Age Discrimination Tips for Older Job Seekers

In 1967 the federal government passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to prohibit age discrimination in workers age 40 and over. The act was developed to protect the pre-employment rights of individuals as well as those already in the workforce from discrimination due to age. While ADEA along with many individual state laws have made some impact on age related employment issues, older job seekers will continue to find resistance from potential employers. The reality is that given similar qualifications many employers will hire the 28 year old over the 55 year old.

It is important up front for the senior job seeker to understand a potential employers motives for age discrimination. Unlike many other forms of discrimination in our society, age related discrimination is not so much the result of personal prejudice as it is a belief that older workers may have a negative effect on the company bottom line. A potential employer may unconciously ask him/herself a few of the following questions:

• Is it worth hiring / training someone who may be retiring in 5-10 years?
• Can the candidate "keep up" with our current staff / demands?
• Would the company be better served in hiring a much younger employee at a lower salary?
• Is the employee likely to have / acquire medical issues which will affect productivity?
• Is the candidate going to be stuck doing things the "old way" …. will they accept training?
• How will the applicant "fit in" with our team?

These are just a few things that a possible employer may be looking at. Another issue which I have had personal experience with is a fear on the part of usually younger middle managers that you may be a threat to their job position.  This comes into play when you find yourself interviewed by someone holding a position that you may have held in the past.

It may be helpful to try and put yourself into the interviewer’s position and ask yourself a few of the above questions prior to your interview.  Though it is unlikely you will be asked them directly think through how you would respond if you were.  Remember that the interviewer, be it   human resources   personnel   or  a senior manager , is motivated to find the best match for the available position.  They need to show their bosses that they made the “right” choice for the company.   Understanding their concerns ahead of time may give a small but necessary edge to the older job seeker.

There are hundreds of websites with very good tips to get through the interview process and they should be researched and followed.  Unfortunately most don’t deal with the potential for age discrimination issues. I have found one book titled Defeating Age Discrimination to Maximize Your Job Search which  I recommend to anyone over 50 and venturing into the job marked.

 I will be posting further articles regarding age discrimination in the future as I personally feel this is a much, much larger issue than the media would have us believe.