Age Challenges: Is Your Age Working For or Against You?What is the ideal age of an executive or a line manager? Is it 35, 40, or 55? Can you only be hirable and trainable in your mid thirties? Where is the line between young and energetic and mature and knowledgeable? Where and when do you develop the skills and judgment to make a company more profitable or help management avoid costly mistakes? How old was the “executive” that thought up the New Coke fiasco . . . or the team that came up with the Edsel . . . or the “genius” who took Star Trek off the network three decades ago? And how about those hotshots who went from grad school to Wall Street and plunged the world economy into near Armageddon? Let’s face it, there are a myriad of reasons why people in their 40s, 50s and beyond are discriminated against, even if it is against the law. Some of the reasons are valid. Health care costs, for example, are an irrefutable burden on business . . . especially small business. Younger people with no family are less expensive to insure. The longer you have lived, the more complex your health care issues are and the more they will impact the actuarial realities and underwriting of health care plans. While reforms may alleviate the issue sometime in the future, we are where we are with age challenges in helth care and there is little you can do to change that.
Beware The Irrational Prejudices.And then there are the individual and irrational prejudices. People making the hiring decisions may have had poor relationships with their parents and secretly resent the “authority” of an older person. (If you think this is irrational and unfair you aren’t alone . . . but, that isn’t likely to help much.)How about the people who themselves are about to cross the line into “perceived” senior category? Or even the younger people who think they know everything that is important? Face it . . . you are who you are. People can (and do) resent the authority that your maturity represents to them. Their insecurity doesn’t work to your benefit. You have to think strategically to overcome your age challenges . . . or, go around them. Are You Applying To The Wrong Companies?Let’s look at the real problem. If you’re applying to a whiz- kid-run company of 20-somethings and you’re in your 60s, you aren’t likely to get the nod . . . especially if you aren't intimately familiar with the difference between YouTube, Twitter and Facebook and whatever other new social media are springing up. But yes, there really are companies where your knowledge, experience and judgment can make a difference. It's up to you to find them. You simply have to double up – or triple up – on your research.Do Your Homework. Know Your Target Companies Inside and Out Before You Approach Them.Theoretically, if you’re over 40, you know how to use the library. It’s full of information that will help you. Go re-introduce yourself to the person in charge of research. Don’t stop at the surface, dig deep! Find out what makes certain companies tick . . . and what mistakes they are making.Of cource, if your age challenges you in the arena of technology, you'll have to do something about it. You had better know how to use the computer, including the most current version of the Microsoft Office Suite. You need to have a cell phone and be reasonably proficient with Microsoft Outlook and email etiquette. And, if you look older than you really are, maybe it’s time to start taking care of yourself. Now Would Be a Good Time to Figure Out What It Is That You Really Know . . . What it is That You Can Bring To The Party.Here’s something to think about while we're on age challenges. If it were possible to tap into Einstein’s writings long after he left the world of the living, how much do you think the average CEO would pay to have an hour a week of the “live feed?” (What a great use for your iPod!) You may not be Einstein, but...The point is that you know things. You know lots of things. More things than you can remember. Okay, so how do you turn age challenges into a repository of knowledge and judgment that a potential employer would like to capitalize on? Well, you start where everyone else does. You start bybuilding your list of Accomplishments. It will probably take you a couple of extra hours to really get into it because you’ve succumbed to the propaganda about new ways of thinking and solving problems. You Are Building An Arsenal Of Solid Arguments For Hiring You.But, once you break through your own blurred image of yourself and emerge with a clear picture of the impact you have had on companies and events, you will discover that you’ve solved hundreds of problems and made dozens and dozens of good decisions that have had real financial impact on the companies you’ve worked for as well as organizations you’ve been affiliated with.So, while the average 30-something will have trouble coming up with a list of 15 or 20 accomplishments, you will be flying along with 200, 300 or more. (You’d better get proficient with Microsoft Excel or Access to keep track of them and categorize them for appropriate recall.) Get over it and get started. Older Workers Are Going To Be Needed.One last thing. Things are moving fast in today’s world. And, when employees move on, much of a company’s knowledge base disappears. This is the other side of the age challenge: re-inventing the wheel and re-visiting old mistakes is not only costly to an enterprise, it’s potentially disastrous.The ability to call up previous experience to help formulate better strategies and avoid bad decisions is a quantifiable asset that more experienced workers and executives bring to the table. It’s up to you to match your skills, experience, knowledge and wits to the evolving challenges of the business world you are a part of. Return from Age Challenges to Overcoming (Other) Job Search Challenges. Return from Age Challenges to Job Search Training home page. |
