When I was a teenager, I thought 40 was old. Now that I’m only a year away from turning 40 myself, I feel a little differently. In fairness, middle age was treated like a curse when I was growing up. I still remember all the birthday cards for people turning any age over 40. I surely don’t find the whole “you’re going to die and your body is going to fall apart” theme so funny now. 

Now I think of this age as a beginning. The first half of my 40 years was spent under the guidance of other people. Now the stats say I should have at least another 40 years to live. I’m pretty excited for all that could entail, even if my body were to fall apart. 

However as the opportunities open up in our personal lives with age, that’s not always the case at work. People 40+ apply to hundreds of jobs with no response and wonder - internally and out loud on the internet - if maybe they aren’t getting a call back because of their age. 

Behind The Data of Growing Older

The data supports their suggestions, unfortunately. Harvard Business Review research indicates that ageism contributes to the unemployment of older workers, with nearly 56% of workers over 50 experiencing involuntary job loss at some point. But the proof isn’t just in the data about who layoffs impact. It’s securing that next job, too. 

Research from the Urban Institute reveals that older workers are more likely to face long-term unemployment compared to their younger counterparts, with the length of unemployment increasing with age. The chart makes the story obvious: the older you get, the less likely you are to be hired. 

From my perspective, the reality is two-fold and it’s not all doom and gloom. On one hand, as our experience grows from a more junior contributor to a senior one, there are simply fewer roles. There’s 1 director for every 15 managers. There’s also a lot more competition. Over 75% of the workforce is over the age of 35. That also means organizations will have to hire older workers. 

How To Combat Age Discrimination: Focus On Experiences

Efforts to combat age discrimination require us to change not just our job postings, but our culture. That means policy, training to build awareness of our inherent ageism, and changing how we market roles so people of any age can understand they’re qualified instead of opting out because they think they are “too old.” 

The easiest way to remove ageism from your job posts? Get specific about experiences instead of quantifying them. Including years of experience is ageist: the reality is that when we say 1 year of experience, our brains assume it’s for someone young. When we say 30 years of experience, we expect someone older. It also creates room for the "they're overqualified" conversation that I think is total bullshit.

The reality is that just because you have the same title for the same amount of time doesn’t mean you did the same work. Describe the work in detail (i.e. you worked at a tech company where you led a team of 5 that built a product roadmap) vs just listing generic years (5 years tech experience). Oh, and get rid of the range. It’s useless (and mostly made up).

But I Have To Use Years Of Experience! Compliance! 

News flash: you don’t *have* to use years of experience to be compliant. However, it’s a lot easier to “prove” someone was unqualified with a number if a complaint is brought up against your organization. So, of course, the lawyers love years of experience and have forced it into people’s brains. 

I also don’t like arguing with lawyers. So my suggestion? If you have to quantify, just write a minimum years of experience. Ideally one that aligns with the compensation band so you have consistency across these elements. 

By doing this work to create an environment that values skills and experience over age, you can help older workers have more access to work since years of experience is ageist. Bonus: it might help you get a job someday, too.