EmploymentDigest.net

Your Resume and Age Discrimination

Posted on 15. Nov, 2008 by Bill in Employment News

Your resume is your opportunity to make a first impression! It needs to be a quality, error-free document that makes the human resource director stand-up and take notice. If you are older (over 40), it also needs to be written in a way that gets you in the door.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), was passed to protect individuals who are 40 years of age or older against age discrimination in the hiring process.

However, have you noticed that job ads often contain requirements like: ‘Two years experience required’ or ‘Bachelor Degree required’? These may be wiggle words that allow a company to reject an applicant for what appears to be a legitimate job requirement, when in fact the underlying reason that applicant is being rejected is age!

After all, training a new employee is expensive. An insurance company that hires a new agent or adjuster will often spend in excess of $10,000 in training before that employee is ready to go. The company wants someone who is going to be there for awhile. In addition, the older applicant may present more health risks than a younger person, which is a consideration in regard to benefits and the cost of health insurance.

So what can you do to maximize your chances of an in-person interview when submitting a resume and you are over 40?

First, delete all references to time and years. It’s fine to list your jobs, experience and qualifications, but if you write that you ‘graduated college in 1972′ or that you were a manager at a company in 1967, you just gave your age away. Do not list when you graduated, the dates of employment, or any dates at all!

Second, make sure that your resume is one-page and error free. No spelling or grammatical errors at all!

Third, taylor the resume to the job you are applying for. HR will insert ‘key words’ in the job ad. For instance, if the job call for a ‘team player’, be sure to include, both in the resume and your cover letter, what you’ve accomplished that shows that you are a team player. Those key words may make the difference between getting an interview or not.

What profession recognizes the value of older workers?

The insurance profession employs a substantial number of older workers as both agents and adjusters, as there seems to be a recognition that older workers are reliable and serious about keeping their jobs. The University of Central Florida trains hundreds of new insurance employees every year through the Accredited Claims Adjuster Designation and Registered Customer Service Representative Designation. Information on the program is available at http://www.ce.ucf.edu/insurance

Conclusion

Age discrimination is illegal if you are over 40, however it is subtle and it does exist. If you are an older applicant applying for a job, let your resume make a great, ‘age-free’ impression!

Dr. Michael Birzon is an attorney and adjunct professor with Florida Insurance University/University of Central Florida. Dr. Birzon has litigated claims for over 30 years and is the author of the Accredited Claims Adjuster Designation approved by the State of Florida. You may contact Dr. Birzon at (407) 927-1235 or email at: flainsu@mail.ucf.edu or http://www.ce.ucf.edu/insurance

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!