Working Again . . . Hurtling the Age Barrier
There is no question that age discrimination is very real. It’s not due to workers costing more or driving up health care costs. It’s due to fear.
Step back and take a look at your standard corporation, Stagnant, Inc., today. The principal job most employees are working at is survival, i.e. to look good and avoid blame. One of their biggest exposures in that job is the hiring process. A brilliant hire reflects well on them; a poor one is an exposure.
Enter the headhunters, the experts in ‘safe’ hiring. They are in the business of providing clones of whatever that manager considers to be a brilliant hire. Age is definitely one of the criteria, and it is going to be less than the age of the hiring manager. Certainly, the hiring manager does not want to feel threatened by someone with more market savvy and business acumen.
Unfortunately, this leaves Stagnant, Inc. with the ‘same old, same old’ orientation and vision. Their hiring practices not only insulate them from experience in their own field, but in other fields as well. Today, it is impossible for someone from the petrochemical industry to switch to manufacturing. But if they did, think what a different orientation they would bring to the job. Cross pollination would be at work, and innovation would be the result.
Innovation used to be the business skill that set our country apart. Is our current economic struggle due to a loss of innovation? Certainly, you see very little innovation sparked by major US corporations today.
In the face of this, what actions should a senior take?
- Forget the large companies. Follow the innovators, i.e. young companies doing less than $25 million in annual sales. The owner doesn’t have the time or the temperament for fear. That owner simply has a thirst for market survival and success.
- Research the small companies in your area and identify ten that are in a growth mode. Study those firms and their competition. Identify ways that facets of your experience can help them develop their competitive edge. Once you determine that angle at a particular company, you are no longer old, you are golden.
- Once you have an angle, get aggressive. Visit their lobby. Pick up their literature. Walk out the door and explore the lunch spots in their neighborhood. Pick one and talk to your server about the company. They may know someone or something that can help.
- Take a deep breath and check your confidence level. Attitude is everything. Everyone is impressed by competence and confidence.
- Once you feel confident enough to that you have something to say, it might be smart to make a ‘cold call’, i.e. walk through their door and ask to see the CEO or their HR honcho. A good outfit will route you to an assistant.
- Use your time with the assistant to convey and validate your understanding of the company’s issues. Because they are at the assistant level, they will typically try to convey their best knowledge. They will also take your paperwork and contact information.
- If you are uncomfortable with the cold call, write directly to the CEO. Stress your competence in the area you believe is under performing. It is always your responsibility to make the follow-up. Never leave it to them.
- In negotiations, be flexible. If you start out as a contractor or temp, you will limit their legal and compliance exposure while getting a chance to demonstrate your skill set. If the chemistry is right, they would be foolish to miss the opportunity.
- Smile and get to work. You have a challenge awaiting you, and the CEO is watching.
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Tags: age discrmination, working