Overcome Job Search Ageism
By Dan Woog, Monster Contributing Writer
When new owners bought the magazine that editor-in-chief Joe Provey had started a decade earlier, the severance package for employees included job counseling. Two years later, the advice he best remembers receiving is this: Shave your ear hair.
He was a fit, healthy 52-year-old, but to his job counselor, Provey's age was more important than the years of experience he might bring to a new job. And despite federal laws barring age discrimination, Provey's experience is hardly unique.
Having spent his entire career in the special-interest magazine field, he found jobs scarce -- especially at the editor's level. So he switched his focus and began working with book packagers and newsletter publishers on short-term projects. Still, the age issue often arose.
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"I do think there is a bias toward hiring younger people," Provey says. "My theory is it's natural discrimination, not insidious, but I've sent resumes to jobs I know I could do a terrific job at, and I don't even get a response." He has thought about leaving earlier jobs off his resume, but his college graduation year indicates his age. On the other hand, omitting graduation dates "sets off alarm bells," he says.
What worked for Provey? He networked by attending conventions and calling contacts he'd made during his years in publishing. Another strategy that worked was creating a Web site. "Highlighting a spread that I've written in a big magazine makes me more of a person than sending out a resume that just says I'm a 54-year-old guy," he says.
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