You might think all the great jobs are going to the millennials, and that as you age it will be harder and harder to find work, especially after you hit 50. Stories of age discrimination abound. It is unquestionably widespread but difficult and costly to prove in individual cases.
At the same time, as the baby boomers age, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is predicting that, by 2026, the share of workers age 55 and up will increase to 24.8 percent. This amounts to an 8 percent rise from 2006. The reality is that as the country experiences both changing demographics and a historically low rate of unemployment, aging baby boomers and those in their immediate wake will continue to be a vital part of the overall workforce.
[See: 8 Careers for Creative People.]
All that, of course, is of little consolation if you find yourself being discriminated against because of your age. But before you get discouraged and give up, bear in mind that there are things you can control to lessen its impact on your career.
Regardless of your age, you need to have sharpened job hunting skills. Seasoned workers often describe their achievements poorly on their resume, don’t have a LinkedIn account or fail to present themselves favorably in an interview and then claim they didn’t get the job because they were discriminated against.
If you are going to be successful marketing your services to a new employer, it is imperative you understand in advance all (or as many as possible) of the stated and unstated objections that make employers reticent to hire people after they turn 50. That way you can proactively disrupt those prejudicial fears. Here are some examples:
Employers fear older workers won’t stay in the job once they have it. Even though younger workers often switch jobs before they achieve a five-year work anniversary, hiring authorities tend to worry that an older worker will leave due to illness or a desire to retire before long.
In order to allay that angst even in the first phone interview, when a screener is reviewing your resume with you, point out how you have been a loyal employee, staying at least X years at multiple companies over the course of your career.
If you are fortunate enough to get the standard, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” question, you can point out that you expect to remain at the job for which you are applying as long as you have something to contribute to the company.
[See: The 25 Best Jobs of 2018.]
Employers fear older workers are technophobes and won’t be comfortable with recent technological advances. Of course, technology is always changing. Nothing is done today the way it was 20 or 30 years ago, and if an applicant can’t demonstrate familiarity and ease with today’s technology, an employer has grounds to believe it isn’t a good fit. That isn’t an age gap, it is an ability gap that you have the capacity and responsibility to bridge.
Fortunately, if you have kept up with the times, it will be easy for you to demonstrate it by the manner you describe your experience on your resume. Be sure to take courses leading to certifications in modern software programs and other technologies relevant to your particular occupation or role. Be sure to list current, in-demand competencies on a skills section of your resume, and demonstrate them in your resume bullet points.
Resume content and style count. Make sure you use a modern resume format and font. Make certain you have a solid LinkedIn profile, with a vanity URL, and include the URL as part of your address at the top of your resume alongside your home address.
Junk the standard “professional with 25 years of experience” which invites someone to guess your age, and instead just say “highly adept X-type of professional, with successes in the areas of A, B and C.”
Your resume is a marketing document, not your autobiography. You can put on it whatever you choose, so long as what you say is truthful. But there is no need to go back more than 10 or 15 years in your professional experience section. Under your oldest listed position, you might want to have a statement like, “Details of previous professional experience are available upon request,” thereby alluding to your past without going into unnecessary details.
[See: 9 Common First-Job Mistakes.]
Take advantage of your age. By virtue of the fact you have been around the block a few more times than the younger generations, you have some inherent advantages. First of all, you likely have built up a network of people with whom you’ve worked or otherwise interacted over the years.
Use your network productively by reaching out to people to share ideas, ask questions and let people know you are looking, what you are looking for and how they can specifically be of help.
Engage with members of your network for informational interviews, build relationships on LinkedIn with connections inside your target companies and invite them to act as your go-between with human resources or the hiring authority by submitting your resume as an employee referral.
When you keep up to date with your skills, market yourself effectively and appropriately use your network, you maximize your chance for late-career success.
Happy hunting!
More from U.S. News
10 Tech Jobs That Make the Most Money
The 12 Best Jobs That Help People
How to Beat Age Discrimination in Hiring Practices originally appeared on usnews.com
