👀 JOB SEARCH AFTER 50? 👀

Ageism is real. It is driven by myths and inaccurate stereotypes that include the beliefs that older workers are hard to teach and don’t possess the needed technology skill set.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older (The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). But as with any form of discrimination, it is difficult to prevent. It happens at every stage of employment (screening, interview, passed over for raises and bonuses, blatant harassment). 😈

If you are looking for a #job after 50, it can be a challenge. But it is not impossible. Here are a just a few quickie tips for the #jobsearch to shield you from some of the age discrimination techniques::

✅ Don’t include employment back through the 90s - unless it is in some way the primary selling point (even then, you need to find ways to minimize the visual impact of the dates).

✅ Leave those 20+ year ago graduation dates off of that #resume.

✅ Make it obvious you have a social media presence (and curate it to show knowledge of the latest trends and establish your professional brand)

✅ Get away from the old-world #email providers such as AOL and Hotmail.

✅ Update your skills where needed. Learn the latest software, including the most popular video meeting tools.

✅ ✅ ✅ USE THAT NETWORK! One of the benefits of being over 50 is the relationships you should have been developing over the years. Work it!

As a resume writer, I have heard plenty of stories, as you can imagine. But ageism doesn't only hurt the target of the discrimination. Employers also hurt themselves by discriminating against older talent, because it leads to a less productive workforce, loss of institutional knowledge, and low morale.