Blaming Job Search/Resume Fails On Employer Age Bias

There's no doubt that some hiring managers and even some organizations discriminate against age.

But there's no way to know if it was employer ageism, or making the same fails over and over that cause you to lose opportunities when you're qualified.

There are many situations where job search/resume fails are blamed on ageism. Most of these candidates don't realize they made mistakes that caused the opportunity to be lost, and incorrectly blame ageism.

The good news is age 40+ job seekers can fix these fails, so they won't continue to derail future opportunities.

Here are two common mistakes age 40+ candidates often make, then blame ageism:

1. Failing To Show You're Worth It:?Most age 40+ candidates have higher salary expectations than younger candidates, if for no other reason than 20+ years of annual raises. Of course, with each year of experience, you've been more valuable to your past employers. Your target employers realize this too, and expect your higher salary needs ... but they also ask "Are you worth it to me?". When your resume and verbal communication is focused on responsibilities rather than impact, you don't clearly show you're worth it from the employer's point of view.
2. Many Other Qualified Candidates Competing Against You:?As an age 40+ candidate, if you lose a job when you're qualified it's easy to blame ageism. With the amount of job competition you have today (10x more candidates than jobs), most of the jobs you apply for attract 5-10 times more qualified candidates than interview spots. So being qualified isn't enough by itself to get interviews, much less land the position. You need to be more than just qualified. Otherwise, you're hoping you'll get lucky, which isn’t a very effective job search?strategy.

You can continue using the same resume/interview/job search strategies you've been using, and hope for different results (Einstein's "Definition of insanity"). Or you can learn how to change your strategies to prove to employers that you're "worth it". You can learn how to change your job search strategy so you're the first choice, not a compliance interview.

I help people solve the most difficult job search problems, including job search acceleration, getting past ATSs, ageism, remote positions, product/job function/career/industry/ geographic change, unemployment, "bouncy" recent career path, job search turnaround, seeking raise/promotion, industry in decline/consolidation, long term gaps, family leave, or other of the most challenging job search issues.

Join me for my next free Resume Revolution! webinar (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/register for no charge) to learn how to overcome tough job search problems, and accelerate your job search.

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