Is age discrimination in the job market real?

1. 54

   Ellen Parrishposted 9 years ago

   Is age discrimination in the job market real?
   
   I left a job a year and a half ago. I began searching for a job right after I left my job. At first I thought it was just going to take some time. Here it is a year and a half later and not even a job offer. I am losing everything. I am 59 with a Master's degree and I am convinced my age is the problem. I can't even get an 8 dollar an hour job.
   
   

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2. 52

   Nicole Nichols-Smposted 9 years ago

   I think there is a lot of competition for job openings and it might be that an employer may not hire someone with a master's for a entry level position because of being over qualified for the job. Unfortunately with the economy being slow to rebound that most of the newly created positions are entry level. As far as discrimination it is very hard to prove and more often than not one never hears a response from the employer whether you submit a resume on line or in person. However, I had an interview at a competitor for the same job I was performing as a temp. The two ladies that interviewed me asked me if I had children which is definitely an inappropriate question and then said to me that they like to go out and have fun and I wouldn't fit in. To me that was a blatant form of age discrimination as I was already doing the job and definitely qualified. By the way I am 47 years old and also have an MBA.

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3. 79

   dashingscorpioposted 9 years ago

   Yes it's real! If it weren't it would not be illegal to be asked your age or the year you were born during a job interview.
   However most companies get around this by simply asking how many years of experience you have doing something on their online applications. It's also difficult to hide your age if you've worked a company for 10-20 years and you input your start date.
   Many companies have turned to limiting the amount of experience they're looking for. "Must have 2-3 years of recent experience or they'll say looking for "bright energetic person to work in a fast paced high energy office, recent college grads welcome!" Trust me they're not looking to hire a 59 year old no matter how "bright and energetic" she/he may be.
   Some candidates have cut their resumes in half. In other words they don't list jobs they may have had in the 80s. However when they sit down to be interviewed by their potential manager who is age 28 or 30 odds are unlikely they're going to want to hire someone old enough to be their mom or dad. It's awkward to ask many of the canned interview questions to a 59 or 60 year old. "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" "What career path would you like to follow?'
   In their eyes they're talking to a "loser". They imagine themselves being the CEO or President of a company by the time they reach age 45.
   Being your 50s is tough spot to be in because you're too young to retire and collect Social Security and most employers consider you too old to hire.
   Last year AARP listed "Best employers for workers over 50" http://www.aarp.org/work/on-the-job/inf … -2013.html

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