Suze Bragg

Are you age discriminating?
August 28, 2008

You are your company's brand, and your company's brand is reflected through the people you hire.  That usually goes without saying, and many companies can get away with hiring only people who give their brand cache'.  But what if it goes a step beyond and highly qualified people are turned away because they're deemed too old?  This has become an ethical debate.  Young and hip have replaced seasoned professionals because they're viewed by many as willing to work extra long hours for little pay.  Your customers get eye candy and you have a smaller payroll.  What's not to love? 

Well...there's much not to love, and that's the debate.

Seasoned professionals, the appropriate term for people who have numerous years of experience and a tinge or two of gray hairs, are finding themselves unwanted in this new economy.  They've worked in large corporations before being laid off, gained personal and professional experience along the way, and usually have a skill set that is adaptable to most environments.  The biggest problem they're facing is not the large salary they command, but their appearance.  Yes...their appearance.  The younger generation sees them as old.  This reverse discrimination [that younger people have faced with lack of experience] is an acceptable part of having a brand.  After all, could you imagine a 50-year-old working behind the counter of Abercrombie & Fitch?  (Or better yet, could you imagine being 50-years-old and wanting to work there? The loud music would start to get annoying.)

Another debate is whether or not seasoned professionals would be willing to travel as much as the younger set.  Most are assumed to have already "been there, done that" and are set in their ways.  That assumption is usually unwarranted, and you know the cliche, "Assume makes an ass out of you and me".   And if you actually discuss what you're looking to hire, it could be a human resource nightmare, worthy of lawsuits.  So what do you do?

1.  Know your brand image and what you're looking for in both the front/face and behind/boardroom.  You can hire a full staff of young commanders, but will they be able to foresee operation nightmares?  Doubtful.

2.  Give people with experience the full benefit of the doubt.  If they have the personality, they can adopt the brand.  As a business, you need to be viewed as well-rounded to appeal to the broader target audience.  

3. If they walk in and you don't like their look, can you change it?  Not without a lively lawsuit in most cases, but you can ask that they wear a uniform when they're in front of clients:  coat, tie, logo shirt, etc. It goes without saying that most companies will ask employees with face piercings to remove them before meeting with customers. With that in mind, when has gray hair been viewed as a bad thing? (I know, I know, since hair dyes got in the hands of ad agencies.)

4. You view seasoned professionals as stuck in their ways and unwilling to travel/work as often.  Is that a perception/assumption or a fact? Ask yourself that.  Many young professionals, ie, twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings, are starting families and it's hard to get pregnant when the other half is always gone.  It's also tough to work long hours when a baby is crying at home, or the nanny has to be someplace, etc.  That's assuming you pay enough for them to have a nanny...

5.  There are times you just don't like the person you're interviewing.  That's ok because you're human.  But don't say out loud to anybody that you didn't like their hair, their age, or how they dressed. 

6.  Change your attitude.  When it comes to growing a business, it takes people with experience who know the risk factors involved and how to solve them.  

7.  Are you scared the pay isn't enough to keep a seasoned professional, and therefore they'll jump ship once they receive a better offer?  Ask upfront, because many times these people know what they're looking for and will work for a lower wage to get a better work environment.

8.  I've heard via some company's that the reason they don't hire an older staff is because they get sick more often.  I thought new moms and dads get sick more because their kids pick up viruses in school and daycare...

9.  Be prepared before you interview someone.  Study their resume, prepare your questions ahead of time, and give seasoned professionals a chance.  You may end up with a diamond.

Age discrimination stats
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Age discrimination at work
Your rights against age discrimination
Age discrimination by employers

Posted by Suze Bragg on August 28, 2008 | Comments (1)