Thursday, April 22, 2010

You Can't Get a Job Because of Your Age

Do you think your age is an issue in your job search?

Are you not getting any responses to your applications, your resumes, your phone calls because of your age?

Is your age keeping you from the interview?

Are you being discriminated against because of your age?

If you believe your age is an issue, that your age is keeping you from being considered as a candidate, is keeping you from being seen as qualified, and is keeping you from being interviewed, first ask yourself why you believe this is true.

What evidence, what proof do you have to support your belief that the employer has an issue with your age?

How does the employer, the recipient of your application, your resume, your cover letter know how old you are?

Are you giving them information that tells your age? Do you have to provide that information? Is that information required by the application? If information is not required, why provide it?

Even if you are required to provide certain information that reveals your age, how do you know that your age is the reason why you did not get a response or an interview? Is it possible that there are other reasons you have not heard from them?

Was your application, your resume one of hundreds, thousands? Did it get buried in the pile, the folder, lost in the electronic black hole in cyberspace? Did you do anything else, anything special, anything different to get noticed? How do you know it was your age?

Did you have all the keywords they were searching for? Did you write your resume to penetrate the screen, to get through the filters, to give them exactly what they wanted to see? How do you know it was your age?

Did you take the opportunity to present your value proposition, to present how you have and will deliver the ultimate result, to present how you can meet and exceed their bottom line? How do you know it was your age?

Did you follow up, stay in touch, continue to express through any and every means of communication your interest, your enthusiasm, your desire to make it happen FOR THEM, for their success? Or did you pester them without mercy because YOU NEED a job? How do you know it was your age?

Before you believe that age discrimination is keeping you from the interview, ask yourself if you have done any and every thing that you could to get noticed. And are you getting noticed in the most positive and appealing way?

We will discuss any possible issue with age as it relates to the interview itself in my next blog.

Over 50? Having a difficult time finding a job?
"Get a Job" workshops for Job Seekers Over 50 are being offered April 27 through April 30 at the JVS Southfield office. For details and to register, go to the workshop calendar at www.jvsdet.org, the Seminars/Events tab at www.ParnossahWorksDetroit.org, or follow me on LinkedIn and our LinkedIn group NextJobs~JVS Detroit. Oh, yeah, and don't forget to follow JVS Detroit on Twitter.

"The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes." Frank Lloyd Wright

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