It's easy to blame hiring managers for choosing younger job seekers if you aren't getting hired for jobs when you're over 40 and qualified.
But you're not losing jobs because of younger job seekers.
Even when you're told "We found candidates who fit better than you" or the standard "You were overqualified" it's not because of younger candidates.
If you could understand why hiring managers choose less experienced candidates than you, then you could learn what to change in your resume/interview/job search process to overcome employer ageism.
The real reason you aren't getting hired is something you might not want to hear, but it represents good news for you.
The real reason is you ... you're underselling yourself from the perspective of the hiring manager. But that also means that you can learn how to sell yourself more effectively, to overcome employer ageism.
Don't get me wrong, employer age discrimination is a real thing, but there's often an underlying issue that isn't your age.
Think a minute about how a hiring manager perceives you when you're 40, 50, or 60. You have many years of experience, and many years of raises. So you're perceived as expensive, but you know you're worth the added expense in what you can do for the employer.
For a hiring manager to choose a more expensive candidate, they expect you to be able to do a lot more than younger candidates. You know you can do more ... but why can't hiring managers see that you can do more?
This is usually because age 40+ candidates have a difficult time proving to hiring managers that they can do more of the things that are important to the employer. Some of this is due to how GenXs and Boomers were raised (punished for bragging) so selling yourself effectively feels uncomfortable to most age 40+ candidates. Underselling yourself is also reinforced by most career coaches, outplacement, and professional resume writers, becasuse they encourage you to describe your career generically by responsibilities, experience, and skills (which could be great, or could be bad ... how does a hiring manager know?).
Instead, this approach forces hiring managers to guess if you were a big success or massive failure. Of course they have to guess ... because you haven't told them. This also makes you look indistiguishable from other qualified candidates, including those less expensive than you.
Recommended by LinkedIn
So instead of appearing worth the added cost, you appear overpriced and risky to hiring managers. When they choose less expensive (and less experienced) new hires, it's a less risky choice ... because your underselling made you appear too expensive and risky.
The good news is that you can change your resume/interview/job search strategy to more effectively sell yourself to employers, proving your success, reducing your risk, and appearing like you're a steal that the hiring manager would be nuts to pass up.
I help people solve the most difficult job search problems, including job search acceleration, getting past ATSs, ageism, remote positions, product/job function/career/industry/ geographic change, unemployment, "bouncy" recent career path, job search turnaround, seeking raise/promotion, industry in decline/consolidation, long term gaps, family leave, or other of the most challenging job search issues.
