Do employers avoid hiring people over age 50?

1. 75

   Gypsy48posted 13 years ago

   Do employers avoid hiring people over age 50?

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2. 61

   rosariosblogposted 13 years ago

   It depends what industry.  Often, the answer is "yes", because people over 50 expect to be paid more, and it's harder to order them around.

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3. 60

   womenintouchposted 13 years ago

   Not really you have to try to get a fact to face interview. I found they do not really know your age most of the time. we are just competing with the internet and thousands of others looking for work. I find that if I get a personal interview i always get the job. People are more interested in your experience however they do know that at our age they have to pay more and sometimes this will keep us out of the job market.

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4. 59

   Goody5posted 13 years ago

   I believe they do, however you will never know, because it's against the law.

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5. 60

   resumejackposted 13 years ago

   Some do. (But you wouldn't want to work for them, anyway.) To get around this problem, at least in your resume, you're only going to take your employment history back 10 to 15 years, maximum. Unless you're a total pothead, that's plenty of time to have built up enough accomplishments to show the employer you have what s/he wants. The other way around this problem is that you don't show the years you went to school, or were in military service. The only place you'll show years, in fact is for your employment.
   
   Remember, the resume is a marketing document that's intended to get you the interview. Once you're in the interview, you're going to sell your experience and skills. You're going to show that interviewer that you don't need to be trained. You will have done your homework on that company to know why they need the position you're interviewing for, and how you can address that need better than anybody else. Thinking that way should get you around the issue of age.

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   Tom Tposted 13 years ago

   I don't know if the word avoid is correct but I do think they are more cautious.  People over 50 can sometimes be perceived to be set in their ways, have salary and wage requirements that are higher than younger peers or just not have the right generational fit for a company.  These are perceptions.  For those over 50, you need to remove dates from your resume, go back the last 10 to 15 years on your resume and use terms like 10+ years experience when writing cover letters.  If you can alleviate the fears of an employer about some of these perceptions, you can sway hiring managers who may want some of the benefits of someone with experience.

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