Birthdays & Taxes

The topic of age regularly surfaces during conversations with coaching clients. It is a concern for many job seekers over the age of 45 or 50.  Their core concern is potential age discrimination in the recruiting and hiring process.  Does age discrimination exist?  Yes.  How often is it practiced to screen-out some job candidates?  Who knows?  How frequently does it influence ultimate hiring decisions?  Again, who knows?  In fact, no one really knows.  Of course, what sane hiring manager would openly admit they discriminate against older applicants?  The legal, career, and public relations consequences would be enormous.

Do you fear age discrimination?  If so, I ask that you not spend any more of your precious time fretting about something you cannot change.  Then again, why would you want to? 

Please consider the following.

• Your age is your age. It’s something to be proud of and not feared. The universe and everything within it is aging. I once knew a job seeker who would often state, “You know, I’m 62!” He viewed his age as an affliction. Like taxes, birthdays are inescapable. Cheerful, eh? So, worrying about one’s age is an utterly silly and useless activity.
• Congratulations! You’ve arrived at this stage in your life & career because you are good at what you do. In fact, you will always be good at whatever you decide to focus your time and attention on. You’ve been there and have done that. If a prospective employer can’t recognize your value, then that’s their loss! In the words of Forbes writer Liz Ryan, “If they don’t get you, they don’t deserve you.” Move on!
• Thanks to greater longevity, the US population is aging. However, we still live in a youth oriented culture. Combine that with modern capitalism’s fixation on immediate bottom line results and you risk a biased hiring culture. Younger, less experienced, and lower cost workers might be more desirable than more experienced and skilled candidates who have earned commensurate compensation.

• Discrimination of any stripe and intelligence are like oil and water. Where one exists, the other cannot. Would you want to work in a place that practices discriminatory hiring? I sure hope your answer is a resounding NO! Imagine what else they screw up!
• Shortsighted recruiting and hiring do provide one benefit. Like canaries in a coal mine, they’re an early warning of other bad practices and potential illegalities not yet perceptible. Run away as fast as you can!
• Shift any feelings of anger and frustration to those of sympathy. Age discriminators are unwittingly feeding a practice that will be their own eventual undoing. Everyone has birthdays.
• Cheer up! There are many employers who recognize your value. They will respect you and focus on your qualifications and potential.
• It’s extremely important to remember that there are multiple reasons why you didn’t get that job offer. Many of them likely had nothing to do with your age. Don’t let potential age discrimination sour your attitude. Cynicism is an unattractive quality.

So, good people, regain your smile, charm, and that spring in your step! Be proud of yourself because you are an awesome person who has accomplished much.  You’re a survivor in a wildly evolving world that’s desperately seeking reason, sanity, happiness, and purpose.  Keep moving forward and don’t look back!  Opportunities and possibilities will occur in new and unexpected ways.  Your future success, in whatever shape it takes, is waiting for you. 

Finally, never, ever, ever, give up!