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Diary of a job hunt: Age discrimination attacks

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When HR Zone member Sue Harrison resigned from her job, she didn’t realise how difficult it would be to get another – and how widespread age discrimination seems to be amongst recruiters. In the first of a series of articles charting her search for new employment, Sue considers why her age is apparently the biggest barrier to career progression.


From 1 October 2006 it became unlawful to discriminate against people at work because of their age. After three decades fighting ‘glass ceiling’ prejudice as a woman in the workplace, I’ve suddenly found myself at the sharp end of a whole new problem.

A couple of months ago, I resigned from my job of seven years to deal with a family crisis. Now that the dust has settled and the status quo is restored, I’m relieved, refreshed and ready to find work again. However, I’m also just about to celebrate my 50th birthday and whilst I don’t look it, feel it or worry about it, my recent experience in job hunting is telling me that, whatever I might believe, in the world of work I am now old!

Time away from the daily grind had given me time to reflect on what I want out of my next job: a decent salary, reasonable hours and most importantly, not to have to commute in and out of London! Given my location, close to major towns in Surrey, I didn’t think these were unreasonable demands. So, my job search began…

“I can hear you saying, she’s not just old, she’s paranoid – she just wasn’t right for the specific roles on offer. But surely I can’t have done that badly with every agency, or with every potential employer.”



Starting with the most obvious route, I contacted recruitment agencies in person, by telephone, post and email. I surfed the myriad of jobs listed online and felt confident that there had to be one there to suit me. And, of course, I attended numerous screening interviews and registrations. Some agencies and employers had the courtesy to contact me and turn me down; mostly, they didn’t bother at all.

To be fair, I’m not so arrogant that I think I’m the best candidate for every job for which I have applied, but I applied only for jobs that met my personal criteria and matched my experience. By targeting my skills closely to the job descriptions, I was keen not to waste the recruiter’s time, or my own. You’d think that statistically, I’d have had a bite somewhere down the line!

Time was passing, so it was time to review my situation objectively. Carefully, I re-read my CV: I’ve worked for 30 years, have pretty good, broad-based work experience in a number of sectors. I’m reliable and conscientious with very glowing references! Over the years, I have looked through many CVs, so I know that mine stands up well. So where was it going wrong? Rejection made me very thoughtful and introspective. As the self-doubt began to grow, several options presented themselves…

“Is my experience too generalist? Should I have specialised after all? But it’s too late to start again, so I’m doomed!”
“Heck, maybe my CV isn’t as good as I thought. Or maybe it just needs rearranging!”
“Or maybe – just maybe – I’m simply too old for some of the roles…”

My experience at agencies and with consultants would certainly seem to bear out the last scenario. Things seem to go well until I produce evidence of my eligibility to work in the UK! Jobs that we had been discussing up to this point become suddenly unavailable. “Oops, would you believe it, it appears my colleague is dealing with that one – I’ll pass your details to her and she’ll call you…”

I can hear you saying, she’s not just old, she’s paranoid – she just wasn’t right for the specific roles on offer. But surely I can’t have done that badly with every agency, or with every potential employer.

“Simply making it illegal to consider age in recruitment will not change the way we actually think about the issue. Let’s be honest and consider how we review the hundreds of CVs that arrive on our desks.”

Further research and advice from peers in the HR community suggested that I should make an investment in myself. So I attended initial interviews with several executive search agencies offering tailored programmes, one-to-one coaching, workshops, online facilities, financial advice, psychometrics and introductions to appropriate senior level employers. This process is quoted variously between £3,500 and £5,000… without any guarantee of a job at the end. Even so, I became quite enthusiastic about the option of a personal ‘career refurbishment’.

I was assured that if I stick to the programme and follow the advice, I would find a role attracting a salary of around £20,000 higher than my old role. However, I was horrified to be warned that at my age – there’s that word again! – it would probably take about six months to find a suitable job. Six months! I mean, for heaven’s sake, I’m nearly fifty – does medical science expect me to actually live for another six months…?

I started this piece with a view to writing about age discrimination in recruitment from the very personal viewpoint of being on the receiving end of prejudice. But as the article unfolded, I realised that there is actually a broader element to this.

