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Age Bias

Has Ageism Affected You?

September 11, 2019 by Jenni Proctor Leave a Comment

Jumping on the ageism bandwagon

I’ve been asked a lot lately about whether age discrimination is the reason that a person isn’t getting the jobs they apply for.

Anecdotally it is easy to jump on the ageism bandwagon. If an older person applies for a job, but they don’t even get to interview it is easy for them to presume that they were discarded because of age. If they are interviewed but are unsuccessful in obtaining the position it is again very easy to make the same presumption.

Is that definitely age discrimination? It feels good to blame that demon…The media often jumps to that conclusion so it must be right!  Age discrimination in the workforce is something that we all hear about often, and so most people will be sympathetic if you claim that is the reason you didn’t get a job you wanted.

What if the real reason was nothing at all to do with your age? Would that tell you a different story? Might you stop blaming your age and start looking at your job search strategies?

If ageism isn’t the problem, what is?

mature business manThe reasons why people don’t get jobs that they have applied for are complex at any age.  These five reasons are often far more damaging of job search success than any age discrimination, real or imagined.

1. It’s a numbers game

Let’s start with numbers.  If you apply for an advertised position chances are that you will be up against over 200 other candidates. Only one person is going to be successful if there is only one job.

2. Your personal marketing

Your resume has to show, concisely and effectively, that you already have relevant achievements, outstanding skills and enough experience to be extremely successful in this role.  They are looking for someone for this exact job.  Does your personal marketing, resume and LinkedIn profile in particular, match what they are looking for? Or have you given them grounds to discard your application for reasons other than ageism.

3. Your personality

We all have our own distinct ways of doing things.  I know it is a challenging thought, but you may not be the sort of person they wanted in that job.  It wouldn’t matter what you had done, if you aren’t the sort of person they want then they won’t want you.

4. Too much, too little or just right?

Recruiters are human.  So are interviewers. So are employers. Each have their own distinctive ideas about what constitutes a great candidate for a job.  The resume that one person loves may not appeal to another recruiter. Your style in an interview may be exactly what one interviewer wants, but another favours a different candidate.  You can only do what is true to you.

5. Reverse Ageism

Attitude shows on your face and in your body language.  If you believe that you deserve a job simply because you have been around for a long time then that attitude will show itself in some way.  I think of that as reverse ageism…People who believe they should be prefered because of their years of experience rather than their achievements.  Life just doesn’t work that way, and neither does recruitment.

6.  Showing your age

We aren’t discussing face creams and botox here, nor borrowing clothes from your ‘twenty-something” kids.  Age shows by not being contemporary in your skills and attitudes.  “I’m not very good with technology” is a statement that almost guarantees that you will not be taken seriously in a contemporary workplace.  Submitting a dated style of resume or dressing in an old-fashioned way immediately suggests that you will not have contemporary practices at work.

If you make the presumption that you will face age discrimination during your job search you are probably right.  If you put that aside and aim to be the best candidate for the job, regardless of age, you may be amazed at what you will achieve.

By Jenni Proctor

 

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Filed Under: Age Discrimination and Age Bias, Your Employment Tagged With: Age Bias, age discrimination, mature workers, older workers, redundant

How to Handle a Career Change Late in Life

September 7, 2019 by BoomersNextStep Guest Author

How to Handle a Career Change Late in Life

How to Handle a Career Change Late in Life

Changing your career is a nerve-rattling experience no matter what age you are. But it is particularly difficult for individuals who are thinking of career change late in life. For people over 50, there are many factors that may pose an obstacle including age discrimination, lack of financial resources, and opportunity to further education among others. The opportunity cost of switching career is also usually higher.

The challenges ahead may be difficult but there are countless career shifters who had made the change successfully after 50. Some important factors that allowed them to do it include the following: [Read more…] about How to Handle a Career Change Late in Life

Filed Under: Career Change Tagged With: Age Bias, Ageism, career, career advice, career change, career change advice, career change at 40, career change at 50, career transition, Changing Careers, Employment, how to change careers, new career

Older Workers’ Challenges

August 29, 2019 by Jenni Proctor Leave a Comment

Older Workers’ Challenges

Everybody, regardless of age, faces challenges in the workplace, but there are some fairly consistent older workers’ challenges that need to be considered.

Let’s face it – your age is what it is and there is nothing you can do about it. If you need to change the colour of your hair, loose weight or obtain more qualifications there are actions you can take to make these things happen. But with your age there is not one thing you can do! So put your birth date aside and get on with facing the challenges you can conquer, fighting the battles that you can win.  There is no point in dwelling on your age as an issue. [Read more…] about Older Workers’ Challenges

Filed Under: Your Employment Tagged With: Age Bias, age discrimination, jobs for older people, jobs for people over 50, older workers

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