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Man Goes To A Job Interview For The First Time In 38 Years, Ruins It By Being A Boomer
While the process of finding a job got easier for the younger folk, the opposite happened for the older generation. Used to just ‘showing up and asking for a job’ now they have to deal with crafting a flawless résumé, finding offers online, having a LinkedIn presence, and some degree of digital skills. All of this gets harder to navigate with age, and employers who often choose younger workers over those close to retirement aren’t making it easier.
Redditor dat_woman_over_there’s 59-year-old father-in-law who lost his job after working 38 years at a company, struggled for two months before his son set up an interview at his job to help him. However, instead of being grateful, he, for some reason, channeled his inner Boomer, embarrassing him in front of colleagues and management.
RELATED:
Finding a job for older adults is significantly harder than for younger people
Image credits: Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
This son set up an interview for his father at the company where he works to help, which he completely wasted with his Boomer mindset
Image credits: Gustavo Fring (not the actual photo)
Image source: dat_woman_over_there
The odds that an older employee would be employed are 42% lower than for young people
Image source: SHVETS production (not the actual photo)
Half of people in their 50s lose their jobs at least once, and if an older person is laid off, they are significantly more likely to suffer long-term unemployment than other age groups. In fact, the odds that an older employee would be employed are 42% lower than for younger people.
Age discrimination is a big part of it, with 74% claiming that they have seen or experienced it. This number is at its highest since the American Association of Retired Persons started tracking this data in 2003. Even though the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects U.S. workers against discrimination based on age, the odds are often against older job seekers.
One of these odds is automatic tracking systems that sort résumés according to dates and missing skills. If, for example, digital skills aren’t listed, their CV can be immediately rejected, even though these abilities are easily taught.
In addition, older workers may be at a disadvantage, as some might feel less confident in finding work, especially because of their age. Therefore, they might put less effort into their search, thinking, “Why bother? No one’s going to hire me anyway.”
To find a job, some older adults try to hide any signs of their maturity and age
Image source: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
One piece of advice that older job seekers might get to be more successful in their search is to hide any suggestions of their maturity and age. In one study, researchers sent out 8,000 fake résumés to hiring managers and tracked their eye movements. It was found that their eyes were pausing at years of employment history and the year potential workers got their education. In general, they spent more time looking at the CVs of younger individuals.
For this reason, some don’t even bother applying to positions where they ask for a graduation date in their online job offers or even avoid including graduation and work dates in their résumés. Others purposely color their hair before interviews and put their social media and information on their CVs to show employers that they’re up to date with modern trends.
Another useful recommendation is to apply to companies committed to hiring older workers. More than 1,000 organizations, like Humana, Microsoft, Marriott International, and McDonald’s, have signed on to the AARP Employer Pledge program and promised to boost older employees reemployment.
Some red flags of age-exclusive workplaces are if their website and advertisements only showcase employees in their 20s and 30s. And if a hiring person asks too many questions about age—either in an application or an interview—that should be considered a bad sign.
They also shouldn’t comment, “I wasn’t even born when you did that work experience or went to college.” To save time and disappointment, older job seekers should look for language in job ads that specifically indicates that the company doesn’t discriminate based on age.
The author provided more information in the comments
Many readers sympathized and shared similar stories
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What do you think ?
Trev Fontaine 1 year ago
Seems more interested in calling the guy a boomer than just writing a story about an old twat beint a d**k
AndyR 1 year ago (edited)
And calling anyone they don't like a boomer... As if the generation you were born in defines your entire personality.
Load More Replies...
BewilderedBanana 1 year ago
There's a difference between being a boomer and being an asshóle. Can we stop labeling people based on their date of birth? I don't know any older people who would behave this way at an interview just because of their age. But i know people of all ages who would, because that's their personality (or lack thereof). just like i've seen younger people, just out of school, who apply for jobs demanding exorbitant salaries for doing very little, when they don't even have a shred of experience. It's entitlement and asshólery, nothing to do with age
Paul C 1 year ago
I was going to say almost the exact same thing. Surprisingly, older people can be total arseholes too. It's not the prerogative of the young. I work with around 20 people in the 50-62 age group (plus a similar number of younger people). Not one of them is an arsehole. Older people have more physical health issues than the young, but less mental health issues (in my experience). Most people in the 50s seem to be dealing with older relatives needing help, younger relatives needing help, their own health issues and the pressures of work. I don't know how they do it.
Load More Replies...
Verena 1 year ago
So what exactly has this to do with "boomer"? OP even admits that she used the labelling wrong. So all she wanted to do was some desparate boomer-bashing. Does anybody realize that the many cherished grandparents, uncles, aunts and parents on BP are of that generation? And that without the work of this age-group internet would not exist and no smartphones?
Claudia Conway 1 year ago
TBF, that isn't typical boomer behaviour, that's pretty exceptional - it's just generally being an a*****e
Joe Bloe 1 year ago
Like OP being an AH against older people, Boomers and GenX. No wonder dat_woman_over_there, the redditor OP, deleted her post not long after, seeing all the backlash, trying to p**s people even more!! Let just say I did a few downvote on her account!! LOL https://www.reddit.com/user/dat_woman_over_there/
Load More Replies...