We dress up our excuses for being uncomfortable about employing older candidates under a number of excuses… you’re under-/over-qualified, you’re too generalist/ specialist, you’d get bored, you’re not strategic enough (don’t you love that one!). But the fact is that society IS ageing and we have to face the fact that we will all be working longer and later in life. Simply making it illegal to consider age in recruitment will not change the way we actually think about the issue. Let’s be honest and consider how we review the hundreds of CVs that arrive on our desks. Even in the absence of a date of birth, it’s not difficult to work out someone’s age from their experience, is it? Employment legislation only works when adherence is complemented by HR practitioners genuinely losing their prejudices. We did it with race, sex and religion. The sooner we do it with age, the better!

I don’t know how my job search will end, but I know that, when I find that perfect role, complete with company Zimmer frame, I’ll be pursuing a policy of actively encouraging other oldies to join me!

9 Responses

  1. State of mind
    Have to say I agree with Alan,

    Statements such as this one demonstrate an unwillingness to look inwards and address motivation, ambition, goals and dare I say it attitude.
    >>But surely I can’t have done that badly with every agency, or with every potential employer>>> errr yes if you are portraying the same attitudinal traits – wants an easy life, limited flexibility and ‘demands’ whether unreasonable or not.

    >>My experience at agencies and with consultants would certainly seem to bear out the last scenario.>>>
    And you wont find younger candidates whinging that agencies et al are discriminating based on their youth- everyone irrespective of age gets treated like that. Younger applicants get on with it and are busy looking for the next job not cluttering up internet forums claiming discrimination. And yes they too sometimes wait 8months – with less work experience than maturer workers.

    Lose the maturer stereotypes and then progress may be made.

  2. Persevere and be proactive – you’re in your prime
    There are a couple of common themes that run through the experiences of over 50s trying to find employment. First, they are often doing so from the position of being unemployed (whether through choice, circumstance or redundancy), which always seems to ring alarm bells for employers as well as rendering applicants particularly exposed and sensitive to every rejection and slight. Research has shown that once you leave employment over 50, it is extremely difficult to get back in – which isn’t a situation we should tolerate, but at least should help us not take things personally.

    Second, older applicants are often looking either for a complete change of direction, or to pick up a career seamlessly from where they put it down, neither of which make landing a job easy, no matter what age you are and certainly extremely difficult if you’re not prepared to ‘go back to square one’ as we might have done when we were young. So yes, it is harder obtaining employment over 50, but it is also easy to erroneously label all our disappointments with the ‘ageism’ tag.

    My advice overall echoes some of the other respondents. Persevere, be flexible, think laterally, believe in yourself and be proactive. Try contacting employers directly rather than waiting for them to advertise a vacancy where they may already have a clear mental picture of the person they want to fill it. A good way forward is often to take a lesser job with a good employer and then to seek out opportunities from within.

    I am the co-founder of an organisation called in my prime which provides information, advice and support to those in the 50 to 70 age group, as well as advising employers on issues relating to older workers. On our site http://www.inmyprime.co.uk we list a number of employment agencies that specialise in dealing with older applicants – it may be worth getting in touch with them.

    Currently we’re putting together a new book provisionally entitled ‘New Tricks – winning in the workplace over 50’. It is, as it says on the tin, a practical handbook about how to make the most of work, employment opportunities, and yourself, when you’re over 50.

    We’re looking for examples and quotations from ‘prime timers’ about their feelings, attitudes and experiences of working life at this age including views on such matters as promotion, training, working with younger people, personal development, work-life balance, mentoring and any number of other issues. Changing jobs will also be included, so if Sue or any other respondents would care to contribute, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

    Please contact me at [email protected] if you’d be willing to help.

  3. Age discrimination
    I feel that the writer is being a little hung up about her age. It is all about attitude. I was made redundant as an HR Manager at 61. I took an interim role as HR Manager for maternity cover and ended up being with the Company for 3 years. I am now 67 and have worked permantly for my present employer for the last 3 years having gone there to do a maternity cover. They knew how old I was from the start and they still don’t want me to leave.

    I don’t think I have been lucky I have just been resourceful and flexible.

    I would suggest that the writer tries interim roles they are not so concerned about age, but more about what you can do in the short term.

    Hazel Reed HR Manager

  4. Been there, done that
    I can sympathise with the writer as I too have been a victim of age discrimination. But of course you can never prove it. I was made redundant at the ripe old age of 49. It took 8 months to get my next position. The excuses given as to why I was not suitable were laughable. All I can say, is persevere, try to go for the jobs that do not use agencies as you have more luck dealing directly with the client (as long as they don’t already have a so called HR professional who will see your experience and age a threat). Also to keep myself marketable I have embarked on a Masters degree, fingers crossed it will help if I need to go out in the market again.

