Age discrimination in the workplace is one of those issues everyone knows about, few every admit, and no one speaks about.  Why all the hush hush?  It is against the law however much harder to prove then say racial and sex discrimination as the factors are vague that surround the reasoning.  The whispers in the corner, the discussions in the boardroom, and the smoking breaks all contribute in their separate ways towards the practice.  The executives are thinking cost, the "old timers" taking the smoking break are thinking of the "young punk" managers who don't understand how it used to be, and the new management is seeing a point of resistance that can be easily be removed by their dismissal.  Sounds crazy, but it a real life issue causing a shift in the workplace age levels and a growing number of lawsuits.

Solution.  Nothing hard wired into the system will simply change the mindset of all the groups involved.  Executives continue to look at cost cutting measures and older workers doing independent roles that can be done by less skilled and lower cost workers as low hanging fruit.  Pensions and other benefits for an aging workforce is a continued focus for budget as it's percentage of spend continues to increase.  Healthcare is also affected by the age of the group.  In the corner office these discussions are happening daily, and call them business decisions or discrimination, the older the workforce - the more they cost.  In a global market that is a problem.  The young and evolving management amongst the mid level roles are keeping a close eye on the "old timers".  They see them, understand their knowledge base of the company, and however address them as points of resistance in many cases.  They view their lack of change and inability to keep up with new technology as a critical obstacle in their groups' or teams' success.  When looking at these professionals in terms of hiring additional ones, managers look for reasons to screen them out especially if their cost is higher than a younger counterpart.  How does one avoid these traps or loopholes?  Let us take a look.

Interview preparation for an older or more experienced professional is much more complicated than that of the younger professional coming straight from school.  It involves past performance, references from key points of contact, progressive track history, overall compensation, and communication.  Communication will be the key aspect we address for this as it will keep you from getting a new position when a younger manager is interviewing you.  Even if the manager is open minded and has no real issue with hiring an older professional for the role, there is in her/his mind a "profile" in his/her head about what you are like.  Older means expensive, has their own way of doing things, and not very good with technology.  Key - change their perception.  This is not an easy factor but there are some things that you can really push in your interview that will assist them in seeing you differently.  When discussing your past performance, explain how you had to learn new technology and utilize it on the fly with each new objective.  Processes are always changing and their is never a time where they are not being optimized or whole sale changed out, and most importantly you have been a driving force behind this innovation.  Most importantly, compensation is only important if you do not offer savings to offset the overall budget.  Use hard figures, showing them gains in past environments due to efficiencies you pushed through, and your bonuses were directly tied to the overall success of the company.

None of these are clear cut ways ensuring you will get the position on every interview you take.  However, most interviews are lost with communication errors.  Someone asks a question, an answer is given with no justification and wal-lah you are out of the process, no longer considered due to one answer.  The chips might not be evenly weighed right now but that simply means more preparation.  Keep away from the pitfalls of so many others and you will find yourself sitting at your new desk before you know it. 

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