Preface

Last week, I received the following note from a SafetyXChange member:

"Ms. Franzoni:

"I'm a contractor working with the federal government and am currently searching for a new job due to the fact that all indications are my contract will not be renewed for the next Fiscal Year because of budget constraints. At any rate, I've been able to land interviews but for whatever reason have not been getting job offers even though I am very qualified (or so I've been told), and I'm beginning to wonder if it could have something to do with my age (I am now 50).

"I've been told by quite a few individuals, some of whom are HR folks, that age does factor in even though technically it shouldn't. If age is in fact a detriment to finding a new position, how do I overcome that? Obviously I can do cosmetic things such as coloring my hair, losing weight, shaving my moustache, etc., but on paper my age is still 50. Any advice you can give would be very helpful. Thank you for your time and consideration."

[Name withheld]

Age Discrimination Is Real

Although I've never met this gentleman, I can tell you that his concern about age discrimination is legitimate. Age is up there with race, ethnicity and gender on the list of common biases. The employment prospects for senior talent in the corporate market have improved in recent years. But, sadly, age-based bias appears to be alive and well.

A recent Execu-Net survey of 404 executives over 40 reveals that the over-40 set still harbors deep-seated worries about age discrimination. Some highlights of the survey:

? 89 percent of respondents said they're concerned that they may soon be discriminated against because of their age;

? 63 percent believe that age discrimination has become more widespread in the past 5 years;

? 48 percent believe that age becomes a significant factor in the hiring decision for prospects at or below age 50, 35 percent say age starts to count for prospects age 51-55 and 17 percent say it's a factor when the prospect reaches 55; and

? 52 percent say they've already encountered age discrimination in a job search and, among this group, 77 percent said they were unable to overcome the interviewer's age-related concerns.

The survey also revealed that 35 percent of managers are concerned that age discrimination may force them into an unwanted early retirement.

What You Can Do to Combat Age Discrimination

What should you do if you encounter age discrimination? First of all, realize that you can do something other than just throw up your hands in frustration. And while there are laws outlawing employment discrimination against workers 40 and over, fighting back doesn't necessarily mean hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit. Although suing may be appropriate in some situations, it's generally preferable to avoid litigation because age discrimination lawsuits are expensive, time-consuming and hard to prove.

The best defense against age discrimination is a proactive campaign designed to shift attention away from the fading color of your hair and toward the value you offer an employer.

First, rid your vocabulary of age-ist phrases like the "senior moment." It took this long to get this good and you need to present your value to the hiring officer no matter what his age or experience level. Don't get hung up on job titles. Focus on letting interviewers know what you can do to help the organization meet its goals.

Here are some tactics our members have found successful in overcoming age bias in a job search:

? Be Aware. Acknowledge that age discrimination exists and that you might experience it when you reach your 40s.

? Be Prepared. Be prepared to counter age-ist stereotypes by demonstrating an ability to adapt to change, comfort with relevant technology and enthusiasm for tackling the challenges that lie ahead.

? Become a Solution in Search of a Problem. Research your target organization to gain an understanding of the challenges it's facing and initially present yourself on a problem-solving level--as opposed to on a candidate level. If you can demonstrate that you understand the issues, they'll see you as an "expert" with a solution.

? Make Networking a Priority. Like I said last week and will continue to say in coming weeks, continuously build your peer network. These contacts are likely to be in the same generation and in a position to help you get your foot in the door. That's critically important because landing that first interview is half the battle. As a general matter, networking is more likely to get you that interview than responding to an ad. This is especially true if you're over 40. Why? Because people who answer ads are more likely to get screened out on the basis of age. If all a reviewer knows about you is your age, he may give in to preconceived notions and eliminate you from consideration. Networking, by contrast, can break through a reviewer's biases because you come recommended from a person the reviewer knows and trusts.

Conclusion

Even the cloud of age discrimination might have a silver lining. In the same survey, 40 percent of corporate hiring officers said that age is never an issue in hiring at more senior levels in their organization. We know that some of these respondents said that because it's P.C.; still, the number of people who said they never consider age when hiring senior officials was up from 23 percent in last year's survey. Overall, we also found that the average reported age of management teams had aged from 41.2 years in 2004 to 48.3 years in '05. Most encouraging, a number of our members over age 55 have told me that they were surprised that their age didn't become a factor in a successful interview.

So it's not all bad. My advice to you if you're over 40: Don't fudge your resume, be energetic and exude confidence. Remember, that your experience is not a punch line.

Until next time, wishing you career success.

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

POINTERS FROM LAURYN

5 Key Things to Do During an Interview

1. Maintain eye contact and enthusiasm.

2. Keep your answers and remarks short, sweet and to the point you want to stress.

3. Listen and respond to what the interviewer says and ask thoughtful questions based on the interviewer's remarks.

4. Before and during the interview take the approach that your role is that of "consultant" whose job is to unearth the organization's "problem" and recommend a "solution" the implementation of which you're an integral part.

5. At the end of the interview ask where you stand vis-a-vis other candidates so you can identify possible objections or weaknesses in your candidacy and address them afterward in a follow-up letter.

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