Job Search Agism
Ageism is a fact of life.
Let’s look at what ageism really is. According to Dictionary.com, the definition of ageism is as follows:
A tendency to regard older persons as debilitated, unworthy of attention, or unsuitable for employment.
I define employment ageism as being perceived as unable to do a job due to health, appearance, or skills.
Notice I said perceived as unable to do a job. Often, our perceptions are our realities.
Automobile Ageism
I just traded in my 2003 Honda Element DX, which I had owned for 13 years and 130,000 miles. My Honda experienced discrimination due to its age.
The dealer looked at three things to determine it’s value:
- Mechanics (health)
- Appearance
- Features (skills)
The mechanics were in pretty good shape. I maintained it well, but…it had the original clutch and brakes. I am easy on a car!
The appearance was okay, with a few exceptions. It had no dents or dings, but the front seat was worn out and the windshield was cracked. A rock chipped the windshield and I did not repair it quickly enough. Because of this, a crack formed quickly and went across the entire window. It did not affect my vision, so I left it. It was like that for years.
The salesman told me that the car showed it’s age. Yes, the car was 14 years old with 130,000 miles.
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The car was not feature-rich. It was a base model with a 5-speed manual transmission. I had done nothing to upgrade the vehicle, like adding a stereo, seat covers, steering wheel cover or anything else.
The vehicle showed it’s age and it experienced ageism. I was offered less on the trade in because it was perceived as being old.
See where I am going with this?
Ageism in the 2nd Half of Life
When we reach the 2nd half of life, we may experience age discrimination or ageism. Ageism is the perception that we are old and not capable of doing the job. In some cases, the perception is that we may be too expensive.
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Yes, there is age discrimination in all areas, not just careers. Perception is everything, although perception is relative. Interesting observation, so what do you suggest can be done with humans who are restricted in their perception and awareness that what they see may not be what they expect?
Perceptions are exactly that perceptions and not based on reality. You can change people’s perceptions by developing relationships and dispelling those perceptions.
Marc
There are hurdles to overcome whenever we reach out to someone for an interview, a sales pitch, anything. What works for me is to break the taboo about age. While a prospective employer knows better than to bring up age; a candidate can say anything she wants to about herself. ‘ve brought up my experience level without fanfare, as a “by the way” as something I’m happy about.
It’s an opportunity to dispel any myths that baby boomers are overqualified, or feel over entitled, or are slow adopters. The strongest, most effective workplace will have a mix of employees of different ages and backgrounds. I strongly advocate bringing up during an interview how highly you value the opportunity to work with people of all backgrounds.
I find this a very interesting topic and I appreciate ether opportunity to comment.