Does this sound like age bias to you?

[jeffreysjohnson]

Here is an interesting question I received in a phone interview from Hewlett Packard Enterprise yesterday. 

Recruiter:  “I’m not really interested in what you did 30 or 40 years ago.  What have you done in the last FIVE years?”

Recruiter:  “Yea, I know you’ve done a lot of stuff, but let’s only focus on now.”

Does this sound like age bias?

jeffjohnson@sbcglobal.net

[JulieK260428]

How about this job specification? Age discrimination?

• Must be within 1 year of graduation or have a Spring 2019 graduation date

Found here: https://www.glassdoor.com/job-listing/communications-analyst-salesforce-JV_IC1145013_KO0,22_KE23,33....

[PatrickR720159]

If that is a high school graduation of like graduating from high school in either 2018 or 2019, BANG!!!   That is some idiot putting an upper age limit on employment and that should be grounds for a severe fine.  If I was the upper manger of that company, I would have had the IT guy or myself dump that requirement off the application.  And the year requiement would have gone out with the trash.  

[JulieK260428]

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@PatrickR720159 wrote:

If that is a high school graduation of like graduating from high school in either 2018 or 2019, BANG!!!   That is some idiot putting an upper age limit on employment and that should be grounds for a severe fine.  If I was the upper manger of that company, I would have had the IT guy or myself dump that requirement off the application.  And the year requiement would have gone out with the trash.  

PatrickR720159: If you view the link I included, you'll see the position 

requires a bachelor's degree; therefore it means college graduate.

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[PatrickR720159]

That's good.  That could mean that if we go back to school but at our age, then that wouldn't be bad.  

[PatrickR720159]

To me it does.  When it comes to interviewing, DON'T mention anything you have done 30 or 40 years ago.  Hold the historic talk after you get hired.  Then that way the employer feels that he or she has been lured the older worker.  

[jeffreysjohnson]

Since I posted this thread I’ve done a lot of research on resumes and interviews.  What it revealed is a candidate’s last 10 years – even five years – is the only relevant experience that matters.  It’s an interesting conundrum for an a candidate who is hyper experienced.  One wants to pack all the vast experience into a Happy Meal, but the hiring manager only wants to know the absolute latest things - and only a few of them.

Where this creates a conflict is in the resume.  A chronological resume complicates the narrative, especially because only the last few years are relevant.  So I created “player card” idea.  Like a baseball card, it shows the highlights and is customizable to highlight specific job skills for specific jobs.  Some iteration of it makes sense, at least in theory.  But the recruiter still wants a chronological resume, which shows not only that you are old but it shows experience that the hiring manager cares little about.

So I use the player card and cover letter as the bait.  And if they are interested I am going to reluctantly whip out the chrono one.  But until now, this hasn't worked either.

[JulieK260428]

Having hard time picturing what you mean. Is there a way you can show us what it looks like? Link to a visual?

[DianeC510806]

samething happened to me at Nordstroms in Beachwood, Ohio

[rz9726]

No, I don't believe it is age bias, as a manager of engineers, I dislike seeing applicants come in and stand on their qualifications of the engineering degree from the 80s, if they have trully gained knowledge or furthered their education, they shouldn't have to bank on that, show me that they have stayed with the times

[Soosie]

‎08-12-2018 09:18 AM
Here is an interesting question I received in a phone interview from Hewlett Packard Enterprise yesterday.



Recruiter: “I’m not really interested in what you did 30 or 40 years ago. What have you done in the last FIVE years?”



Recruiter: “Yea, I know you’ve done a lot of stuff, but let’s only focus on now.”

Does this sound like age bias? @Jeff.....Depends. Who brought up the past years? How far back were you going with your experience on your resume? Most companies want a new employee who is up to date with skills and has at least researched the culture of the company where they are applying. They want someone who talks the current language. We can't change the fact that we ARE older. We can change the fact that we DON'T sound older. A recruiter suggested to me to not date myself by going back more than five years even if I thought I had a glowing record back in "the olden days."

[jeffreysjohnson]

I totally get that companies want current skills.  For the past 12 years I worked for this company's biggest competitor.  We kicked their asses in the market and I actually created much of the thought leadership that the industry responds to - including this company.  The recruiter isn't a technologist, so would have difficulty understanding much of it.  Still she is a gatekeeper.  What she said, in effect, is that she doesn't care that I have more skills and experience than she could ever hope for.  Instead she treated my like a silly old person.   Frustrating!

[Soosie]

@jeffreys............I can't determine from you description of your background if the technology you speak of is Information Technology. In case it is, I sent you a private message. I work for a great IT company and we are hiring. I sent you some details.

[nyadrn]

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@jeffreysjohnson wrote:

I totally get that companies want current skills.  For the past 12 years I worked for this company's biggest competitor.  We kicked their asses in the market and I actually created much of the thought leadership that the industry responds to - including this company.  The recruiter isn't a technologist, so would have difficulty understanding much of it.  Still she is a gatekeeper.  What she said, in effect, is that she doesn't care that I have more skills and experience than she could ever hope for.  Instead she treated my like a silly old person.   Frustrating!

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That is your interpretation of what she said and meant.  Yes she is s gatekeeper asking what the employers want her to ask.  I don’t think of it as age discrimination. Give them a great five years.  

[jeffreysjohnson]

Hi Soosie:
I worked 12 years at Dell Technologies.  My LinkedIn profile is here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffjohnsonmarketing 

I can be reached at jeffjohnson@sbcglobal.net or 512-762-4443.

I'll look at your company website right away.

Thank you

Jeff Johnson

[nyadrn]

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@jeffreysjohnson wrote:

Here is an interesting question I received in a phone interview from Hewlett Packard Enterprise yesterday. 

Recruiter:  “I’m not really interested in what you did 30 or 40 years ago.  What have you done in the last FIVE years?”

Recruiter:  “Yea, I know you’ve done a lot of stuff, but let’s only focus on now.”

Does this sound like age bias?

jeffjohnson@sbcglobal.net

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Hi

Jobs have changed so much in the last several years that what you did early in your career, often using old technology is not pertinent to today's jobs in many ways..  fundamentals like accounting practices etc are but prospective employers want workers who know and have used new systems.  It is common in my company to ask what systems you have used etc and five years in a pretty good measure.  The old days of how long you worked for one company etc are not really of much use anymore except to show stability.  Have you considered that?

[JulieK260428]

rz9726 & nyadrn: Can you recommend ways to "keep up with the times" when one is having trouble being hired, esp due to ageism? It really is a vicious circle: We want to keep up with the times, but once a person reaches a certain age, it's harder to get new jobs. So we keep falling further & further behind. And the volunteer work I've done (and other volunteer work) typically does not offer opportunities to keep up with the latest technology, practices, etc. Volunteer work tends to be people intensive, not technology, process/procedure or data intensive.

[pualalcswmba]

Greetings!

           There are relatively inexpensive online trainings at Coursera, LinkedIn Learing, and Udemy.  You can learn technological skills that are very useful in advancing a career, finding new employment, or just enriching your knowledge base and daily living skills. 

          Good luck!

Paula

[jeffreysjohnson]

Have I considered that jobs have changed?  I worked in technology for 18 years.  The only thing that is constant is change.  So yes, I've not only experienced how jobs have changed, but I was also one of the people that MADE it change.