Age bias as it relates to employment is real. There’s nothing new about that.
Hiring managers often assume workers at a certain age cost too much, or they won’t stick (bolting for a better opportunity once the economy improves). They might figure older workers lack energy, or their skills aren’t up to date, or they won’t mesh well with a younger team or supervisor.
Sometimes those assumptions turn out to be accurate. Just as often, of course, they’re not.
This recession, though, has been particularly tough for older workers.
The latest (June) data shows a widening gap between younger and older unemployed workers. The 55 and older crowd have been jobless an average of 30 weeks – 9 weeks longer than their younger counterparts. And the 7% unemployment rate for older workers is the highest since 1948.
So. Age bias is a reality, and as time has a way of marching on, it’s an issue just about everyone must contend with at one point or another. If it’s staring you in the face right now…what are you doing to overcome it?
The biggest hurdle is the initial gatekeeper. If you can get past this person, you’ve got a pretty good shot at leveling the playing field.
If your single best strategy is removing your college graduation date from your resume, then you’ve got more work to do.
I keep seeing tips articles suggesting the date removal idea as some sort of panacea. One career consultant was quoted saying she didn’t think anyone needs to know when you graduated from college.
Maybe not. But in and of itself, this move isn’t going to save the day.
Consider this: removing the date can have the unintended consequence of underscoring the very thing you’re trying to downplay. The hiring manager glances at that line, sees the missing year, and immediately assumes you must be over 40 – or 50 – because it’d be there otherwise. Further, removing that date without also deleting 10, 15 or 20 years of experience from your resume isn’t going to accomplish much.
Don’t misunderstand: there’s nothing wrong with this course of action. Just bear in mind that removing graduation dates from your resume is only one tiny piece of the puzzle. You need to have a complete strategy if you want to succeed.
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