Counter Punch Ageism and Get Hired

The One-Two Counter Punch to Ageism Hiring Discrimination

Far too many companies have an unwritten set of hiring rules, guidelines and practices they follow.  There are few who come out and openly admit it, however many that have unofficial biases that are easy to identify when you look at the demographics of who they interview for positions.

I believe companies should be ashamed of this discriminatory hiring bias, which is illegal in the United States.  How do companies get away with it?  The unwritten rules in the Human Resources world are commonly practiced and the department of justice has for whatever reason, not pursued it on any major scale.

Ageism Defined:

What is ageism you might ask? It is the practice of not interviewing or hiring people who are more experienced because of their age.  Literally ageism is taking the expression, “you’re overqualified” to the extreme. 

Why Ageism Exists

There are four primary reasons companies have rationalized and illegally practice ageism in America today.

1. The cost of healthcare / benefits to their staff.  In America, a company has a legal obligation (size of the company dependent) to provide health benefits to their employees.  Adding older employees is more expensive due to their higher risk factors for health failures and that drives up the overall cost for company provided health plans.  The higher the percentage a company has of older employees, the more significant this cost increase becomes, so many companies try to reduce the extra expense, by bypassing on older candidates who apply for their openings.
2. Energy levels can be another reason companies are not excited to hire an older employee.  As we age, many of us are not as spry as we once were and that can translate into a lower productivity rate.
3. The high cost of onboarding.  Companies do spend a lot of money to hire and fully integrate new staff.  Hiring an older candidate who retires quickly can increase the expense of a firm.
4. Technology can be a challenge for older employees to use and that can negatively affect job performance.

Ageism Debunked

Here are 4 counter arguments to Ageism, for each of the points listed above.

1. When you look at just the cost of healthcare, certainly this is the most valid argument raised above, however we don’t live in a vacuum.  Have you considered the savings that hiring more experienced workers brings with it?  Reduced mistakes thanks to experience, fewer lawsuits, less missed deadlines, happier customers thanks to superior customer service, less office drama and increased civility.  If you look at the over all ledger the pluses can far outweigh the minuses and accounting is about the sum of all the numbers, not just one line item in isolation.
2. Reduced energy may (not always) be a factor, however older employees are normally more reliable, require less oversight and frankly are less likely to goof off during company time.  The tortoise and the hare teach us the difference between slow and steady versus a flash in the pan, right?
3. People are working longer now than at any time before in the USA.  Why?  Because the cost of living and life expectancy are both rising.  The average retirement age is pushing 70 now, no not the one that is reported, I mean the one that is far under reported, and that’s where the person semi retires, but then has to get a part time or another full time job to supplement their income.  People need to earn a living, even those who are at the later end of their careers.
4. Using technology is frankly getting easier and easier.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to use most programs anymore.  We have come a long way from DOS based computer programs.  Most User Interfaces are intuitive, even for older less tech savvy users.  In fact, most people are now comfortable online and even using AI voice technology like you find with Alexa and Siri.  Again, any initial offset in training can easily be made up with the work ethic and attention to detail more prevalent in a more experienced workforce.

Resume Strategies to Counter Discriminatory Interview Screening

Certainly, in reading this article to now you can see that I am against the bias towards not hiring people based on their age.  I think more experienced workers can be a great benefit to most companies, especially where wisdom trumps brut strength in any given role.  Below I am providing a few easy to incorporate techniques to help job seekers increase their odds of earning an interview.

1. Dates on the resume.  The number one tell tale of a candidate’s age is to list out all of the dates in their work history and education.  Showing thirty years of experience in one way will certainly tip the hand and the age of the candidate.  An alternative method will allow the candidate to share accurately their experience yet hold back details that give away their actual age. 
2. Incorporate two work sections, one called work history, the other called previous work experience.  With the work history section, you would include all the details for all the jobs within the past ten years.  Add the date, company name, title, city worked and job description (don’t forget to keyword match per the job listing) as normal. The second (new section) previous work experience gets truncated, and you only show: title, company name, city
3. Keep it short! Too many are using 3, 4 and 5 page resumes.  Longer resumes are a tell that you are not young and perhaps not a great editor.  Seasoned professionals applying to non-C level or government jobs should keep their resume to a maximum of 2 pages.  When in doubt, cut it out.
4. Remove the Objective Statement from your resume.  It is outdated and gives away your age.  Instead use a professional summary section at the top of your resume.  It is more modern and helps with keyword matching.
5. Remove the “references available by request” statement.  That is implied now.
6. Make sure your resume is ATS (Applicant Tracking Software) compliant as 3 out of 4 resumes are still not and being compliant increases your odds of getting seen by a real human.  You can read this article if you need help with how to make sure your resume is ATS compliant: https://projecthelpyougrow.com/ats-screening-strategy-how-to-earn-the-interview/
7. Make sure to use a cover letter when applying for the job.  Many job seekers have yet to incorporate this old practice made new again.  The cover letter, when short but keyword infused can be the difference between earning the interview and not hearing anything from the would be employer.
8. Make sure you have a current LinkedIn account, but only include the past ten years of work history on it.

The Bias Remains

Everything I’ve just shared on how to counter the ageism practice in not interviewing older candidates will help you earn an interview, but not seal the job.  The bias in hiring managers will still be present, in fact some will likely be sorely disappointed when they see you at first glance.  So when you earn the interview, here’s a few more pointers to help you win the interviewer over.

1. All good interview practices are still in play.  Be friendly, professional, brief with answers and of course make sure you have prepared thoroughly for your interview.
2. Do not go in over dressed or wearing any outdated clothing.  Buy a new outfit if you must, but you need to be very careful not to wear something older than the person interviewing you.  The idea is to come off as current.
3. If you have an outdated hair style or perhaps you’re known as a silver fox, perhaps you need to arrange a trip to the beauty salon or barber.  Again we don’t want to look like the grand parent of the person interviewing us, instead we want to be the cool older sister or brother.  Make sure the hairstyle is current and get the color if needed.  Side note here on coloring, make sure that you don’t over color.  A bit of grey to salt and pepper is the best choice, so it’s not obvious you colored at all.
4. Do not volunteer your age, at all.  An employer can not address your age, unless you open the door to the topic.  It’s better they guess you’re 50 than know you are 60.
5. Make sure you don’t use outdated expressions for technology.  Best to simply be a parrot on anything you’re not comfortable with.  For example if you can’t remember the current expression for something, think of a way to phrase it that you are sure of or simply use the same descriptive term they do when speaking to you.
6. Make sure you are smiling the whole time and don’t let them see you sweat.
7. Always maintain eye contact as you don’t want them to think you’re not with them in the moment.
8. Do not slouch.
9. Do not speak slowly.  You want to convey energy.
10. Make sure you bring a smart phone and have it out where it’s visible, but don’t play with it during interview.  This helps instill confidence that you are comfortable with technology.

After the Interview

Once the interview is done, your only final task is the follow up.  Make sure you send an email thanking them for the interview sometime between 24-48 hours of the interview.  The email will again help to highlight that you are not outmatched by today’s technology.

Ageism is a battle many are facing.  I don’t believe it is right, but it is a reality.  I know that the tips and strategies can help many in their efforts to land a job.  Hopefully one day our collective mindset on the issue will be reset to something that is more fitting of a nation of thinkers and we learn to once more respect our elders.  In the meantime, please keep the faith as you continue your personal job search journey. Don’t give up.