Job Search Blog

Does your age affect your job search? If I ask 100 candidates over the age of 50 they will all say, "Yes!" But as a Job Search Coach, age 58, with a very capable assistant, age 33, I tend to be the preferred choice nearly 100% of the time. What's up with that?

Everyone knows it is against the law to discriminate against workers based on age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), states that in hiring and job performance, an employer cannot discriminate against a candidate because he/she is over the age of 40. Forty! Why on earth did the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission select an age when employees are entering their prime? I'll tell you why! Because the Act was passed in 1967....nearly 40 years ago! Forty was old! The reason the Social Security Act deemed retirees to receive benefits at 65 was because not many lived that long in those days.

The secret? Don't telegraph "old!" We all know people who act old at 30 and behave like young people at 70. Therein lies the formula. When employers think of older workers they imagine folks who are hard to train, unable to use technology, offer low energy and difficult to supervise. Like most stereotypes these facts apply to some, but studies have shown that seasoned workers stay in their jobs longer, have fewer workplace injuries, take fewer sick days and are easier to train because they rely on similar past experiences to learn.
The winning combination is the candidate who has been "state of the art" for decades and sustains a "leading edge" style and mentality. How's your fashion sense? Do you stay fit? What do you read? And what do you know about the current world around you? What about your energy level?

Perhaps it is the job of the older and wiser to assure our places in the job market. If we realize and communicate our true advantage, Generation X candidates may just have a run for their money! Anyone see the Rolling Stones half-time show at the Superbowl?