Age discrimination – fact or fiction?

I often read headlines that inform us that age discrimination is a really big problem, with the Age Discrimination Commissioner stating that unemployment among older Australians is a national disaster.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that one-third of older people who have given up looking for work say it is because employers think they are too old.  In addition a staggering 68% of all age discrimination complaints to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in Australia are about employment.

With such headlines, it is no wonder that I receive emails from clients, afraid that they are too old and sharing stories about how fit, strong and healthy they really are.  At the same time they attach resumes that can be most politely described, as ‘dinosaurs’ from the 1980’s and in my books, a few of the resumes that I have received would be better served as a paper dart for the grand children.

My response to these clients, is ‘yes’ age can sometimes be a consideration but the prevailing reason they are being ‘rejected’ is because they have failed to demonstrate their worth to employers, or failed to alleviate an employer’s fear about ‘older’ workers.

This is not about shifting the ‘blame’, just simply stating that your job as an older worker is to make your story SO compelling to the employer that your age is not a consideration.

To make your story compelling, you need to demonstrate that you are going to be very profitable for the employer to employ you.  You see employers need staff to make money, save money, save time, make work easier, solve specific problems, ensure that they are more competitive, fulfil their statutory obligations, expand the business, gain and retain more customers and ultimately make a PROFIT and return on their investment.

• Telling them you are not going to have a heart attack because you play golf 3 times a week is not a compelling story;
• Showcasing your technology prowess from the 1990’s (or even 2005) is not a compelling story;
• Providing long lists of duties and responsibilities under your employment history is not compelling, nor engaging;
• Listing your entry-level job is (well irrelevant and hence not compelling);
• Showcasing your work experience on an old resume template dating from the 1990’s is not compelling;
• Turning up at interview dressed like a great grandad, is not compelling;
• Resisting changes to the reality of the new job search age, such as refusing to have a LinkedIn profile (if a professional) is not compelling.

What is compelling to an employer is how your knowledge and skills are such that you increased revenue; mentored staff; generated new business; streamlined work processes; rapidly kept abreast with change and contributed to the bottom line profit of an organisation.

If you are completely honest to yourself, does your current resume and LinkedIn profile (you have one right?) reflect your work history in such as way that you are utterly compelling and irresistible to employers?

Yes, age discrimination does and will always exist, but never assume that every rejection letter is based on your age. It might simply be that you are not sufficiently compelling to employers.