If you would like personalized assistance, please contact the CDC for an individual appointment, or stop by during drop-in hours Monday through Friday between 2 P.M. and 4 P.M.
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Alumni: Age Issues
Preconceptions
How can you counter a preconception based upon your age? Experienced workers use a variety of strategies to overcome employer prejudgments:
- Show Enthusiasm & Energy
"You're never fully dressed without a smile!" As you job hunt, tell others about your best and favorite skills. Be good to yourself; don't beat yourself up. Go after the kind of career/position you really want.
- Look Up-to-Date
Your dress must reflect today's attire. Wear what is in the stores now, not what you bought four years ago.
- Talk Up-to-Date
The deadliest mistake is to dwell on the past. Focus on, and talk about the future. Instead of "how things were," speak about the organization's and your goals for the future.
- Be Computer Literate
For most jobs, it is crucial. Know the buzzwords, so that you can convincingly project essential computer skills.
- Address Age Difference
If the hiring manager is younger than you, proactively take the initiative and broach the subject. For example, "You may wonder if I'm comfortable working for someone when there is an age difference. I want to assure you that I would be."
- Address Longevity/Over-Qualification
Detail your long-range plans for being at the company. Project your satisfaction with the position/role for which you are interviewing.
- Avoid Very Long Answers
Being long-winded gives an impression that you have nothing to do all day but talk. It may support an interviewer's stereotype that older employees will spend the day socializing, not working. For interview questions, the target response time is a few minutes. Be sure to address the interviewers questions in a succinct way.
- Address Spoken (or Unspoken) Concerns about Health
Statistically, older workers have better attendance than younger workers and take fewer sick days. For health insurance, most insurers base employer premiums on claims, not on the age of their workers.
NPR's Changing Face of America
From March 2000 until July 2001, NPR News looked at the ways our country has changed in the last century, including stories on older workers in the United States. |
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Old Dogs and New Tricks
In the first part of a three part "Changing Face of America" series on older workers, NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on the mixed experiences of older workers in the high tech workplace. Some people as young as 40 report difficulty keeping or finding jobs because of their age. But other workers who've been downsized from traditional industries have found success in a Boston program where they RE-TOOL for jobs in high tech. The luckier ones have landed jobs where they're not only accepted despite their age, but valued for their maturity and experience. (8:24)
Hard Labor at an Older Age
In the second of a three part Changing Face of America series on older workers, NPR's Wendy Schmelzer reports on the physical difficulties, blue-collar workers face on the job as they get older. Physical labor can not only get more challenging as workers age, but years of hard labor can lead to serious health problems. (8:40)
Intra-Generational Conflict in the Workforce
In the last of a three part Changing Face of America series on older workers, NPR's Robert Smith reports on intra-generational conflict in the workforce. One of the problems facing corporations today, is how to keep multiple generations working together as a team. As workers stay on the job into their later years, conflicts between middle age and younger workers arise. (8:15)
*Special thanks to Minnesota WorkForce Center for allowing the Macalester College CDC to reference their work.
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