Defying Ageism

By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP

I was interviewed on TalkRadio for helping executives in the law field.

We were talking about ageism in leadership hiring and a very interesting topic about self-talk came up.

The core of the problem is that some executives who are frustrated in their job search are claiming ageism as the reason for being rejected—that younger candidates are being considered more seriously. Executives assume that younger leaders are preferred because they bring fresher, newer ideas and know what their generation wants.

“I just can’t find a job. They want somebody younger.”

“Even at the interview, they said that they prefer younger blood.”

“I don’t want to apply. They’re going to think I’m old.”

I see or hear comments like this almost every day.

And, yes, a lot of companies have ageism bias. Ageism is rampant in our society today; the assumption is that the younger you are the more attractive you are.

However, in my experience of working successfully with hundreds of executives, I can say that you don’t have an ageism problem.

You don’t have a job availability problem.

You don’t have a skills problem.

You don’t have a geography problem.

What you have is a resume and self-talk problem.

If I had a dime for every executive resume that came across my desk that demonstrated zero expertise and zero value-add, I’d be a billionaire. Just like their lower-level colleagues, executives don’t know how to write an effective, readable resume. And they don’t know how to talk about their successes.

It actually doesn’t take a lot of effort to combat ageism.

Yes, of course there are companies that are looking for younger people. Like gaming and electronics. But many of those spots tend to be for middle management and lower. These companies still need leadership and vision, and that would be preferable from someone who brings more leadership and vision experience. They want someone who has experience successfully leading a company to increased revenue, improved work culture, and streamlined processes. Someone who is older is more likely to have experience in solving these larger challenges and therefore will bring more positive results than someone who is younger, who has less experience.

To combat ageism, you need to improve how you think about yourself, how you write about yourself, and how you talk about yourself. And you need to apply to jobs that are appropriate for you, where you can use that awesome expertise that you’ve accumulated over the years.

That’s how you combat ageism and how you control your career.

I have yet to work with a client who stumbled or fell short of their dreams after using my methodology. It’s only when executives forget or don’t know how to talk and write about their value-add that they get stuck with the ageism challenge.

So, stop complaining about ageism and start addressing it. Your career will thank you!

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Better job. More pay. More control.

For a free resume review, please contact us at Control Your Career!