It's a tough racket!
Posted on 01/08/2020 9:27:32 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Tom Brady is a now free agent, but the NFL player doesn’t have the same worries as millions of Americans over 40.
Workers over 40 are only about half as likely, or less, to get a job offer than younger workers if employers know their age, according to research released this week that was conducted by economics professor David Neumark at the University of California, Irvine. The data was adjusted for differences in skills, fit and availability.
Key to the study was a major change that a company made to its hiring systems. Previously all applicants at a national restaurant chain (which wasn’t named in the study) had filled out an initial application form in a face-to-face meeting with a restaurant manager. So their age was apparent from the get-go.
Under the new system, applications began first with a standardized, online, electronic screen. This included over 100 questions designed to find out a candidate’s skills, experience, employability and other attributes related to the job. But it contained no age screen.
When managers could determine an applicant’s age group, those over 40 were between 46% and 65% less likely to get a job offer than those under 40.
Under the new system, older workers were actually more likely to pass the initial, age-blind application process than younger ones, typically because they had more experience.
UC’s Professor Neumark crunched the numbers from a proprietary hiring database maintained by the unnamed national restaurant chain. (The database of 1,600 job applications emerged from an age-discrimination lawsuit). The hiring decisions covered jobs from “front of house,” such as servers, to “back of house,” such as chefs.
“This set of results is strongly consistent with age discrimination,”
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
That surprises you?
I’m learning this lesson now. After 30 years steady employment in two companies I got laid off. Despite all the jobs available no one wants the old fart. I get the interviews and once they see me it’s over. Getting ready to take a job at below half my old salary. I have a friend in the same boat. Same age.
I used to hire men and women, but I discriminated against the women based on age. A lot of women I hired are paid over $50K/yr, some over $100K.
But I learned many years ago that women under 40 cost me too much because of child bearing and rearing costs.
I work at a company that fired an older employee who was pretty worthless. She then sued the company for "age discrimination". She did not win, but it was still a PITA for the company to have to bother with it.
Yep, some companies want to portray the youthful image but in my field where performance matters my decades of experience and results get me a premium.
Age discrimination has always worked like this for people seeking jobs. It wasn’t different 50 years ago.
Basically true but with ample exceptions. My job was such that not that many other men could operate at my level of expertise in my field so I decided to go the extra mile with continuing education and training and make myself worthy of being hired. I actually had prospective employers seek me out as my reputation preceded me usually. It's not that hard if one has the desire and drive but it does matter what profession I suppose one chooses.
I just chose to be the best I could be at what I did like daddy always taught me when I was growing up and I succeeded at it I suppose. My dad also worked on commission in am entirely different field and he too was usually highly sought after for his level of expertise right up until he too retired. I guess I had a good role model in him. I had a good work ethic too and that helped.
spot on analogy. it’s funny that my colleagues and peers in my industry live in an entirely different world than most people and forget it a lot. You get what you put in and most people would be absolutely shocked at the amount of money we make—until they consider the stress, alcoholism and suicide rates, broken families, etc that come with it. Making it to 50 with succumbing to at least one of those is quite rare.
You raise a good point. In a small company hiring just one older worker can have a significant impact on the company’s overall cost of health insurance.
It's a tough racket!
I had an offer to sell my business last year-I am 57 and burnt out at my job after 35 years and told some people I wanted out.
I was toying with the idea to find another job and work to at least age 62.
I am fit, healthy, converse well with people, and have two advanced degrees.
Went to some job fairs and such. Zero zip Nada. Only offers was $10-12.00 jobs.
Decided to keep my company and continue on.
Not at all. They lose money in the long run that way but long term thinking is a rare commodity.
It does raise the issue of how can we decouple health insurance from employment.
This is nonsense, it took me years to develop the maturity the
presentability and the skills to do my job in an effficient professional manner. I have the work ethic and experience the youngsters don’t have and guess what, I’m making more money than ever and doing some
Of my best work ever. (IT Pro Services) and my client(s) agree
I’ve been discriminated against openly many times and even reported the egregious instance I got a pay cut and had to train a younger coworker to the ACLUseless and NJ Dept of Labor and gave me the at will excuse
Bottom line as others said discrimination is rampant but opportunities are not nonexistent
Years ago I fired an employee for a very serious offense. (today it would qualify as a form of identity theft).
We promoted her assistant to replace her. The woman we fired was 54. Her assistant was 21.
The fired employee waged a THREE YEAR legal battle for reinstatement and back pay. Which she eventually WON!
Based on little more than the fact that she was over 50 and her replacement was 21.
Nevermind that her replacement was efficient, conscientious and good with customers. Everything she was not.
It made my head explode. Fortunately I had moved on from the company and no longer had to manage her. I was 33 at the time.
If 66, I really doubt you look 46. But good try....
I hired some, a few short years ago. 'Most' of the ones I hired were great kids. I remember one in particular, had a chemistry degree - he was distraught - he told me, "I did everything my counselors told me to do in High School, and I can't find a job in chemistry ..."
(You pretty much need PhD in Chemistry to get a Chemistry Job - they didn't tell him that)
On a 'geek scale' of 1-10, he was about a 12
He had some networking background, and we hired him - best hire I ever made; the kid didn't need a degree; he can pick up a Tech book, read it over the weekend, and show up Monday morning with all the skills we needed
Especially workers who don’t want to be tossed out of the country.
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