Made redundant and worried about age discrimination

[ivegotdreadfulpmttoday]

I have recently been made redundant (company closing down). I am really worried about age prejudice in looking for a job. I'm 53 and have a lot of great experience but I'm worried I won't be considered the right image. I'm not one of those Ursula van der Leyen type older women - more Angela Merkel.

[Mintjulia]

Not sure about UvdL or AM but I was made redundant in September at 57. I was worried about the same thing.

It took six months to find an equivalent job, but I don't know if that's down to Covid or ageism.

Hold your nerve, have confidence in your great experience and skills.

[ivegotdreadfulpmttoday]

Thanks. Did you apply for lots of jobs?

[PlanDeRaccordement]

Ageism is real. Make sure you revise your CV to mask your age. Only go back fifteen years of employment. Don’t include the dates of your degrees/qualifications.

Look in the nonprofit/charity sector as well. They tend to be less ageist and value older employees more.

[Mintjulia]

Yes, I applied for about 5 a week, so more than 100 over the six months.

They fell into three groups
a). No response at all
b) invited for first interview and got no further
c) multiple interviews, tests, presentation etc, got down to the last two and came second seven times.

I had a gloomy wobble at about 4 months, took 2 weeks off (over Xmas) and had a rest. Then finally got the offer I wanted at the end of Feb. Good luck.

[DoubleTweenQueen]

I think it definitely is out there and something to be wary of, but forewarned is fore-armed! Spend plenty of time on your CV, be very aware of all the positive attributes and experience you bring, and be confident in who you are. Confidence, experience, great skillset will all go a long way.
I don't consider DoB should be given when applying directly (although agencies will be aware if you go on their books). Let your information speak for itself, and they can get a feel for whether you fit at interview :)

[ivegotdreadfulpmttoday]

I've applied for 5 so far. For one I had several interviews and came second, one I didn't get passed first interview and definitely felt age was a factor, one just wasn't right and two I didn't hear back from at all, one of these was a charity.

My CV does mask my age and I sometimes feel that makes it more of a shock when face to face.

[DoubleTweenQueen]

@ivegotdreadfulpmttoday That's very hard. I hope it hasn't knocked your determination. I don't know what to suggest other than to keep going and trust in your own value x

[Mintjulia]

I had a think over the weekend. Have you done all the following...

Updated LinkedIn, flagging yourself as available for new roles
Signed up for job boards suited to your industry & created automated job searches
Signed up with a couple of search agents in your field
Some industries have agencies that specialise in maternity reliefs, where experienced people are preferred because they don't have time to train you
Check out the Civil Service job site.

I hope you get sorted soon.

[Pinkraven]

@PlanDeRaccordement

Ageism is real. Make sure you revise your CV to mask your age. Only go back fifteen years of employment. Don’t include the dates of your degrees/qualifications.

Look in the nonprofit/charity sector as well. They tend to be less ageist and value older employees more.

Not including dates is very unusual - don't think I've noticed anyone doing that - we would suspect you were hiding something, which is never a good place to start.

[ArseInTheCoOpWindow]

I thought not including dates was normal.

[Pinkraven]

Not including DOB is normal - but not including dates worked at a role or obtaining a qualification is not usual - so it would stand out and ask me to question why the dates were omitted - what are you trying to hide something - in this case it's age.

[ScarfaceCwaw]

Dates worked at a role should always be included. It is becoming more normal IMO to leave off the date of a degree etc, partly for this exact reason. who cares whether you got your BA 7 years ago or 27? In most cases it matters not a jot, and you can produce the degree certificate for verification as and when needed.

[Pinkraven]

Why would you not include the dates - it's pretty obvious you are trying to draw attention away from the dates but in doing so you do the opposite.

[HundredMilesAnHour]

@Pinkraven

Why would you not include the dates - it's pretty obvious you are trying to draw attention away from the dates but in doing so you do the opposite.

You include the dates for your more recent roles (so going back say, 10 years) but then for the roles further back, just list role & employer without dates under "Previous Experience". This is increasingly common in my industry Financial Services.

[Harpydragon]

I was made redundant this time last year. I've had a couple of short term contracts and applied for 100's of jobs. I'm 53 and started my new role 3 weeks ago for a relatively new, small company where my experience is valued and very much needed. Infact I'll go so far as to say that my age was very much a factor in being employed by them. Don't give up hope, it will take time but there will be something out there for you.

[RaininSummer]

Agree that ageism is real. Unfortunately very often you can disguise your age as having O levels is a big clue alone and most forms are rigidly constructed. I did get a new job recently after quite a few applications. I think the NHS and the civil service are less biased against age than many other employers.

[Pinkraven]

I'm not one of those Ursula van der Leyen type older women - more Angela Merkel. Angela Merkel is a very impressive talented woman, if you have her ability I can't see the problem.

[Mintjulia]

On the o'leves thing, I put 8x gces which is true but a lot of people will read as GCSE or at worst, a typo.

[Dinosauraddict]

Come join the civil service - we don't discriminate based on age. I have a wonderful 60 year old in my team who joined me last year and has just been successful at getting promotion.

[yeOldeTrout]

2 "first" interviews out of 5 applications sounds great success rate to me.

I'm 53 & had 2 interviews/2 applications in last 6 months. Then some other contracts came thru so I stopped applications (for now).

[memberofthewedding]

I had an academic career in my late 40s and 50s until I retired from employed work. I did not go to uni til my mid 40s. (long story) So going into academia was a natural progression after getting a 1st and a masters. I was competing against much younger people but my qualifications were better and my references excellent. I did not disguise any dates on my cv but I did not cite my DOB and/or dates before my degrees - just a quick career summary,

At interviews I always pushed the fact that being older I had considerable experience in managing different priorities.

Some employers can be impressed by an older person who is not too proud or inflexible to return to education and improve their qualifications and skills. I know that I would be in the same position.

[ScotlandUnited]

Most companies require an online application form with the CV attached and you normally have to put dates on the application form so the advice not to put dates on your CV is a bit pointless. I rarely see CV only applications anymore. If an employer has an issue with your age, your sex, your race, your disability or any other PC, then are they an employer you would want to work for anyway?

[HappyThursdays]

Ageism is definitely real. Poor Dp lost his job and for 6 months, applied to everything available and got nowhere. He's ended up setting up his own business as it was obvious, he wasn't going to get a job easily.

He got down to the last 2 twice and was up against people 10 years younger - one of the employers we knew via another friend and they admitted off the record that it was his age.

Once you are over 50, it's really hard I have to say. Worries me too as I'm nearly there and not sure I can stay in my job much longer! But don't give up hope because there are employers who value experience - but they are not easy to find!

I don't think it's that easy to mask your age on your cv as you can either tell from education or date you started working

[Springhat]

Being honest we would not interview someone for a graduate/junior position if they had several decades of senior management experience - (unless they were a new graduate seeking a new career direction). I know that this has been argued that it's age discrimination but we see too many red flags with situation - it's a risky hire and we are too small to take that risk. We do employ quite a few older people in highly technical roles where experience is very much valued and rewarded.

[tass1960]

I started a job with the NHS one week before my 60th birthday. They definitely don't discriminate on age!