KEY POINTS:
Age discrimination runs rampant in New Zealand. Yet, says Kim Smith, division director of Robert Half Finance & Accounting in Auckland, if we changed our attitudes to age we could solve the talent shortage overnight.
"Every man and his dog is complaining about Gen Y in the workplace. The antidote is to hire an office full of baby boomers."
But in the accounting industry, Kiwi employers would often prefer to leave positions vacant than take on workers aged over 50, says Smith. They are asking for employees on 'the upward trajectory' of their career or who have 'a long runway'.
"Yet in this market if you get two or three years out of a candidate you are doing well." Smith argues that employers would get more bang for their buck from older, more experienced employees.
Ingrid Waugh, manager human capital solutions at Pohlen Kean, has experienced ageism in the recruitment market personally, when she returned from overseas aged over 50, and works with people who have been made redundant to assist them to find work.
The worst problem, says Waugh, is recruitment consultants. "Recruitment consultants just don't get it," says Waugh. "They can't understand that someone might simply want to do the job, rather than grow their career."
Researchers at Massey University found that there was a perception in society that older workers didn't have the energy or flexibility of their younger counterparts.
Not so, says Alan Christie, human resources manager at Orion Group. His company actively seeks to re-recruit retired employees on a part-time basis to take advantage of their skills and says that they typically have as much energy and enthusiasm as younger employees.
Christie cites the case of one recruit, aged 67, who was the former managing director of an electricity company, and now works as a power quality officer for Orion Group. "He has enormous experience. If there is a problem he will go out there, walk around the whole site and identify the problem. This kind of experience saves so much money."
He adds that the 50 to 70-year-old generation is 10 years younger in attitude and health than their parents' generation were, having been through the Depression and fought a war.
It's a perception backed up by research by Manpower, which found that this generation's older adults are much more likely to feel empowered to make life-changing decisions like leaving their long-term jobs for other opportunities such as starting a business or going back to school, which may have seemed unachievable to previous generations.
On the other hand, the Manpower research pointed out that other older workers fulfil the age-old stereotype of the ageing adult whose skills are lagging his peers, attitude is somewhat cynical, and health is waning, which causes absenteeism.
With this and other prejudices in mind Waugh recommends that job hunters aged over 50:
* Communicate clearly the skills they have to potential employers.
* Be flexible and open-minded in their thinking around roles.
* Have the confidence to paint a picture to potential employers of what they have to offer.
* Tap into their networks of former colleagues, friends, family, community groups for referrals and to keep tabs on what is happening in the marketplace.
* Keep up-to-date with technology and the business marketplace and take courses where necessary.
* Present themselves well.
* Develop resilience to cope with rejections.
Bede Ashby, managing director of Momentum, adds: "One of the more important aspects of presenting yourself to the market is to show that you are flexible, willing to take on tasks that you may not have considered or have not carried out for a while, easy to manage, and positive about what you can do to assist (your manager) in achieving their objectives."
Jane Walker, director of H2R Consulting, says senior executives who find themselves made redundant as a result of company mergers or other events that are no fault of their own often lack experience of job hunting.
Typically, she says, they find that their energy levels and currency in the workplace are questioned by employers. "This is where candidates can get themselves into trouble, not because there isn't a need for their skills, but they have not necessarily kept themselves employable."
It's essential, says Walker, that they ensure they look good and that can mean joining a gym and losing weight. There are some industries where older people make better workers. It's not surprising, therefore, that there are plenty of older women working in jewellery stores.
Donna Whittle, director of recruitment consultancy Fashion Personnel, says older workers are highly sought after. "Our industry is probably one where, provided you have the skills, you are sought after until you retire! I think the average age for sample machinists and patternmakers in this industry is 60 plus.
"So they are treated like the rare gems they are.
"The only thing that would stop a 50-plus (person) getting work in the fashion industry would be attitude, and in some areas, lack of computer skills. It is definitely an industry where age equals experience, and experience is revered."
For those older job seekers who do suffer rejection, age is no barrier when it comes to executive contracting, says Nichola Rawlence, associate director of Robert Walters finance contract division.
"Executive contractors are often expected to drop into an organisation in order to carry out a specific project where the requisite skills may be hard to find and no permanent employee has these skills.
"Sometimes, little guidance or training is given to contractors and hence more mature candidates tend to have the confidence and experience to get on with the job."
Another option taken by those who have difficulty getting back into the workforce is to buy a business or franchise, although the fact that you can't find a job isn't the best motivation for success, says Simon Lord of Franchise New Zealand magazine and website. "On the other hand, if you use it as a springboard to do something you have always wanted to do, you can achieve a great deal more."
* CASE STUDY
Alan Morris
If any potential employer had discounted Alan Morris' application because of fears that at age 63 he wouldn't have sufficient energy, they'd be wrong. Morris is currently in training for a 200km walk.
Even so Morris knew when he was made redundant through no fault of his own that getting a new job might be difficult, despite extensive experience in the engineering and motor vehicle industries at senior levels here and overseas and also a stint lecturing at the University of Auckland's engineering school.
"I knew I wasn't ready to retire", says Morris.
"I still had a lot of experience and a lot to offer to the New Zealand industry and I wanted to continue to contribute to society."
Morris and his colleagues at aluminium wheel manufacturing plant Ion Automotive had several months' notice that the New Zealand operation would be closed down, and were able to prepare for job hunting. What's more, he always assumed he would gain employment, but that it might take longer than expected.
Morris quietly left his date of birth off his CV, although the dates of previous roles did give his age away, and started applying for jobs that he knew he was qualified for.
His initial applications drew no response. Then nearly four months later he heard from Lawson Williams Consulting Group, a specialist recruiter, which was looking to fill a Quality Assurance position at Maxwell Marine.
John Lawson, of Lawson Williams Consulting Group, a specialist recruiter, admits that in the 1990s and the early part of this decade some recruiters did hold subconscious prejudices about older workers, but the skills shortage has put paid to that.
"In our specific areas of recruitment (manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, infrastructure, technology and science), we can't find sufficient candidates and we have got into the way of thinking that what age someone is, is not of relevance," says Lawson.
It was Morris' skills that were valuable, says Lawson, and his age wasn't relevant.
Once in front of an interviewer at Maxwell Marine, Morris was keen to point out that he had only taken one half day off sick since 1985, so health was not likely to be an issue. He also gave the company a time frame for his ultimate retirement so they knew how long he would be available for.
He was also clear to point out that his varied background meant he was flexible and able to take on a variety of tasks.
