Age Discrimination Is Getting Really Old

Once again, I'm talking about age discrimination. I'm tired of it. I remember in the 70's when people were demonstrating against discrimination, like racial discrimination or sex discrimination. I don't remember hearing anything about age discrimination, but it out was there, big time. My dad was looking for a job back then and got turned down for many, many jobs, often because of his age. He was in his 50's at the time. He also had the misfortune of having white hair by the time he was in his 50's, which made him look older. That didn't help. He was a better accountant than most of those in their 20's and 30's. He graduated college with high honors and was class Valedictorian. He was a member of an honors fraternity called Beta Gamma Sigma. He was really, really smart. He was lucky in that the company he used to work got an opening for a really good tax accountant and his old boss had confidence in him. He turned out to be an outstanding tax accountant. He could add up a column of numbers in his head faster than someone could whip out a calculator. He knew the tax laws like the back of his hand and his company got themselves an outstanding tax accountant because someone knew what a good accountant he was and gave him a chance.

My dad when he was in his 50's

Now my husband is looking for a job because the company he worked for during the past 23 years decided to eliminate his position even though he was an outstanding Senior Copy Chief. He has applied for dozens of jobs and has received dozens of e-mails saying that he "wasn't a match." My husband is an outstanding writer. When he reads the newspaper, or even a book, he'll find all kinds of typos. It is sometimes ridiculous how many typos, spelling errors and grammar errors there are. Those publishers could have used him.

Joyce Lain Kennedy of  Job Interviews for Dummies (lovely title) recommends is "Review the benefits of older workers- commitment to a career, hands-on experience, a track record of success, stable, realistic expectations - and think about how they apply to you." Okay, I've read over all of the recommendations for those in their 50's who are seeking a job and my husband is doing everything right. He doesn't even look or act his age.

There are laws prohibiting age discrimination, but companies know how to keep it under the radar so it doesn't look like they are discriminating against someone because they aren't in their early 30's. What good is a law if no one will obey it or if everyone circumvents it?

I'm going to have to find a full-time job and I will be facing the same obstacles that he's facing only I have an additional obstacle of not having worked full-time in an office for 15 years, at least one where you don't share your office with snakes, birds, bunny rabbits and guinea pigs and where bags of mulch, animal crates and deliveries of boxes of hundreds of living crickets is normal. It will be weird to be in an office that doesn't have a collection of jars containing insect specimens and  infertile snake eggs floating in formaldehyde or a variety of animal mounts and snake sheds ready for use in a classroom. The best thing is that there's no dressing up, everyone wears jeans or khakis, a t-shirt and good sneakers, there are no business suits and high heels. Things I'll have to remember is that some people get squeamish when you discuss defrosting dead mice or catching live crickets to feed to animals. I can't even mention the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, the large winged cockroaches or the really cool huge millipede that we have. I am facing a big challenge.

Just Another Day At The Office

Seriously, do companies want someone younger who words their resumes with 'LOL' or use 'U R' for the phrase 'you are' for writing or editing positions?  Are they going to text their resumes to prospective employers? When my husband used to interview for copywriters, he found all kinds of spelling and grammar errors on the resumes he reviewed. This was for copy writing and editing positions! Are some employers intimidated by the thought of someone older than they are reporting to them? If so, they have a little growing up to do. Hopefully there are people that are in charge of hiring who are mature and open-minded. I hope so. I hope someone hires my husband soon, they would be very lucky to have him.