Oldies can be a goodies

Imagine spending 30 years in the workforce gaining career qualifications and honing skills and experience only to find no-one will interview you for a new job because you're over 50.

In July last year we received an email from Bill, an older job candidate looking for work in New Zealand following 10 years of full employment overseas. His accusation: some New Zealand employers and recruitment agencies are ageist.

"As recruiters put it '[sorry, you are] too experienced or too senior for the position'. Where do we all stand - on the dole as all our funds run out. Employers should start looking at people 40 and over and stop this insipid discrimination," wrote Bill.

It seems Bill is right to suspect ageism. Kim Smith, senior consultant for Robert Half Finance & Accounting says she encounters ageism among New Zealand employers every day of the week.

"I recently presented three candidates over the phone to a client and the client was beside himself with excitement over their CVs. Then, when he found out they were all over 40, he cancelled their interviews," says Smith.

Smith says while employers are not allowed to specify the age of candidates when advertising for staff, ageism is carried out covertly and is a common problem in developed countries including the United States and New Zealand. Employers have a set idea about the age of the person they want to hire for reasons including fear an older person won't be a good cultural fit or won't get on with younger team members, says Smith. Others are concerned older candidates will cost too much or are after their job.

Smith says the only way around these misconceptions is to emphasise the quality of the candidate to the employer.

"However, I have very limited success with this. A lot of employers can't get their head around why an older person would want to do a less demanding job. Often it's because the candidate has reached a place in life where they have other priorities and values."

Smith says employers need to be enlightened about the value of the older workforce and loosen up.

"I have more unemployed financial controllers and CEOs on my books than I know what to do with. I could absolutely find roles for all of them [if ageism was removed.]," she says.

David Lowe, manager advisory services for the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA), says while ageism exists among New Zealand employers he'd like to think it's on the wane. From an employer's point of view, there is a time in each working life when age does impact performance, says Lowe.

"[EMA member] employers have difficulty finding people or finding people with the right skills and they need to get to grips with the fact there are older people in the workforce with valuable skills. At the same time, employers do not enjoy the thought of having to deal with someone whose performance is suffering - and they want to bridge the generation gap," says Lowe.

Deidre Ross, general manager for Auckland direct mail firm Mailshop, says older employers may actually be that bridge.

"We find mature staff are calmer and mentor younger employees. It's sad to think people might think they are too old to be valuable. My father is 79 and has only just finished work so I would never cap anyone as being too old to work," says Ross.

She says one Mailshop employee over 60 is no less physically or mentally capable than a 40-year-old, and while younger people are often more energetic and bring creativity to an organisation, older employees add stability and foster family culture in the workplace. They are also more likely to stay longer.

"They may have more planned holidays, but young people will just [leave] to go overseas," says Ross.

Vikki Lee Goode, is a company director at and says: "Younger people get itchy feet and want to move up the ladder; if this doesn't happen fast enough, they move on which leaves us with a hole again," says Goode.

She says it's naive to think mature employees don't expect to be treated with a certain amount of courtesy and respect by younger employers and colleagues, but the confidence that drives this expectation pays dividends in the workplace.

"We have just employed a 53-year-old team member into a reception role and she's the best we've ever had. Mature employees are often unflappable, confident in their own abilities, and have great communications and literacy skills," says Goode.

Lack of IT skills is often raised as a reason to not interview someone over 50, and in some cases is valid. While Ross says in her experience people trained on the job come up to speed with IT systems regardless of age, Smith says IT skill is the area older job candidates are advised to concentrate hardest on.

"Make sure your computer skills are up to date, whether it's Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, or the ability to navigate Windows and other systems," says Smith.

Proving older people do have the ability to move with rapid IT changes, Bob Stewart, an engineer who started work for Unisys New Zealand in 1960, still works for clients across the banking, government and commercial sectors. In a recent press release, Stewart says he is amazed at the ongoing transformations in information technology.

Lowe says while some employers shy away from the cost of employing an older person because the candidate expects to be fairly remunerated for years of experience, older candidates often have less financial pressure upon them and are more open to negotiation.

"People who have reached a time in life when they are more financially secure have more options than a person with blended family, second-time-round family, or someone in their 60s still with a mortgage," says Lowe.

Smith says when ability or energy is not the issue; it can be tremendously frustrating for older job candidates to lose out on a position through ageism. Many take it personally.

"Don't put too many personal details in your CV like date of birth, end date of secondary or tertiary qualifications. In fact, don't put anything on your resume that would allow you to be discriminated against in any way, shape or form," says Smith. She says employers only expect resumes to go back 10 years, and read only a little of a full CV. Older candidates have a better chance of selling themselves if they can wangle a face-to-face interview.

HELP FOR OVER 50s

* When compiling a CV, list qualifications, jobs and experience and the number of years spent on each, but avoid chronological dates and date-related personal details

* Employment details do not need to go back more than 10 years, but do list all accomplishments and skill sets

* Try not to take rejections personally - ageism is a collective prejudice rarely related to an individual CV

* Use the interview as an opportunity to sell yourself rather than relying on a CV

* Information technology skills do matter. Keep up with the latest trends and be comfortable using common software, operating systems and hardware and mobile and networked devices