Job seekers face age discrimination in hiring
14 posts across 8 communities in the last 30 days; 36% from r/recruitinghell.
“I agree with you. I also despise the term "boomer" when it's applied as 'anyone more than 10 years older than me'. [re: Why are some boomers so simple when it comes to job searching]”
“its not the gap, its ageism. millenials hate anyone older than their cohort.”
“Mid 40s here. Job market has never been this bad. Been through many rough periods but built a career without any remorse or bootlicking or selling-my-soul. But this time it is different - it is a recession, just that our political leaders cannot acknowledge it because they serve…”
Older job seekers report systemic age bias in hiring processes, including being blamed for working low-wage jobs and facing demands for physically demanding labor with poor compensation. Users describe being laid off alongside thousands of peers and struggling to secure new roles.
SOURCES (48)
“I agree with you. I also despise the term "boomer" when it's applied as 'anyone more than 10 years older than me'. [re: Why are some boomers so simple when it comes to job searching]”
“So is 40 YOE. 1.5 years unemployed now. No one wants the elderly, they're so weak and feable, blah, blah, blah. In interviews, there's a split second when they are shocked at the face they are looking at. Then, we do the interview, it goes well, and THEN the rejection email comes. You aren't alone. Times are seemly worse than 2008 (from which some of us haven't recovered), but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel (doesn't help now, I know), and when things turn aro”
“Saw this, and it probably explains a lot of what gets posted here. Initial unemployment claims dropped to 197,000 recently, the lowest in decades and the longest stretch under 200k since 1969. Sounds great until you look at the hiring side. Employers added only 29,000 jobs in September, way under what was expected. And 27.1% of unemployed people have now been looking for six months or longer, a number that keeps climbing! Basically nobody's getting laid off right now, but almost nobody's”
“For those older, more experienced souls out there. If out job hunting, one tip… I’m a little older (55) and recently discovered that the job I’ve had for 6 + years came down to me and a man much younger than me. The only reason I got the job was one simple thing… if everything went to crap, who would you rather have on the job? I was very fortunate to have someone point that out in my hiring process. Don’t underestimate the value of that when interviewing. submitted by /u/Real-Patrio”
“Did you get fired after you reach at the age of 50 that is without much savings? submitted by /u/susa3105 [link] [comments]”
“The amount of corporate roles being outsourced is scary & it’s too expensive to manufacture in the US so those jobs have left and now professional jobs are gone There’s only so many trades opportunities available and from what I heard they’re saturated It’s looking real bleak”
“You make good points. Just want to add a very mild rebuttal. The manager who got me fired is a 69 year old widowed alcoholic who was supposed to train me as his replacement but after his wife died, realized his work was the only thing left in his life (plus the drinking) and forced me out instead. He told me point blank he intended to die on the job, and his (senior) management were too chickenshit to do anything about it.”
“Ageism was alive and well when I looked for a job years ago. Going to assume it's worse now. Ended up starting my own business. Best decision I ever made.”
“they want younger because those people are likely more desperate and is going to stay in the job for years on end, while an more experience they see will jump ship as soon as possible.”
“I recently read a USA Today article about American workers laid off or fired from highly paid positions between the ages of 55 and 65. They find themselves in a job market where they are too old to hire and too young to retire. From personal experience I can tell my Pharmacist colleagues that this is happening in Pharmacy. After decades of loyal and excellent service in a financially struggling health system I found myself let go because I was vested in a pension system. 5 years before my separa”
“I'm good. I'm 40-something so I'm right in guessing it's a boomer thing? Another comment just said it's a millennial thing, but that's news to me. I commented elsewhere it's so much in this thread I thought a joke was going over my head.”
“A while back, I asked r/retirement for volunteers to help with a story about losing a job around age 60: too old to get hired, too young to retire. Many of you stepped forward, and 10 of you are featured in the final story, which published over the weekend in USA TODAY. There's also a sidebar, featuring suggestions from this community on what to do if you lose your job at that age. For me, this one is kind of personal -- I'm in the "almost there" category myself! https://www.us”
“its not the gap, its ageism. millenials hate anyone older than their cohort.”
“I heard a man say to a woman that age discrimination in tech is real and she should be considering her next step in more realistic employment fields because she’s up there in age and it’s going to be difficult to continue in her profession. The woman looked experienced to me but not at all like one entering retirement. How dare he say that, I thought. Should she be heeding his advice? I hope she does not. We’ve learned some of the obvious ways to reduce age signals during the hiring process. Don”
“So as far as I know people will often hire older people because they have more experience, but sometimes they'll hire younger people with less experience because they have potential?(Please correct me if I'm wrong I am not well versed in this subject) So if someone who's in their 30s or 40s has 0 work experience(maybe no skills either), are they just never gonna find a job, even entry level positions because hiring managers think they're lazy or irresponsible? Edit: Another quest”
“They can’t afford to. But also, demographics show that 55+ only accounts for 24% of the workforce. So they don’t hold a majority of the positions.”
“You have a couple of different reasons. 2. You have the older generation do not have a life outside of work so they will be working until they die. 2. Money, a lot of people can not survive if they are not working- the social safety net did not advance at the same pace of of cost of living. 3. Productivity advancement and greed. We as a society is way more productive and instead of those gains being distributed to everyone it is all kept by a few who are greedy beyond belief.”
