhaps the job is not quite open yet because, for example, the person in it now hasn’t been promoted or left to be a full-time mom.

3) Take comfort in the fact that God may need you somewhere new now, to encourage or help others or to bless your new employer with your skills, knowledge, and experience. Maybe you’re a high-level (C-suite) manager who’ll be brought in to completely change a location’s culture for the better.

4) Remember, regardless of your work situation or anything else that’s a burden on your mind during this time, your friends and your family still need you. Say it out loud: “People… need… me.”

5) Fact, faith, and feelings—I remember years ago as a youth seeing The Four Spiritual Laws tract. Simple as it may seem, the analogy is a train. Fact is the engine, so regardless of your feelings, remember the facts and what your actual situation is without a lens of drama or worry. Your feelings are a section of the train, the caboose. But a train can run without a caboose. So although your feelings are a part of the equation, remember Fact is out front, Faith knits it together, and Feelings are last. Put your faith in what God has promised in Scripture and in His trustworthiness.

6) Journal—whether it’s a paper journal or just making a new document for each day you write, journaling is a healthy and effective way to pour out your sadness, frustration, thoughts, disappointments, joys, etc. This is not only cathartic, but it can be a means of sorting out your feelings and thoughts. Further, most times you can figure out a solution to what’s bothering you. As much as I can, I try to end the journal entry with what is going right or well, stating the key thoughts I’ve distilled out of that journal entry, and/or the things I’m thankful for.

7) List the good things about yourself. As stated earlier, most people derive self-worth and identity from their job. And that’s to be expected. Heck, it’s one of the first things someone you’ve just met asks you about, not to mention where you spend a majority of your time! So in seasons when you’re not working, it’s easy to forget your value outside of a job. Shoot for 5 good things about yourself…I bet you can come up with 10! These can be personal traits and/or about yourself as an employee. Consider your strengths, things for which others have complimented you, etc. You can even ask a close friend or 2 for their take on what your strengths are.

8) You never know what awesome thing is to come, personally or in your work situation! For example, I never thought I’d be able to travel internationally until one of the music dot-coms I worked for closed down. We got 3 full months of pay and some other great things in our severance packages. Then, in just a few weeks, I got a new job under my former supervisor at the next company he moved to, so I didn’t really spend much of the severance package and was later able to use those funds for a trip to London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I’ve gotten to do several other amazing international trips, songwrite with some of my favorite artists, buy a house without debt or a mortgage, write this book, and on and on. Think back over your life to some things you’d have never believed would happen if someone told you 20 years ago.

9) Seeing your pastor or a Stephen Minister can definitely be a no-cost way of having a shoulder to lean on and discuss thoughts, etc. that are too weighty to express to a friend. Search the web, or call a large local church to see if they can help connect you. Again, hang in there. This is a season, and better days are soon to come.

More on this topic. Betterhelp.com/nyt for affordable access to licensed therapists via phone, video, chat, or text.

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Looking for a new job? Want to get the one you want faster? Check out my book, Here Today, Hired Tomorrow.

Hope In A Hopeless World: One Thing You Should Consider During the Low Times of Your Job Search

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Photo by photojordi
Photo by photojordi

There she sat in her in her silk blouse and pink wool skirt, feeling her worst but looking her best. She doesn’t mention what age she was as she recounts this story but seems to be in her mid twenties.

Pop artist/songwriter/author Margaret Becker has been nominated for four Grammys, won four Dove Awards, and has had 21 number one radio hits. But despite her commanding talent and noteworthy career success, she endured dry, discouraging, desperate times like you and me.

Further, this excerpt from a chapter in her book With New Eyes doesn’t even mention that she was told at a young age by her voice teacher that she wasn’t a good singer and never would be!

Resuming the story, we read that she was at a confusing dark time in her life. After much prayer and following God earnestly, she felt as if she had hit a glass ceiling. She couldn’t move forward with her dream of singing, writing, and performing. And despite her job search efforts, she couldn’t get a position that would allow her to move out of her parents’ home. Worse, she felt as if her prayers were not falling on deaf ears—that feeling of “God, are you there; can you hear me—and will you ever help me?” we all experience at times.

Her best friend Scott, put her in touch with Dr. Breene, a teacher from his college. As she sat tight in the waiting room thinking over her situation and what she’d say to such a wise and learned man, she fought back emotion but also considered just bailing on the meeting. But she mustered courage, entered his office, and told her story. Margaret was seeking encouragement, hope, explanation, and more than anything, a way to break through, to end this anguish.

I love Dr. Breene’s response. It’s one I couldn’t have anticipated and makes me think of a crucible. He told her that despite his empathy and desire to ease her mind, that he was only a man and that this time in her life was for a season, to refine her—a stop on the way to a higher place in her career, artistry, life, and relationship with God.

Dr. Breene felt he should not interfere so that God could produce out of this difficulty what he wanted in Margaret. He told her to wrestle with this time, to pray that God give her the strength to endure since it was his great love for her that was allowing it.

As two tears escaped her eyes, she took it in and left feeling not like everything was fine, but that she had direction, that she no longer had one foot nailed to the floor. Knowing there was more “surgery” on her character and mind to come, she left emotional but with hope for healing and vision for recovery.

I’m sure it wasn’t the comforting directional meeting she’d sought or expected, but this time in her life DID come to an end, and she was stronger for it…like (as she mentions) a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. If a birthing larvae is assisted with its liberation, while fully formed and beautiful, it’s wings would be useless, not having endured the stress of the struggle that forces enough blood into them so they unfurl strong and functional.

As I’ve said many times before, career transition is one of the most difficult—and usually painful—times in a job seeker’s life, regardless of his or her position or field. If you can relate to this story, be encouraged.

Know that Kelly Clarkson was right when she sang, “What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger.” Know that it will take some time and diligence, but this season will pass. It’s not IF you will ever find that next right job, but a matter of WHEN. And this crucible of time, doubts, fears, and refining will yield a better, stronger you. Remember what you’ve accomplished thus far; move forward with hope and press on.


Please experience Margaret audibly by listening to this song from her album What Kind of Love.

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Looking for a new job? Want to get the one you want faster? Check out my new book, Here Today, Hired Tomorrow.