How The "Wisdom Tax" Creates Age Discrimination

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At one point not too long ago, Baby Boomers and Generation Xers made up the majority of the workforce. This is no longer the case.

Millennials now make up over 50% of today's workforce, and this number will quickly rise to 75%? Over the last 10+ years, more than 70 million Millennials have emerged and entered the workforce.

This idea is hard to wrap one's head around because for so long, Millennials were thought of as children and teenagers, but the oldest Millennials are now in their 30's. This means they've had years to perfect how to be an attractive candidate to employers. They've done this by building up their skillsets in a way that allows them to be both useful AND affordable.

Any 40+ Job Seeker Must Be Aware Of The "Wisdom Tax"

When it comes to the idea of age-related discrimination, many professionals assume it's just Baby Boomers being affected, but this isn't the case. Any jobseeker over the age of 40 needs to be aware of what the Wisdom Tax is, and how it can affect them and their chances of landing a job.

Here's how it works: Due to the increased supply of qualified and cheaper candidates, the demand for seasoned workers drop.

If you think you're being shut out of the hiring process due to your age, the Wisdom Tax, also known experience discrimination, could be the real culprit.

The idea that you're being discriminating against is a hard pill to swallow, it gets more difficult when I tell you that the company is within its rights to do this to you.

You may be thinking; "But J.T. there is a law against age discrimination", and you'd be right, there is.

This legislation states;

It shall be unlawful for an employer -

(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's age;....

So how can you still be legally turned away for a job you're 100% qualified for?

Well, the hiring manager will claim you're overqualified for the position and find someone younger, who has the exact qualifications they asked for, and costs less to fill the position.

How does something like this work?

Let's say a hiring manager sees you made 20% more in your last job than what his job pays. Instead of saying, "I won't pay you that much because I know you'll leave me when you get a better job," he says, "You're overqualified." And, this is most likely true. Beneath the surface of the job rejection is the employer's fear you feel you're worth more than the offered salary. In short, they don't want to pay the Wisdom Tax.

"At This Point, I'd Be Willing To Take A Pay Cut"

If you've spent months looking for work you may begin to think you could take a lesser role and a pay cut. You'll begin to rationalize these sacrifices.

But, even if you can convince yourself that you can do take this hit; most employers won't believe you.

The truth is, long-term you'll want to focus on finding a job that matches how you see your value as a professional. Employers know that. This is why they don't want to hire you. Why train you when they know you'll leave as soon as something better comes along? 

The Good News? You Can Overcome This Discrimination

The downfall for many 40+ job seekers is they feel the need to market themselves as a Jack or Jill-of-all-trades, but this won't get them, or you hired. Instead, you need to brand yourself as a specialist.

Don't get me wrong; I know you have a wide variety of skills, but that's not what's going to get you considered initially. You need to demonstrate how you're the aspirin to the employer's pain. Do this by conveying how you will leverage your advanced capabilities to solve a specific problem and alleviate a big pain for employers. 

When marketing yourself to potential employers, you should ask yourself; "What is my specialty?"

Not sure? Strip away your vast array of skills and focus on the ones that will save or make the company enough money to justify the cost of hiring you despite you costing more than a younger candidate.

P.S. Giving Off The Wrong Impression Can Hurt Your Chances

During interviews, many seasoned professionals mistakenly give off an all-knowing vibe. You might not realize you're doing this because most hiring managers won't tell you. The older you get, the more intellectual humility and emotional intelligence you need to display. Otherwise, hiring managers say, "We think you're overqualified and would be bored here."

If you've ever left an interview believing you aced it and that they were hanging on every word you said; only to be told you were overqualified, this may have been your shortcoming.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to get over this hurdle; and it's about finding a way to connect with your interviewer.

Learn techniques for answering interview questions that send the age-appropriate message. Think about it, when you were younger you lacked knowledge and experience so you had to make up for these with your enthusiasm and confidence. Now that you're more mature, things have almost reserved. Workplace culture is a huge deciding factor in hiring candidates today. This is why employers are looking for seasoned professionals to demonstrate a level of humility and situational awareness.

You may have years of experience and a plethora of knowledge, but the reality is, as professionals we all have something to learn from each other no matter the age or experience level.

If You're Still Being Shut Out Of The Hiring Process, I Can Help

My company, WorkItDaily has a team of trained career support specialists that will work 1-1 with you come up with a specialized plan to help you. All of our memberships offer private 1-1 coaching along with unlimited networking potential, and a library of exclusive career courses. Additionally and for no extra cost, you'll also receive unlimited resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile reviews by our trained specialists as part of our membership.

Interested, but skeptical? I completely understand which is why I'm offering a complete FREE 3-day trial to our membership.

I'd love to hear your job search experiences! Comment below and be sure to use the hashtags #JTTalkJobs & #Jobsearch so we can all join in the conversation.

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At Work It Daily, we put together the following free career growth tools for you:

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