Ace 1 year ago
Why do people want to make everything about generations? This guy isn't even a boomer! 59 years old, so born in 1965.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
OP needs to drop the generation labelling if she can't get it straight, and it's so unnecessary to use that as a negative in this context. We get what's going on just knowing the FIL age. Her FIL is early Gen X. The FIL must have been doing something right, being able to stay at a company for decades. Companies laying off the seniors with the highest pay, nearing retirement, is not unheard off at all. It is scary to the person laid off. I wouldn't say FIL is "delusional", just in big time denial, disbelief, panicked, worried, frustrated and stubborn. No one wants to start over again at another company late in their career. He needs some career counselling, help with his resume and interview skills, and navigated the modern job market, and an attitude reset. It's up to him to accept that help. He did need that major wake up call and I'm glad his son called him out harshly.
Justin Tyme 1 year ago
"Ruins An Interview By Being A Boomer" Wow, Bored Panda has definitely gone too far this time.
Lauren Caswell 1 year ago
A$$h0les exist in ALL generations. This guy sounds like he's been in a stable bubble, and not had to grow as a person perhaps, as the status quo was fine. I get how age factors into that, but 'boomer' has to ease off as a term, it's so divisive (a lot of modern content is divisive in one way or another, as anger and controversy generate interest and engagement, and prevent a lot of actual positive discourse and unity)
Paul C 1 year ago
You might have hit on something with the stable bubble. I know a lot of people who have been at a company for 20-30 years. Nearly all are very rigid in their thinking "this is the way we do it here", where as people with the same experience at a number of companies tend to pick the best from each of them "this is the best way to do it".
Load More Replies... 
Trev Fontaine 1 year ago
Seems more interested in calling the guy a boomer than just writing a story about an old twat beint a d**k
AndyR 1 year ago (edited)
And calling anyone they don't like a boomer... As if the generation you were born in defines your entire personality.
Load More Replies... BewilderedBanana 1 year ago
There's a difference between being a boomer and being an asshóle. Can we stop labeling people based on their date of birth? I don't know any older people who would behave this way at an interview just because of their age. But i know people of all ages who would, because that's their personality (or lack thereof). just like i've seen younger people, just out of school, who apply for jobs demanding exorbitant salaries for doing very little, when they don't even have a shred of experience. It's entitlement and asshólery, nothing to do with age
Paul C 1 year ago
I was going to say almost the exact same thing. Surprisingly, older people can be total arseholes too. It's not the prerogative of the young. I work with around 20 people in the 50-62 age group (plus a similar number of younger people). Not one of them is an arsehole. Older people have more physical health issues than the young, but less mental health issues (in my experience). Most people in the 50s seem to be dealing with older relatives needing help, younger relatives needing help, their own health issues and the pressures of work. I don't know how they do it.
Load More Replies... Verena 1 year ago
So what exactly has this to do with "boomer"? OP even admits that she used the labelling wrong. So all she wanted to do was some desparate boomer-bashing. Does anybody realize that the many cherished grandparents, uncles, aunts and parents on BP are of that generation? And that without the work of this age-group internet would not exist and no smartphones?
Claudia Conway 1 year ago
TBF, that isn't typical boomer behaviour, that's pretty exceptional - it's just generally being an a*****e
Joe Bloe 1 year ago
Like OP being an AH against older people, Boomers and GenX. No wonder dat_woman_over_there, the redditor OP, deleted her post not long after, seeing all the backlash, trying to p**s people even more!! Let just say I did a few downvote on her account!! LOL https://www.reddit.com/user/dat_woman_over_there/
Load More Replies... Ace 1 year ago
Why do people want to make everything about generations? This guy isn't even a boomer! 59 years old, so born in 1965.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
OP needs to drop the generation labelling if she can't get it straight, and it's so unnecessary to use that as a negative in this context. We get what's going on just knowing the FIL age. Her FIL is early Gen X. The FIL must have been doing something right, being able to stay at a company for decades. Companies laying off the seniors with the highest pay, nearing retirement, is not unheard off at all. It is scary to the person laid off. I wouldn't say FIL is "delusional", just in big time denial, disbelief, panicked, worried, frustrated and stubborn. No one wants to start over again at another company late in their career. He needs some career counselling, help with his resume and interview skills, and navigated the modern job market, and an attitude reset. It's up to him to accept that help. He did need that major wake up call and I'm glad his son called him out harshly.
Justin Tyme 1 year ago
"Ruins An Interview By Being A Boomer" Wow, Bored Panda has definitely gone too far this time.
Lauren Caswell 1 year ago
A$$h0les exist in ALL generations. This guy sounds like he's been in a stable bubble, and not had to grow as a person perhaps, as the status quo was fine. I get how age factors into that, but 'boomer' has to ease off as a term, it's so divisive (a lot of modern content is divisive in one way or another, as anger and controversy generate interest and engagement, and prevent a lot of actual positive discourse and unity)
Paul C 1 year ago
You might have hit on something with the stable bubble. I know a lot of people who have been at a company for 20-30 years. Nearly all are very rigid in their thinking "this is the way we do it here", where as people with the same experience at a number of companies tend to pick the best from each of them "this is the best way to do it".
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