“Ive had so many boomers tell me to "just go on down to any union hall and walk on as an apprentice" and not once has that ever worked lmao”
“Boomer here. Been at this for 40 years. Never seen this level of stupid. I've been slowly watching the job market go to shit for the last 35 years. When my friends and colleagues tell me that I'm wrong, I laugh in their face. I tell them they should look for work, then come talk to me. Lots of backpeddling then. And, as others here have stated, I'm facing extreme ageism. To all you young people, you are not lazy and not too picky. The people who are causing this are the employers.”
“62 and not in great physical health then don't look to get back into motor trade, look for a easy number. Wee job in B&Q or similar”
“They influence policy as in they vote on politicians who influence the economy. And no they don’t need to do more than “suggest things”. But if they could stop belittling you and blaming you for everything that would be nice. There’s a whole range of options between being a dick and magically getting you a job”
“These are all good suggestions. I'd add go to a local food bank to reduce expenses. Go to local state employment dept, they have people to help you find a job. Join AARP they have resources to help you survive and find a job. I recently read of a greeter at Costco who retired at 80. Obviously review your budget and look for ways to save as someday if not today you will no longer be able to work at anything and you will HAVE to exist on SSI.”
“Mid 40s here. Job market has never been this bad. Been through many rough periods but built a career without any remorse or bootlicking or selling-my-soul. But this time it is different - it is a recession, just that our political leaders cannot acknowledge it because they serve the billionaires.”
“I learned about this class action suit in this sub. Being 63, and laid off from my previous gig in 2020, I signed up. The stipulations are you have to real or approximate dates you applied to a company using the Workday platform. Hmm. IDK about you, but I applied to 100s and 100s of jobs in 2020, 21, 22. 99.9% I never heard from, and immediately forgot about. Anyway, those lawsuits are there to reward the law firms. submitted by /u/marc1411 [link] [comments]”
“I’m guessing this is a job which requires a minimum age of 18 or 21. That’s not uncommon, often due to safety regulations. Federal discrimination protections are for age OVER 40, though state rules can vary.”
“Ageism refers to one’s age. You’re describing one’s years of experience. What’s the problem in not hiring or even firing someone with not enough experience?”
“I am a junior so not defending myself. But I think it is more complex, since the companies don't discriminate against us because we are young but because we lack experience (in their eye). But not hiring someone because he's 50 is very hard to justify since he's more experienced (you probably just didn't hire him because he's old). So in my opinion it is not ageism, but at the same time laws should be put in place to incentivize companies (or even force them) to hire new grad”
You can argue yoe != age. A lot of companies don’t hire junior folks.
“You're probably also not going to hire someone super old of you had the chance. I think OP is making a solid point.”
“Nope, at least under U.S. federal standards, age discrimination is defined as discriminating against anyone over the age of 40. My first reaction is to guess that someone must have been burned pretty badly by a bad hire for that policy to be what it is, but it's legal.”
“Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 only protects those 40+ Employees have very little rights when it comes to employment or getting hired in the US https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment”
“I work in a fortune 500, we got a statement from HR to not hire anyone with less than 6 years old experience. More specifically, anyone that started at 2022 or after do not even pass to our system since he is possibly a "Vibe coder" They closed the intern program, fired about 40 of them. Not sure how it is even legal tbh. Can they do it? submitted by /u/SourceAwkward [link] [comments]”
“Ya, I'm seeing (broadly) two main demographics. Close to retirement with ample savings. (More common right now)... half of a working couple where the spouse makes substantial income. So they can trade income for work-life-balance in order to take care of more domestic work. I.e. the wife is a dentist, the husband is an accountant, she make plenty of money so he takes the pay cut to move remote so he can manage the home and kids.”
“Yeah my grandparents said this to me and my unemployment husband. They just don’t want to accept the fact that they don’t know the job market anymore.”
“Tell your family to suck it. I'm Gen X. Sandwiched in between (b.1978). My dad (b. 1946)tells me he entered the workforce with companies competing heavily for talent, taking people with zero experience off aptitude tests, training them, the whole shebang, without even having a degree . Like he literally started in aerospace without a BA because he could just learn it. Then they all bought houses for $10,000 or whatever, and that grew and grew, Not that my dad's well off, because a few di”
“It just dawned on me. Why would all the employers pass on all the experience they dwell on in job ads? Because the older employees arent so naive and mostly already lost all illusions. While younger people are still naive, optimistic and delulu about career ladders and getting somewhere, us older workers, 40+, we know full fucking well we work only to pay rent, so we can live somewhere so we can go to the work, and thats the whole circle. You can exploit and abuse the young people much easier as”
“Yes. The number of people of working age has been reducing as the baby boomers retire.”
“Ageism at it’s worst. If they don’t want us to work, then they should pay for our early retirement.”
“He has proof that his age is the reason they didn't hire him, that is 100% illegal in the US.”
“B2B technical fabric sales executive laid off 8 months ago. Struggling to find new job. Age is definitely not in their favor at 70 years old. Any tips? submitted by /u/pm_me_ur_bidets [link] [comments]”
“I'll give a little context: My partner and I take care of an elderly parent with dementia. For years, we've both worked full-time professional jobs. I recently left my old job. The timing couldn't have been better. Our aging parent is now at the point that they can no longer stay at home alone. It's going to be at least another year before we can get them to the point that they can get Medicaid/state assistance for either in-home care, or care in a facility. I need to do somethin”
“Several thousand members of my network were laid off at the same time that I was. Most of us were more than 50 years of age. Many are now either collecting SS benefits or are prematurely deceased. I dismissed “offers” for job interviews that required me to travel long distances at my own expense for “opportunities” that would not allow for remote work or pay relocation expenses, without a solid longterm employment contract. The best advice for young people is, “Join or form a strong labor/profes”