Time to Move On
- nifty50s.com
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
The more things change; the more they stay the same
As an older job seeker, if you haven’t already encountered ageism or age discrimination, your day is coming. Any older job seeker who has been in the game for some time is all but certain to encounter it.
Yes, everyone knows it’s against the law (and has been for more than a half century.) Likewise, everyone knows that there are employers out there who regularly practice it and, with few alternatives, get away with it with little or no impunity.
Fight or flight
The courts offer ample opportunities for redress for those unfortunate souls who have been affected by the slings and arrows of age discrimination. That’s another subject for another day.
And let’s not forget that this is a two-way street. Many older job seekers are passed over strictly because of their ages. To add insult to injury, many of those same job seekers are in fact job seekers because age discrimination was what forced them out of their jobs in the first place.
On the one end, it’s “We don’t want you here any more because you’re too old.” On the other end of the spectrum it’s “We don’t want to hire you to work here because you’re too old.” They get you coming and going.
The correct response
There’s not much an older worker can do after being terminated due to age. So how should an older job seeker when the discrimination is on the other end of the process?
Think about it. If they don’t want to hire you because you’re old, move on. Don’t waste your time on them. There are other employers out there. This employer not going to change their minds or their ways for you. If you work there, they’re still not going to like or want older employees. Why walk into a challenging situation that you know up front is going to be a challenging situation?
Could you seek legal remedies? Sure. But most attorneys with whom we’ve spoke agree that those kinds of lawsuits are very difficult to win. And a resolution may take years. In the meantime, you need to find a job, to secure a paycheck. Move on. There are employers out there who value older workers and all that you bring to the table. They may not be on every street corner, but they’re out there… and they’re waiting for you.