I’m seeing a very disturbing trend in HR today. One of my friends, who is a brilliant Computer Scientists with a wealth of global business experience, was recently laid off from a local area software company. It turns out that most of the layoffs were the over 40 crowd. The company cited "financial reasons" defined by rising healthcare costs, and the philosophy that anyone over a specific age has only a limited worklife left so they would rather invest their money in younger workers.
I’ve also seen a lot of commentary in my social networks pointing to ageism as a factor in hiring. Why pay someone what they are *worth* with 20+ years of experience when you can hire someone half their age for peanuts?
In the US, we don’t value wisdom and experience as much as other countries. Our culture is obsessed with youth. I think this is one of the most unnatural, misplaced, idiotic cultural values out there. I blame it on the entertainment industry for the most part.
Although age discrimination is illegal, when there is a glut of unemployed professionals in the workforce, it is oh so easy to look at the candidates with more experience and the younger *cheaper* candidate and then to rationalize that the older candidate is "too expensive".
I come from a family that values education. My mom went back to school in her 50’s to get her Master’s in Social Work. She has a long health care history, and that makes her a valuable employee in a healthy field, even now in her sixties.
One of the things we at Conquent value is *experience*. It is not dependent on how young/old you are. It’s a matter of whether or not you have the skills and cultural fit for what we need. Sometimes a green fresh college graduate, with a different perspective and new ideas will fit the bill better than someone that has been in the field for a decade or more. And then there is the fact that sometimes our clients need a seasoned professional that understands the greater business world and can quickly "hit the ground running" without a long learning curve.
Companies need to evaluate factors beyond "cost". Look to the experience and balance a *broad* corporate population brings to the table. And quit thinking of ways to "bend" the law to save a few bucks.