But other questions are more challenging - What are your salary expectations? Why were you let go? Are you concerned this role will not challenge you? Do you think you would be happy working here? Many individuals are concerned about being overqualified - or appearing overqualified. One of the reasons they are concerned, is their age. They believe companies won't want to hire them because they are OLDER. This concern is not limited - many people over 40 begin to fear AGEISM - being overlooked or not considered for a role because of their age.
They believe their age is a handicap, something that needs to be hidden. Around 15+ years ago, age was something of a handicap. Older workers would have a harder time finding employment. The reason is what more difficult was because older workers used to be the more expensive ones - when pay was more directly correlated with experience than performance. And when there were pension plans (retirement plans). But with the extinction of pension plans and the onslaught of pay for performance, the playing field has leveled out from a compensation perspective.
Times have changed. A lot.
Age no longer needs to the handicap it used to be. Does that mean ageism no longer exists? Of course it does. But it means that candidates have more power to control the narrative than before. In fact, age is something to be CELEBRATED. Older workers = experience. And experience is a highly desired asset.
Here are 3 reasons to leverage your age when interviewing:
1. Highlighting your extensive experience means confidence and leadership.
If you are constantly avoiding talking about certain experiences, or working hard at telling stories without tipping your hat as to your age, you aren't coming across as confident. You aren't coming across as a leader. Being afraid of your experience and your age SHOWS. You won't get hired - not because of your age, but because of your lack of confidence, and leadership abilities. If you can't handle something someone else perceived as a "shortcoming", how are you going to help someone else overcome their issues, help a company navigate conflict, avoid landmines or handle problems? This lack of confidence shows in the interview.
Truth #1: The best thing you can do is be proud of your experiences and let that confidence shine in an interview.
To do that, remember that your experience is an asset. It is an asset companies need - to scale, to grow, to acquire new clients, to implement new IT systems, to drive cultural transformations, to manage large scale projects successfully, to design organization structures, to manage and lead people - you name it. They WANT to know about your experiences because they NEED your experiences to grow, manage change, handle issues and complexities, make profits, grow shareholder value, gain investor trust, get funding, go to market with a new product or initiative, restructure, downsize, talk to the "street". Remember that companies NEED and WANT this experience.
2. Today, companies realize that they need a diverse workforce, one that includes people with extensive experience, to achieve significant performance and growth
The extensive experience is critical to helping companies get to the next level, AVOID pitfalls and RECTIFY mistakes. Some things you can only learn by having "been there done that". That is absolutely critical experience.
Truth #2: Studies upon studies prove that diverse workforce can lead to higher level of performance. Diversity includes age.
Many companies are actually seeking the experience. They don't want someone new and green. They want someone who can hit the ground running, achieve the goals quickly and minimize any disruption. The fact that companies are now recognizing that diversity is an asset helps older workers when job searching. You may realize your experience adds tremendous value, but mainstream companies realize it now too.
3. Compensation is based on the job and performance (and experience too).
There used to be a time when companies included retirement plans. These retirement plans were defined benefit - pension - plans. Pension plans are calculated based on on salary AND years of experience. To cut a long story short, pension plans made older hires more expensive to hire than a person with 10 less years of experience. But pension plans are a thing of the past. And, compensation for jobs has changed. Yes, a job is worth what a job is worth - but there is a range to what that job is worth (not one set data point).
Truth #3: You may make a job worth more based on your experience but THAT'S OK. You. Are. Worth. It. Why would you go somewhere that wasn't willing to pay you what you are worth?
If they were going to pay $150k for someone with a certain amount of experience and you happen to PROUDLY have more years, they may give you $165k or a chunk of equity. That's great! Compensation is your value proposition - what you need from a company in exchange for what you will give. Unless you are a very senior executive, it doesn't cost them much more to hire your experience and leadership. Without having to pay for pension plans, your total compensation and benefits isn't 10x more than someone younger against whom you are competing against for the job. And you can always negotiate what you need from the company in a multitude of ways that make sense for both you and the company.
Key Takeaway
Don't shy away from your age. Use it as an asset to get the job you want at the company where you want to work. Be confident and explain your experiences in a way that will help companies realize why they need to hire you.
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