I was recently laid off when my company was purchased by another.

12 Comments

1. Tanya NelsonFebruary 17,2023 at 4:48PM UTC

   I leave it blank when I can. Ageism is still a very real problem.

2. Cindy McLean CanfieldFebruary 17,2023 at 5:19PM UTC

   I completed college in 2004 at age 42, interviews were always surprised that I wasn’t 22 when I interviewed after completing my degree, so sometimes that can backfire if they are trying to hire “young”, fortunately the company that hired me after college respected my maturity

3. AnonymousFebruary 17,2023 at 6:17PM UTC

   I enter recent dates and they never say a word

4. AnonymousFebruary 17,2023 at 6:50PM UTC

   This is the time when you need to focus on your experience, transferable skills, and any up-skilling or courses you've taken to advance your knowledge. Keep your resume simple, easy to read, and achievement-based. They'd rather hire for the experience than age anyway. I finished my BA in 2015 at 54. I so want to put my graduation date on it, but I don't. The only place the date may be required is on an application, most often done or viewed AFTER the interview. Good luck.

5. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistFebruary 18,2023 at 5:04AM UTC

   If I am forced to put a number in there, I put 1900.

6. AnonymousFebruary 20,2023 at 2:26PM UTC

   Just applied for a job and the online application asked for college date. (I am 61 and went to college right out of high school.). Even I thought my resume only goes back 20 years and I was more than qualified, got rejected immediately. Ugh!

7. AnonymousFebruary 20,2023 at 3:33PM UTC

   Ageism is real and I don’t want to diminish it, but as a recruiter, I’ve never used those dates to determine age. I need them to verify eduction and often colleges have different processes and wait times for older transcripts. I can tell from your resume how much experience you have and extrapolate age if I want to without grad years.

8. RichFebruary 20,2023 at 3:49PM UTC

   In fact, Facebook lost a major court case on this topic about two years ago. They were allowing advertisers for jobs to request those dates, and the EEOC said that they should not on the grounds of "Ageism." It was hailed as "Precedent-setting," but it's clear the rest of the world paid no attention.

   They also lost by allowing advertisers to know the specific place where someone lived. This was seen as "Racist" and they had evidence that if you lived in the "wrong part" of town, employers wouldn't even have the ad shown there.

9. AnonymousFebruary 20,2023 at 4:18PM UTC

   Ageism kicks in much earlier than most people think. If you're over 35, you will be passed over for a younger person. Especially tough if you're career switching and are going for entry-level jobs.

10. Crystal HowellFebruary 21,2023 at 12:48AM UTC

    It's against the law, check with Nhrm. Otg

11. AnonymousFebruary 21,2023 at 8:21PM UTC

    And? I think you fill out applications for the role and show your experience. When it gets to the college question don't respond or put in a ridiculous date like 2020 or 1900, max it out at the number of years that are listed in the posting. Then you control the narrative if they want to interview you based upon your experience.

12. AnonymousFebruary 27,2023 at 1:55AM UTC

    Some states have started to outlaw asking for dates I hope more follow