Is My Age Affecting My Job Search

Is My Age Affecting My Job SearchQ Im 55, and I think my age is affecting my job search. Is it keeping me from getting an interview?A As a former HR manager who has screened, recruited, and interviewed thousands of candidates for positions at all levels across multiple industries, I never once viewed someone who was 55 or any other age in a discriminating manner. I cannot speak for every person who ever hired someoneor whether they do or do not discriminate. I am sure that out there somewhere there are those who do. What I can tell you is, that when someone is reviewing your resume as the sole deciding factor for scheduling an interview, he or she should not be able to determine your age.Unless you date yourself, that is. You shouldnt go back more than 10-15 years on your resume or LinkedIn profile. If youre only showing your last 15 years of employment on your resume, no one is going to be able to determine your age by that. Additionally, they would call to schedule an interviewand rarely can you ever tell a persons true age by a telephone conversation. Sure, you might be able to differentiate between a child, adult, and senior citizen but to be able to say This person sounds 30 or that person sounds 40? I dont see that happening.Chances are your age is not affecting your ability to get an interview since the means by which a hiring manager determines whether to interview a candidate or not are usually wrapped up in a resume, cover letter and/or prescreened telephone call.Yes, I realize there are instances when you submit an application verbunden and it requests your birth date but very rarelyif everhave I seen this while scanning a candidates application. Nor would I use it as a means for determining whether to interview a candidate.So whether youre 45, 55, or 65, chances are your age is not affecting whether you get the interview. Once youre in the interview, however, whether true age discrimination comes into play or not will depend on the person(s) interv iewing you. My two cents is, if the person and/or company is that shallow as to reject a candidate based on their age versus evaluating them based on their skills and the valuable benefits they can bring to the organization, then theyre not the kind of company you want to be employed with anywayWouldnt you rather work for an organization that values the wisdom that comes with life experiencesand age? A company that is open-minded enough to want to utilize your wisdom, experience, and expertise? I know that I would.