Combating Ageism: Strategies for a Successful Job Search

Use these tips and insights to combat ageism in your job search.

With age comes the advantages of experience and wisdom, as they often say. Unfortunately, many employers don’t quite see it that way. Even if they’re attempting to take action to eliminate bias and age discrimination, many still have a ways to go. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce ageism in your job search.

Below, we discuss ageism in detail, including why it exists and tips to overcome it during your job search.

Why does ageism exist?

Though age discrimination is illegal in the United States, it happens. Many employers might not intend to discriminate based on age, but it can still occur for many reasons, including implicit biases. Many of these biases stem from unfounded beliefs or myths about older employees, some of which include:

Older workers aren’t current on technology and trends.
Older workers are looking to leave the workforce as soon as possible.
Those over a certain age won’t want to work for younger generations.
Older employees require higher salaries – they won’t accept a lower salary.
Older employees expect to be catered to and looked up to compared to younger employees.
Mature workers are just biding their time and won’t put in much effort to do well or go above and beyond.

Again, these myths are, well, myths – there’s no evidence to back them as facts. The unfortunate reality is, though, that they can hinder employers from working with and hiring older candidates who could bring a lot of value to the organization.

What qualifies as age discrimination?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that age discrimination “involves treating an applicant or employee less favorably because of his or her age.”

This is true regardless of age. However, it’s individuals over the age of 40 who are considered a protected class, according to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which forbids age discrimination against this age demographic for employers with 20 employees or more. Some states have stricter requirements and stronger protections compared to the ADEA.

Ageism is illegal at any stage of employment. So, if someone ends up not getting hired or an employer makes a hiring decision that negatively impacts those over 40 at any stage of the hiring process due to their age, it’s considered age discrimination. The same goes for promotions, terminations, and salary increases during employment.

What do the stats say about discrimination and ageism?

According to research by AARP, job candidates over the age of 35 indicate age discrimination is a primary obstacle to getting hired, and two out of three workers between 45 and 74 years of age indicate they’ve seen or experienced it in the workplace. Women also appear to be impacted more than their male counterparts, with only 57% of men between the ages of 45 and 74 stating they faced age discrimination at work compared to 72% of women.

AARP also reports that most believe ageism starts when workers reach their 50s, with 22% suggesting it begins earlier when workers are in their 30s and 40s. About 17% believe it starts when someone reaches their 60s.

And the research doesn’t stop there. A survey by WorkLabs of more than 700 workers over the age of 40 showed that 75% of respondents experienced ageism in their job search, and 53% experienced it at work. The survey also gathered examples of how the respondents were subjected to discrimination, like being required to submit age-related information on a job application.

What are some of the benefits of age diversity?

Many employers understand that there are several benefits of having a multigenerational workplace. A few of them include:

Improved mentoring. In a multigenerational workforce, older generations have a great opportunity to mentor, teach, and inspire younger generations. Conversely, younger generations have an excellent opportunity to educate and inspire older generations.

Reduced stereotyping. When we work alongside people from different generations, it helps break down preconceived notions and stereotypes we might have. As we get to know our coworkers, it can lead to an increase in understanding and connection, as well.

Increased innovation. With more diversity comes more creativity and improved problem-solving capability. This, in turn, leads to innovation.

Better knowledge transfer. With a multigenerational workforce, the more experienced workers can transfer knowledge to younger and less experienced workers. This helps to train the younger generation of workers and avoid skill gaps due to generational gaps within the workforce.

Tips to combat ageism in your job search

Though ageism is real and understandably frustrating to contend with, it is possible to overcome obstacles of ageism in your job search. From updating your resume and researching for the right employers to keeping your skills current and seeking out jobs that aren’t prone to ageism, you have options. Let’s take a closer look at what some of those options are to help you move past ageism in a job search.

