Age discrimination.

I’ve addressed this topic many times, both on print and on radio.

Am I not getting the job because I’m too old?

Is Botox or dying my hair the answer?

My response in over a decade of doing this work has never wavered or changed.

Age is a concept.

Age and how you look have nothing to do with being old.  People that describe others as old are really saying that:

1. The person has low energy.
2. The person is unwilling to learn or try new things.
3. The person is stuck in the past (and is unwilling to change).

It seems to me that your entire life you are either too old or too young.  Think about that statement before you scoff.  In your twenties, you are deemed as a ‘kid’ and ‘know nothing’.

By 30, you are taken more seriously and as an ‘adult’.  Student loans pile up, expecting you to use what you learned in college and apply that to your career.  You wake up in the morning under the illusion, thinking that you actually have a career, instead of a job.

By 40, you know what you know.  You are hired into management positions.  For some, the ego is in high gear as you conquer the world, slaying dragons in the office and fighting the good fight.  For working women, work life balance is a struggle with kids, spouses and work.

By 50 something happens.

I have yet to understand how it happens or why it happens.  But it happens.

We doubt who we are.

Here’s a fact.

There is no competition.  There is no twenty or thirty something out there after your job.

And I’ll tell you why….

At 40 (or 50) you are not competing for the 25 year old’s job.  Jobs are based on budget and salary.  Salary will always equate to skill.  By 40, you should be looking at leadership positions with manager titles.  You are no longer an individual contributor, but are responsible for the entire project with timelines and people to execute your plan.

To think that you are less than is nothing but poison in your head.

HARD LESSONS LEARNED
If you want to limit rejection in applying for positions, stop applying for the jobs that read “seeking 3-5 year candidate”.  The employer is not talking to you and looking for a mid level person because that is what their budget can afford.  Applying to these jobs will certainly give you the automated reject canned response from the applicant tracking system.

Instead, apply to what is appropriate. Look at position that ask for 10+ years or 10-15 years experience.  The salary will be in alignment and you won’t waste hours online applying to everything.

Use the grey hair factor to your advantage in the job search.  It’s only an obstacle if you see it as one.

Bio:

Elizabeth Lions is the owner and principal with Elizabeth Lions Consulting LLC.  She is the author of Recession Proof Yourself and I Quit! Working For You Isn’t Working For Me.  She can be reached at 806-283-8811 and www.elizabethlions.com