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Yes unfortunately society is absolutely biased against us older people.
And no not much we can do about it. Only option is to seek older worker friendly companies or become a consultant.
If we have to deceive companies just to get an interview, does this sound like a place we'd want to work for in the first place?
My advice to younger people out there is, don't make the same mistakes we did. Get a good education and good job, and save save SAVE as much as you can. By the time you get to our age, you may even be able to retire.
There have been a spate of articles lately on how people have been able to retire at 40, 30 years old. And they are all very similar. These people lived way below their means, paid off debts, and saved/invested. Not rocket science, yes, but sadly many of us never did these simple things. LEARN from our mistakes, one day you too will suffer from age discrimination.
There have been a spate of articles lately on how people have been able to retire at 40, 30 years old. And they are all very similar. These people lived way below their means, paid off debts, and saved/invested. Not rocket science, yes, but sadly many of us never did these simple things. LEARN from our mistakes, one day you too will suffer from age discrimination.
It's easy to live below your means if you have a six-figure job in IT, for example, and live in an area with a relatively low cost of living. I have a friend who works in the insurance industry, is in his early 60s making probably over $70K/yr, has no wife or kids, and is renting a room in a friend's house. He's never owned a home because everything in the NY metro area is so ridiculously priced. The friend whose house he lives in is a few years younger but still working, and I know at one point he was making over $90K/yr. He's divorced with no kids, but pays 5 figures a year in property taxes (on a piece of property the size of a postage stamp, by the way).
You also have to consider that not everyone has the temperament/personality to work in a high-pressure, high-paying job that is going to allow them to save money easily. To some people, having a job that is less stressful and perhaps has greater job security is more important to them than having a huge paycheck.
If you're fortunate enough to have a high paying job and be living in a low cost area and you can minimize your expenses, then sure, it's easy to sock away money for the future. But the high cost of living in some parts of the country such as the NYC metro area keeps many people living paycheck to paycheck, even if they have what most would consider a good paying job.
I'm not sure I'd have wanted to retire at 40 even if I could have. Retire at 30? You're only 8-9 years out of college at that age. Why would you even be thinking about retirement? You could give up whatever career you've been in, sure, but most likely you'd want to do something else after that. If you died at the age of 79, for example (the average US life expectancy), you'd have 49 years ahead of you doing nothing. If you've been working 60-80 hour weeks at your job, maybe that'll sound like a dream at first, but I'm sure it would get pretty old after a while. Life only has meaning when we feel like we have a purpose in my opinion.
Last edited by manyroads; 05-11-2017 at 12:40 PM..
Let's not sugar coat or deny the fact that age discrimination is alive and well in the Silicon Valley. So with that said, if you're over 50 (actually it's really 40 now), you need to think strategically about the possibility of being laid off. This means making sure you are fiscally set to take a hit for some unknown amount of time being unemployed AND to make sure you're up and up on the latest and greatest technologies and trends. We as the older workers face an uphill battle should we face the reality of suddenly being unemployed.
I feel your pains and totally agree. It goes for all occupations.
This thread is so depressing, sigh.
I'm looking for a new job, I got laid off a few months ago, many of us over 50 did. But they gave us all the job titles/ages to get around the age discrimination laws.
I'm interviewing and wanted to know at what point will the employer know my age? I don't think I look my age.
1) Will I have to tell them when I graduated from college? That will be a dead giveaway. If they ask my graduation year, is there anyway for me to get around giving the year (I will not lie).
break
2) Do I have to sign anything to allow them to do criminal/background checks? If so, when in the process is that done?
I just googled my name and state and a few websites display my age. That's not fair.
I still want to and can work 10 more years, I have a lot of experience in my field and can mentor the younger graduates that these companies are hiring. I hope that is my saving grace.
I was in your same boat a few months back and the career services company I worked with indicated that I should only list jobs that cover the past 10-15 years on my resume and to remove dates from education.
In your face-to-face interview, they will form their own opinion as to how old you are. My advice is to not make great efforts to hide it (other than the resume). I do not believe most employers really care as long as you have the skills and experience they are looking for.
I have held a lot of interviews and been part of the hiring process. There is a type of person in their 50's who comes across as bitter, wronged, insecure of their age and I would not hire them b/c I don't think they'd be a good coworker to work with. Then there are 50 year olds full of life, humor, and knowledge. Trust me when it comes to a lot of hiring, SO MUCH is based on whether someone would want to work with you on a daily basis.
And I have also interviewed people in their 20's I'd never hire -- those who are entitled, low self esteem, poor social skills. Really to me it's less about the age than about what kind of person you are.
At a number of law firms, it is experience that means the most. There are legal assistants at my firm that are older than their attorneys but they have the experience that is needed. We need people who can handle the stress, are mature and poised, have the ability to multi-task with little effort, know the latest technology and have superior legal skill. Many times, you aren't going to get that with a younger employee. I needed someone who could jump right in and do the work without a lot of coaching. My assistant is a couple of years older than I am, and I depend on her skills, experience and knowledge.
I worked for a small advertising company where they specifically hired older women.
My boss said the reason was that we're more reliable, have a better work ethic, could put together business letters better than those raised on texting, there was less drama, we have better social skills, and we're more apt to work as a team.
There is age discrimination out there but there is also skill discrimination. I recently read an article about an old programming language called COBOL that is only used by certain archaic banks. The few oldsters who know COBOL are flush with work because young people aren't bothering to learn it.
Keep in mind unemployment is very high among younger workers aged 18-25 because they don't have "enough" experience.
Thank you all for the positive posts!! I have dates on my resume for jobs for the past 15 years or so but no date on college graduation. When I said I have 10 years to work, I would never tell a perspective employer that, nor would I tell someone that I will mentor the "youngsters".
I cover the grey, keep in shape and am healthy so I don't feel that I look very old.
I'm interviewing for a job that is not doing in person interviews, this is a job opening that an ex-coworker has recommended me for, so I'm excited about that!
Keep the positive replies coming, you are all such a big help.
And I know COBOL too! That was the very first programming language I learned.
I worked for a small advertising company where they specifically hired older women.
My boss said the reason was that we're more reliable, have a better work ethic, could put together business letters better than those raised on texting, there was less drama, we have better social skills, and we're more apt to work as a team.
Add to that don't have to call out because kids are sick or baby sitter not coming.
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