Update your resume

Give your resume a revamp, and ensure that you leave off any items that indicate your age. Here are some resume-writing tips to help:

Remove your college graduate date. It’s always optional to include your graduation date from college. If you’ve been out of school for two to three years, it’s best to leave it off. This is especially true if you’ve been in the workforce for a while and don’t want to draw attention to your age.
Remove work history that goes back more than 10 to 15 years. You may have a lot of excellent experience beyond the 15-year mark. However, the resume standard is to include, at most, 15 years of work history. If you’re concerned about ageism, it’s essential to include only relevant experience from the past 15 years. If you have significant and solid experience from the past 10 years that aligns with the job description, you might opt only to include that history to help draw attention away from any clues indicating your age even more.
Avoid incorporating outdated information. Be sure you’re up-to-date with resume standards. Including obsolete details that are no longer appropriate, like your full address, could give away your age. For current resume standards, refer to “U.S. Resume Standards: How to Write and Best Practice Examples.”
Refer to job descriptions for keywords and language used. Reviewing job descriptions can provide insight into your industry’s current trends and language. Referring to this language and incorporating it into your resume and cover letter will help indicate that you are up-to-date on current industry standards. Also, make note of the skills, knowledge, and education requirements listed, and be sure your resume includes those keywords where they align with your professional experience and skill set. Using keywords also helps you get past an employer’s applicant tracking system (ATS).

Showcase your expertise

If you have extensive expertise in your field, consider launching a website or blog to highlight that expertise and build your brand as a thought leader. You can build your professional brand on LinkedIn by writing and sharing articles, contributing to relevant questions, and engaging with groups and connections where your expertise can provide valuable insights. Also, encourage your connections to engage with your online content and provide online recommendations.

This approach helps to garner the attention of employers – they can more easily see what you bring to the table without having to rely solely on your resume and interview.

Remain current on trends

Stay up-to-date on current industry trends, technology, and skills to help avoid ageism in your job search. Embracing technology and current trends, like social media and text messaging as forms of communication, will help you remain competitive during your job search.

There are plenty of low-cost and free online courses so you can upskill and remain sharp in your field. You can even secure free tech-focused certifications online to stay in-the-know regarding current technology trends. Plus, continued personal and professional development tends to look good on a resume.

Research for the right employer

It generally goes without saying that you’ll have certain preferences when working for an employer, including salary, company culture, job fit, benefits, and company perks. As a mature job candidate, you also want an employer with sound diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and age diversity tolerance.

Some employers are taking great strides to support diversity in the workforce, including generational diversity, more so than others. One way to identify an employer’s stance on ageism is to pay close attention to the terminology used and actions taken throughout the recruiting process, from the job posting to the interview stage.

In the job description, pay attention to the language used. Watch out for words like “tech-savvy,” “vibrant,” “overqualified,” “digital native,” “high energy,” and “fresh.” An employer who uses this type of language is often referring to younger generations, so it might indicate an employer that lacks inclusivity and fosters ageism.
During the interview, notice the types of words being used that are similar to what’s referenced in the job description bullet point above. Additionally, there are specific questions related to age that employers are not allowed to ask during a job interview, so if they ask them, consider it a red flag. Examples of such questions include:

When did you graduate from college?
Will the age difference between you and your coworkers be a problem for you?
How long ago did you begin working?
When do you plan to retire?
Will this type of work keep you engaged?

When researching an employer online, pay attention to the language and images used on their website and social media pages. Do they primarily use terminology that represents ageism? Do they show images of a primarily younger workforce, or do they represent a wide age demographic? How is diversity represented, in general?

Seek out age-oblivious careers

Some jobs and industries are less likely to be subjected to ageism than others. As such, many choose to work in fields that offer jobs with the least amount of age discrimination.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are several career paths with a median age over 40. For example, the median age of:

Financial Managers is 45.5
Education and Childcare Administrators is 46.2
Lawyers is 46
Postsecondary Teachers is 49.5
Interpreters and Translators is 47.2
Home Health Aids is 49.1

Here are some additional career options that tend to be age-oblivious:

Real Estate Agents
Physicians
Dentists
Health Technicians
Writers
Graphic Designers
Personal and Household Goods Repairers
Florists
Librarians and Archivists
Mental Health Therapists

Ageism in job searches can be overcome

Though we want to believe the saying, “age is just a number,” that’s not always the case in terms of employment. Ageism in job searches and employment practices continues to raise concerns and challenges for more mature workers.

Fortunately, the strategies outlined above can help you overcome ageism in your job search. Plus, there are plenty of employers taking a stand and leading the way to reduce ageism and support a multigenerational workforce - these are the ones you want to seek out for employment!

Does your resume represent you in a way that helps to avoid ageism in your job search? Why not submit it for a free resume review to find out?