Top 10 Ways to Overcome Age Discrimation

Nancy Anderson
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Age discrimination is more prevalent in the workplace than sexual harassment. While young people are discriminated against to a certain extent, most of the victims are experienced, qualified candidates who just happen to be over the age of 50. If you have been discriminated against due to your age, find out what to do to prevent it from happening again.

Stay Relevant

Attend seminars and take classes to stay relevant in your field. In today's fast-paced world, experience doesn't matter as much as the skills and knowledge you currently have.

Follow Trends

Stay informed about current events and trends in your industry, and bring them up during your interview. Showing that you’re current can go a long way toward preventing age discrimination.

Get Technically Savvy

Technology is always changing, and younger people usually have an advantage because they are plugged in constantly. If you don’t know how to use all the latest gadgets, learn.

Think Young

Maintain a positive, youthful attitude when you go in for an interview, and put all thoughts of age discrimination out of your mind. After all, your age doesn't truly reflect who you are.

Apply at Age-Friendly Companies

Some companies have an aging workforce because they seek out older candidates. Do your homework. See which companies are known for hiring older people, and apply to those companies.

Avoid Giving Your Age Away

Avoid references to your age, and remove all other information from your resume that give your age away, such as graduation dates. If you have worked for 30 years or more, only include the last 10 years of experience. Also, do not put dates and length of employment in your work experience section.

Appear Healthy and Vital

Take care of yourself. Strive to maintain an energetic and healthy image. If you look tired and worn down, employers might think you won't be able to work hard, long hours or put in the necessary work to get ahead.

Emphasize Your Qualifications

Don't emphasize how much experience you have. Instead, highlight and talk about your qualifications.

Be Engaging

One of the best ways to fight age discrimination is to just be yourself. Be charismatic and engaging, and turn on the charm. If your interviewer likes your personality, he will hire you regardless of your age.

Sell Yourself

Showcase all that you have to offer to prospective employers. If they know how much knowledge and skill you can bring to the table, they might start to see the value in an aging workforce.

Age discrimination is a fact of life. Although there are laws in place to protect job applicants who are over the age of 40, companies have found ways to get around them. As an older applicant, you must learn how to compete and land a job in a hostile environment.

 

Photo courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net


 
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  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Julie thanks for your comments. It has been brought up that companies don't want to hire older workers because of the cost of healthcare. I agree that once we see reliable data that companies might be changing their minds. After all, we are past the age of having children and all the time off that entails. Companies are now allowing up to 16 weeks off for new Mothers! You know that has to hit the pocketbook quite hard. Not to mention having to hire a temp to cover the workload. And it is true that some companies require that you include ALL of your work history. I don't see that as a trend, though. I think that might have been an isolated case. It's not hard for employers to figure out the age of any applicant regardless. They get us with when did you graduate from HS and college. Then they know our age. All we can do is keep applying and keep trying to get hiring managers to realize that we, the older generation, are a bargain! Best of luck in your search.

  • Julie K.
    Julie K. •

    One thing nobody brings up is that age discrimination also happens because employers don't want to pay for the higher cost of insuring older workers. Until we see actual, reliable data that shows whether older workers do really take more sick days or cost more to insure, the discrimination will remain a real bugger.

  • Julie K.
    Julie K. •

    Another way they can figure out your age: On online job applications I saw one employer require that applicants list all previous jobs they've held. I stopped right there. The amount of time it would have taken to do that relative to the likelihood of getting the job were so remote that I moved on. This, apparently, is legal. I've only seen it once, but wonder if it's a new trend being taught in HR as a legal way of discerning an applicant's age.

  • Julie K.
    Julie K. •

    All of these suggest that the job candidate must change, not the mindset that says, "Old? Reject."

  • Leonard "Len" Crescenzo
    Leonard "Len" Crescenzo •

    Great advice

  • Ronald G.
    Ronald G. •

    Yes, It seems like companies would rather have someone standing around texting on their phone than have someone that can really get the job done and make the company a profit.

  • Richard Cook
    Richard Cook •

    All the comments are true. If I say anymore their day is just around the bend.

  • Kelli Goodsir
    Kelli Goodsir •

    This is true. Every app I have filled out requires dates for jobs and school to complete app. There is no way to get away from revealing your age. My boyfriend and I both are very aware of and know age discrimination is alive and well in corporate America. Why take someone with more experience and higher pay than s new grsf starting at base pay. Its all about the money.

  • GREGORY DENT
    GREGORY DENT •

    I agree with Laura, on many on line apps, dates are required fields and you are not allowed to proceed without entering them

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Laura it is unfortunate that this happens. I agree with you that it is definitely a way for a company to discriminate. I don't know anyway around it, either. All you can do is keep on trying. Not all companies will ask for that. Don't forget to do things like networking. Sometimes it is easier to get a job interview if someone within the company presents your resume to a hiring manager. I wish you all the best.

  • Laura Mills
    Laura Mills •

    It should be illegal for a company to ask for information concerning education dates especially when submitting an application on-line. Since I graduated in 1976, that's a dead give away about my age. Usually these are required fields on on-line applications, and you cannot proceed further until this field is answered. Christine, at least you made it to the background check which obviously means you were considered a serious candidate. I am so sorry you were turned down at that point. Wouldn't it be interesting to find out who was actually hired?

  • CHRISTINE C.
    CHRISTINE C. •

    As a person who has dealt with this recently, as soon as they do a backround check , guess what, your age pops up.

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