Being Good at Your Job Won’t Stop Age Discrimination

by Jelle Lössbroek at theconveration.com

How old you are could be more important to some employers than your experience, or your capacity to do the job – particularly for older candidates. That was the conclusion of research my colleagues and I recently published on age discrimination. We tested 500 managers across nine European countries, using job applications of people aged between 43 and 63, and showed more suitable job candidates did not experience less discrimination.

In this COVID-19 induced recession, job seekers at both ends of the age spectrum struggle to find employment. If you are between the ages of 16 and 24 or over 55, you share an unfortunate similarity – a higher than average unemployment rate.

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 23 million Americans have become unemployed this year. Waves of impact in different U.S. regions have created on-again, off-again employment – yet job loss doesn’t impact all ages equally.

    CNBC recently noted how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality across the age spectrum. And while younger workers have been hard hit, especially since part-time jobs were hardest hit, workers over 55 have been particularly vulnerable.

Of the four sites typically considered major social media sites, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are vying for second place behind Facebook. When it comes to professional visibility, LinkedIn is the clear winner.

    Taking a page from the Facebook playbook, LinkedIn added status updates, also known as posts, to the options available for LinkedIn members.

    Judiciously leveraging these updates — making posts, comments, and clicking on the “Like” button — can increase your visibility on LinkedIn.

With holidays fast upon us and the end of the year looming, a lot of us are looking to 2021 with hopeful energy about the future. For some, the new year might feel like the right time to make a career change, or level up in our professional lives.  

    The events of 2020 have brought profound changes to all of our lives. For many, their work lives have been upended or drastically changed.
 

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Although it’s true for all job seekers, it’s especially true for the older job seeker. Be yourself. Be an individual. Stand out from the crowd. Are you getting the message?

    Much has been and is being said about personal branding. And a big part of that brand goes a long way to telling the world who you are and what you can do. Create a brand for yourself and then market that brand to potential employers. Seems like a simple formula.

    There’s more that goes into creating your personal brand than we can cover in this short space. (We’ve discussed it here and there are mulitple other sources of information on the topic – in case you were wondering.)

    Your resume. Your cover letters. Your LinkedIn profile – and how you use that profile. It’s a list that goes on and on, and it’s a list that is uniquely you. So why waste it?

    Think it through. Every time you apply for a job online or submit your resume to an ATS (automated tracking system), you become invisible at worst and wallpaper at best. You’re lost. You’re buried. You’re not even a number. Why take that personal brand that you’ve worked so diligently to create and nurture, and throw it down a dark hole?

    Does this mean that you should ignore the online application process? No. When you’re looking for a job, leave no stone unturned – and that includes online stones.

    But, by the same token, don’t put all your eggs in that basket. (OK. Too many metaphors? Maybe.)

    The message is there is so much more that you can do in your job search beyond applying online. Not only that, the other avenues that are out there offer a significantly higher potential for a positive return.