Combat Job Search Age Discrimination

Older worker

I spoke with a colleague recently who had lost a spouse and was looking to reenter the workplace.  It was pretty clear that his biggest concern was the job search age discrimination he felt he would face.

He was worried about his chances of finding, what he called, decent employment.  "Nobody wants to hire old people anyway and with all these young people looking for work, I feel bad trying to take a job from them.  They have families. They are starting out. I'm just too old for a job search anyway."

Not only did he feel most employers would show some type of age discrimination towards him, he also felt that those who would offer him a job, were not willing to pay what his experience deserved.  After talking about using salary surveys to get current wage information, we talked about tips to help him battle job search age discrimination.

Keep Job Search Energy High

• Stay positive, cheerful and high energy for all phone or in-person job interviews.

• Talk about experience, professional maturity and expertise.

• Keep resume content current and stick to relevant information.

• Speak to the long term value you can bring to the company.

• Tell stories about outstanding outcomes in prior assignments.

• Consider using a functional resume and group experiences in relevant blocks.

• Use cover letters to focus on relevant, successful experiences.

• Speak to your ability to collaborate and work with everyone from Boomers to Millennials.