Job Interviews For Dummies®, 4th Edition

Chapter 15

Star Turns for Prime-Timers

In This Chapter

Bringing age trouble out in the open

Pushing back on age trouble

Beating the overqualified turndown

If you’ll never see your 20s and 30s again, you may have already run into an age obstacle that puts the brakes on your job hunt in a culture that values youth over experience.

But isn’t age discrimination illegal? Of course it is. But does it happen? Sometimes or often, depending on your perspective.

From a base in Weston, Conn., Matt Bud leads The Financial Executives Networking Group, a 37,000-member national organization with local chapters. Most men and women who join The FENG do so when they must find new jobs, but once employed, they tend to stay aboard and bond with other financial professionals as a kind of safety net against future joblessness.

Understanding How Employers See the Age Issue

Based on his vast experience, Bud observes that many employers have a profile of a winning candidate in mind. A rejection decision may not be discrimination: In the employer’s eyes, the candidate simply may have the wrong profile for the job being filled.

So rather than refer to age bias, this chapter covers solutions to what I call ...