3 Ways Right Now To Fight Age Discrimination

3 Ways Right Now To Fight Age Discrimination3 Ways Right Now To Fight Age DiscriminationIm 54 now and I work in marketing communications. What I dont understand is why Im having such a problem finding a job. But I am positive theyre discriminating against me because of my age.Despite laws protecting people over 40 from age discrimination, ageism remains very real because its difficult to prove. Most times if you hear a reason at all for why they didnt hire you the reason will be that aelendher candidate welches a better fit, or another candidate gels better with the corporate culture. Nebulous excuses like these are disheartening, and when it goes on long enough, it feels depressing.Heres What You Can DoTake care of the low-hanging fruit first remove the dates of your education.Limit your experience to the most recent 15-20 years (there is rarely a job adthat asks for more experience than that), and make sure your resume reflectsnot only the employers key words, but also up-to-date key words. For example, personnelmanagement may be what you did in your job in 2001, but the term is definitelyold school. The term today is, talent management.Assume They Already Know Your AgeOr ThereaboutsA relatively quick Internet search will reveal a lot about you. So, inyour mind, act as if they already know your magic number. What that helps youdo is not be on the defensive during your interview. It helps you to not bethinking the entire time that you have to hide something. Being concerned aboutthat negatively impacts your conversation and dampens your performance. If youranswers are short and stiff, youll leave the decision maker thinking you justwont fit in with the group.Ramp Up The Know, Like & Trust Factor Youve heard that people buy from people they know, like, and trust, right? Age discrimination isnt always about the actual number. It can be about the decision maker wanting to work with a person like themselves. Obviously, thats not going to be stated outright. Its about perception.Right now, youre selling brand Y.O.U. What elements of brand Y.O.U. do you want to emphasize so that you align with the companys corporate culture? The onus is on you to find out what that is. The information is there for you on social media, particularly Twitter. In addition to looking at the company profile, look at the profiles of the individuals who work there, so you can get as much of a feel for the organization as possible before you get there.Increasing the trust factor is also important. That means more than just building rapport, which can feel manufactured and fake. Instead, because youre older and experience, leverage that to your advantage. You know what youre doing in your industry, so shine a light on that. Experienced people time and again raise issues and solve problems that companies didnt even know they had.Come to your interview armed with a theory about the direction the organization is headed. This is based on your research. If youre in operati ons and you know theyre about to open a new facility, in your interview, ask, What have you all been considering in terms of automation solutions for the new logistics division? The interviewer may respond with either no solution or XYZ solution. Thats your opportunity to say, You know, one of the key things Ive found in the last 2 years is that implementing XYZ solution from the start really saves you significant labor hours, not to mention delivery errors as far as what arrives on the customers doorstep. Ive launched that solution before and Im seeing it as a reasonable solution for consideration here. You ramp up the trust factor because youre using all that experience you come with to already solve a problem for them.We go over exact language to say in the instances when they tell you, youre overqualified. Candidates over 45, 50, 55, and even 60 use these words to keep themselves in the running. Find out how to combat this in our job search webinar, How To Get Hired in HALF The Time, Without Getting Ghosted Because Of Age Discrimination. Plus, if you feel like theyre automatically counting your resume out because of age, were going to walk you through the solution to that as well. Register today.3 Ways Right Now To Fight Age DiscriminationIm 54 now and I work in marketing communications. What I dont understand is why Im having such a problem finding a job. But I am positive theyre discriminating against me because of my age.Despite laws protecting people over 40 from age discrimination, ageism remains very real because its difficult to prove. Most times if you hear a reason at all for why they didnt hire you the reason will be that another candidate was a better fit, or another candidate gels better with the corporate culture. Nebulous excuses like these are disheartening, and when it goes on long enough, it feels depressing.Heres What You Can DoTake care of the low-hanging fruit first remove the dates of your education.Limit your experience to the most recent 15-20 years (there is rarely a job adthat asks for more experience than that), and make sure your resume reflectsnot only the employers key words, but also up-to-date key words. For example, personnelmanagement may be what you did in your job in 2001, but the term is definitelyold school. The term today is, talent management.Assume They Already Know Your AgeOr ThereaboutsA relatively quick Internet search will reveal a lot about you. So, inyour mind, act as if they already know your magic number. What that helps youdo is not be on the defensive during your interview. It helps you to not bethinking the entire time that you have to hide something. Being concerned aboutthat negatively impacts your conversation and dampens your performance. If youranswers are short and stiff, youll leave the decision maker thinking you justwont fit in with the group.Ramp Up The Know, Like & Trust Factor Youve heard that people buy from people they know, like, and trust, right? Age discrimination isnt always about the actual number. It can be about the decision maker wanting to work with a person like themselves. Obviously, thats not going to be stated outright. Its about perception.Right now, youre selling brand Y.O.U. What elements of brand Y.O.U. do you want to emphasize so that you align with the companys corporate culture? The onus is on you to find out what that is. The information is there for you on social media, particularly Twitter. In addition to looking at the company profile, look at the profiles of the individuals who work there, so you can get as much of a feel for the organization as possible before you get there.Increasing the trust factor is also important. That means more than just building rapport, which can feel manufactured and fake. Instead, because youre older and experience, leverage that to your advantage. You know what youre doing in your industry, so shine a light on that. Experienced people time and again raise issues and solve problems that comp anies didnt even know they had.Come to your interview armed with a theory about the direction the organization is headed. This is based on your research. If youre in operations and you know theyre about to open a new facility, in your interview, ask, What have you all been considering in terms of automation solutions for the new logistics division? The interviewer may respond with either no solution or XYZ solution. Thats your opportunity to say, You know, one of the key things Ive found in the last 2 years is that implementing XYZ solution from the start really saves you significant labor hours, not to mention delivery errors as far as what arrives on the customers doorstep. Ive launched that solution before and Im seeing it as a reasonable solution for consideration here. You ramp up the trust factor because youre using all that experience you come with to already solve a problem for them.