Combating Ageism in Your Job Search

If you’re an older American preparing to begin another round of job searches, you may face ageism. The gig economy has been a respite for many older Americans. It offers a host of benefits, from flexibility to post-retirement income. Unfortunately, it is not entirely immune from the problem of ageism. Combating ageism in your job search can seem difficult. But, it’s important to not let your experience prevent you from having a fair opportunity at a new job.

What It Is

The World Health Organization defines ageism as: the stereotyping or discrimination of individuals or groups on the basis of their age. In the United States, ageism against anyone over age 40 is illegal in employment practices. It has been that way since the 1967 passage of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). However, there is a major caveat to this: it only applies to companies that employ a minimum of 20 people. Additionally, the other problem with ageism is that it can be hard to identify. It can be even harder to prove in court.

How to Identify Ageism

There are the obvious signs, such as remarks directly about a person’s age, but there are also more subtle cues. A job advertisement would be flagrantly breaking the law if they declared they were looking for a “recent college graduate.” They could get around making this statement by including the term “tech savvy” as code for young.

There will be instances where you may feel like you are a victim of ageism, but have no concrete evidence. And just because you are relatively young doesn’t make you immune. The AARP found that 1 in 4 workers age 45 or above had experienced negative treatment in the workplace. It can be something visible, like a negative comment on performance. Or, it could be something smaller, like assuming you would not be interested in an outing due to your age.

How to Overcome It

One of the best ways to overcome ageism during a job search is to enter the gig economy. The flexibility of the gig workforce provides a welcoming environment for people of all ages. Since gig workers can be any of any age, race or ability, you can find a better variety of coworkers. But, ageism is still something to be guarded against. Here are a few more tips for combating ageism in your search:

1. Leave your graduation dates off of your resume: this way they can’t know your exact age with some simple math.
2. Never directly reference your age: don’t ever apologize for your age or make a joke of it. Comments like “This probably dates me . . .” have no place in the workplace.
3. Always get to know a company’s culture. Do your due diligence and understand what the client you want to work with wants.
4. Address any potential problems. Sometimes people’s objections to age are couched in objections to perceived stereotypes they have about older people. Think about what might cause concern in the employer/client and address those issues directly. 

Ageism is difficult to battle. It is best to be prepared to fend off what can be an insidious problem. If you’re currently searching for a job, as so many of us who work in the gig economy so often are, be certain to make sure you’re balancing your search with the work you already have. 

About the Author: Alexandra Mendez-Diez has worked as a freelance writer and editor for the past decade. She loves that the job entails writing about such a wide variety of topics, ranging from cattle-handling best practices to how-to guides for tracing ancestry through cookbooks, with all kinds of exciting stops along the way.