I'm 57 and was on the job market last year.

Marcia Smith

February 20,2024 at 3:20PM UTC

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I'm 57 and was on the job market last year. I put my dates on my jobs and education - if you have to fill out an online portal - it will require it anyway. There are SO many people in the workforce that are over 55 - at least in my field (nonprofits and grants) that it didn't matter for me or my job search. I may not be the youngest person where I work, but I'm far from the oldest too.... My question is - would you REALLY want to work for an organization that engages in ageism? I think it is better to put the dates out there and find an employer that respects you and values you. period.

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AnonymousFebruary 20,2024 at 4:06PM UTC
Normally I would only go back 10-15 years with work history. Some of it may be to avoid showing age. The main reason, however, would be to have more recent / relevant information for people to look at. Not sure how current your skills are that were done 15 years ago. The education or skills section can show the specific skills if the skills were kept up. As far as working with a company that has ageism, the problem may be isolated to certain managers rather than an overall culture. I work in a high tech industry which is known for ageism. I am over 55 but still employed.
schneileFebruary 20,2024 at 4:43PM UTC
When you find one that respects and values us older Gen X-ers, please let us know which company that is--because at the moment, I haven't found a single one!
Marcia SmithFebruary 20,2024 at 7:42PM UTC
So - Georgia Tech University is a great place. Universities in general have a LOT of older faculty and staff...so it's a great place for us "over 50" applicants. There are TONS of jobs for grants specialists at universities. For anyone with nonprofit grant or other type of grant experience. Most are remote. Almost all have great pay and great benefits. You can learn more here: https://www.cra-cert.org/ and through the resadmin listerv, which you can join here: https://www.healthresearch.org/office-sponsored-programs/research-administration-listserv/
There are so many jobs that need to be filled, many employers will train someone who is really interested...
AnonymousFebruary 20,2024 at 5:49PM UTC
I think if I shared my age, I would not have been hired by my current employer. Yes, there are a handful of people I think are in my age group but the vast majority of them are in their 20s and 30s. I've got experience longer than most of them have been alive. I know I don't look my age but I think they'd all be shocked if I said I'd like to retire soon so I keep that to myself.
StacyFebruary 20,2024 at 6:30PM UTC
No way do I add my education dates (1980's) and my jobs are for the last 20 _ (only because I was at one job 17 years). I think there is ageism - even in non-profit /grants - but maybe more subtly in those fields than others (like advertising and PR)
AnonymousFebruary 20,2024 at 7:47PM UTC
Sure but, sadly ageism is real. Don't hide things is/when asked but if a role only asks for 5 years of experience you are likely to get rejected as overqualified during their filtering process and before any interviews because you have 30 years. Think wisely about this because you may be shooting yourself out of contention before you have a chance if you don't creatively work around the process. Good luck.
Marcia SmithFebruary 21,2024 at 8:51PM UTC
Yes I agree - If you must, then you must. You have a LOT to offer an employer and I hope you find an employer that values you and pays you MORE than you are worth :)
AnonymousFebruary 25,2024 at 3:34PM UTC
In my last job (a non-profit), they quietly pushed all those over 40 or 50 (even the administrative and financial employees) and replaced them with interns they would train and eventually hire. It was their way of keeping the payroll and benefits expenses low. I was told more than once that they wanted new and fresh ideas and were distressed at the "age" of many of their employees. I am now looking for another job, and I have only the last 15 years on my resume. I don't include the graduation date of my BS degree (1977), and I am getting a lot of interest. I feel like I must knock it out of the park in the first interview to be considered. I would have never gotten that far if they knew how old I am.