  5. Age discrimination????
    Perhaps worth a try. As an Employers’ Advocate I am surprisingly often asked by ex-employees of companies I have represented and/or worked with on various projects, to help them find a job. When dealing with us more “mature” folk, I suggest they find a company they believe might be good to work for, then ask for an appointment with the head of the particular department in which they are interested. Once in the door, it is up to you, but I certainly agree with the other advice offered, to highlight what ambitions you have and how you wish to achieve those ambitions. In addition, be sure to take along real live examples of successes you have gained and/or been party to that you believe could well be of interest to the manager concerned.

    You need to do a bit of homework first…….try and find out about the company and more important the department. Someone will know someone who works there or has worked there…..and the test of how serious you are in job hunting is how successful you are in gathering information about this prospective employer. It’s a bit like the recruitment exerecise in reverse……and we have achieved much success over the years. I perceive the reason is that HR folk are a bit like many PAs in that their primary role is to keep managers safe from the likes of job seekers. Seems pretty dumb to me but that’s the way management think nowadays. Good luck.

  6. Yes and No
    In the early 90s I was redundant, male, pale, stale and mid forties. It seemed to take forever to get back into a permanent position.
    All of the contributors here have truth in what they say, but then who are the biggest perpetrators of Age Discrimination?
    *holds up mirror*
    I know this from discussions over the years with recruitment agencies: HR are the worst offenders.
    Having said which, Sue, perhaps it was hoping for too much to work so conveniently locally and expect a reasonable job. Perhaps the smart answer would be to do freelance work, if this was an option, where there is no age bar – in fact, quite the reverse, I have found!

    May I wish you every success in your search – and accentuate the positive!

    D

  7. Ageism is a reality
    I totally sympathise with your position.

    I relocated up to Scotland with my husband last August. It was my job that relocated and my husband who worked in Quality Engineering was the one job hunting. He is 53 and largely QBE but had studied and gained his Quality Diploma.

    He initially was quite selective in the jobs he applied for and was not successful. Similar experiences to yourself that as soon as his age is revealed what promised to be a good opportunity suddenly evaporates. He is now applying for just about any job and is feeling totally demoralised.

    Has anyone got any suggestions that might help?

    Kind regards,

    Lesley

  8. Not old but retiring?
    Sue,

    As a 50 something I share your concern about ageism but your job hunting criteria suggest that you are looking for a slower pace of life rather than aspiring to greater things so can you really expect prospective employers to be impressed?

    Ok – you want to be “well paid” (don’t we all) but you say nothing about what you want to achieve in your career – where’s the ambition?

    You want “reasonable hours” – ok a handful of enlightened employers may see that as a desirable goal but most will be looking for recruits who want to give their all not “last in first out” clock watchers.

    Lastly you don’t want to commute – effectively taking out 80% or more of the jobs which you could otherwise apply for. It’s not an approach that is likely to inspire agencies to find you a new role – they are far more likely to hit their targets / earn commission putting their effort into job hunters who will go to where the work is.

    Then you have to overcome the impression that the fact that you gave up your last post (albeit for a good reason) and are out of work creates. What does that say to prosective employers about how work sits in your priorities? It’s always easier to find another job when you have one than when you are out of work.

    So is the problem really your age or is it your seeming lack of drive and ambition which simply confirms the negative “older worker” sterotype?

    I don’t mean to be negative but I know from personal experience (I gave up a well paid career to have more time to be with my disabled wife and then looked for a part time role) that if you want to find another post at anything like the same level you have to be willing to compete with the ambitious people of all ages who are willing to go the extra mile.

    My advice is – if you’re not ready for retirement reassess your priorities.

  9. It is worse to be old and male
    I agree with you that ageism is rife. However, for senior jobs in HR “reverse sexism” is also rife. Whilst one can speculate about motives, at least 3 FTSE 100 HR Director jobs have been filled in the last 4 years through searches where the client has required candidates to be female.
    As to the time it will take you to land another job, the redeployment consultant that I’ve used before still quotes an average of 6 months, with a range from 3 to 12 months. Neither you, nor anyone else should take this personally, it has happenned to many people. It certainly isn’t you, it’s just how it is out there!

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