Employers need older workers
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Many people under age 40 may never have thought of age discrimination before, not until they heard about a recent Supreme Court decision regarding what employers can and cannot do regarding older workers.
Specifically, the high court ruled that employees may file claims against employers for age discrimination without proving deliberate harmful intent. But at the same time, the court also ruled employers can let older workers go if they have a “reasonable” cause.
How this ultimately will play out in the workplace is anyone’s guess, but one thing is very clear: Companies will not only want older workers in the future, they’ll be competing for them.
The Census Bureau predicts that by 2006, almost 40 percent of the U.S. work force will be made up of people 45 or older. By 2020, one out of every five workers will be over 55, up from one out of every 7.7 workers in 2000.
“Employers are behind the eight ball, with a dwindling number of college graduates and baby boomers getting older,” says Jack Everett, director of the National Older Worker Career Center in Arlington, Va. “So I think the job situation for older workers will slowly get better. Their day will come. Necessity is the mother of all invention.”
In other words, employers will be compelled to have workers not only stay on the job longer but recruit workers from what was once considered the retirement ranks.
But what about older Americans who now claim they can’t seem to get a job interview once they reach 50?
“I think that a lot of times age discrimination is benign,” Everett says. “Older people tend to apply for a job that they are overqualified for, and that gives the interviewer an excuse not to hire them. You have to remember that interviewers are looking for someone on a “career track’ because that is what they are doing, and that is what they are used to.”
Everett says older workers must make it clear to employers that they are no longer interested in climbing the career ladder but are instead more content to simply do a job the best they can and contribute to an employer’s success.
“They need to explain that they want to stay involved and do a job that does the most for an employer. They need to explain how they’re looking for jobs that they may have climbed over in the past. They’re more interested now in a comfort level,” Everett says.
Everett also advises:
Being flexible. Don’t rely on a one-size-fits-all resume. Look at job descriptions and tailor the resume to reflect the skills that would best suit the employer’s needs.
Eliminate dates. Instead, focus on skills and abilities, especially any recent training or education.
Focus on technology. If you’re capable of using various computer programs, make sure you list them. Don’t list old programs no longer in use.
Everett says fewer and fewer workers want to retire at 65, partly because “they are baby boomers and they have always been different,” and partly because “they know that people who retired on fixed incomes got screwed.”