A line from the popular song “Even if you are not much over 30 ...” is encouraging that love is possible at any age. But often a job posting with a demand – “Receptionist needs a pretty girl under 25 years old” makes you feel written off.
Many employers are prejudiced against the age of candidates and consider it a competitive disadvantage. Most often, ageism (age discrimination) is experienced by people over 45 years of age.
The popular site for finding jobs and employees hh.ru conducted a survey of employers and found out the reasons for refusal of applicants due to age. Here are some of them:
- older candidates are less flexible (they believe they know a lot, relying on old knowledge);
- less learnable (no desire to be a student again);
- less controlled by a leader younger than themselves;
- less operational;
- worse rigidity of thinking, that is, workers of mature age are unable to adapt to new conditions, compromise or change their system of views and beliefs.
As noted in the hh.ru article: “Sometimes the reasons are based only on stereotypical ideas about “age” employees, sometimes on the real bad experience of hiring an older employee who did not perform very well at work or could not adapt in a team, which was attributed precisely to the age of the employee”.
However, workers aged 35+ have certain advantages over young professionals.
Professionalism builds up over the years. As a result, by the age that frightens employers, a person acquires deep knowledge in his specialty, work experience in different companies and the ability to make decisions. These acquired skills of a “mature” employee should be supplemented with knowledge of modern technologies and tools that are relevant today.
Especially practical experience does not become obsolete over the years, and in such professions as a doctor, teacher, lawyer, on the contrary, it plays an important role. Over time, the methods and tools of work may change, but years of practice will play one of the key roles.
The contacts established over the years of work can greatly facilitate and speed up some work processes.
Loyalty towards the company. Realizing that with age it is more difficult to find a job, mature people appreciate the position they occupy and treat their work responsibly.
The head of the company, who considers himself a modern and progressive manager, must work to overcome age discrimination. Experts from large consulting companies advise entrepreneurs to include the terms “longevity” and “age” in their business development strategies.
Collaboration of people of different ages and with different work experience, as well as differences in skills and ways of thinking, is a way to increase the effectiveness of the team.
Finally, here are a few examples of people who achieved success in adulthood:
Mary Kay Ash, having worked most of her life as a sales agent, at the age of 45 decided that it was time for a change and founded the cosmetics company Mary Kay. Now Mary Kay Cosmetics is one of the leaders in the production of cosmetic products with an annual turnover of about 3 billion USD.
Ray Kroc is the founder of the famous McDonald's chain. The idea to open a restaurant chain came to Kroc at the age of 52 after meeting brothers Dick and Mac McDonald.
“I was 52 years old. I had diabetes and arthritis. I had my gallbladder and most of my thyroid removed. But I believed that I could change a lot in my life”, - Ray Kroc shared the secret of success.
Thus, age should not be a hindrance to finding a job or moving up the career ladder. The main thing is to remain active, interested in new things and believe in yourself. And employers should be more open to age-old candidates and evaluate them not by the number of candles on the cake, but by professional qualities and personal characteristics.
Resources: hh.ru; www.e-xecutive.ru; www.vedomosti.ru; www.kickidler.com; www.forbes.ru
Also read:
- “Stress-resistant”, “sociable”: how to avoid standard wording in a resume
- Eight common bosses mistakes
- How to say “No” to your boss without risking your career
