Many of you may read the title of this post and may be telling your screen that you’re over forty, and you’re too young to be discriminated against because of your age. While we agree that forty isn’t old, we’ve heard from many job seekers that if they show up to an interview and are older than their potential boss, they feel like they’re unable to get the job. So this post isn’t telling you that if you’re over forty, you’re old, we are going to tell you how to revamp your interview strategy if you know that the person you’re interviewing with (your potential future boss) is younger than you.
- Don’t age yourself unintentionally
There are certain questions that a hiring manager or interviewer will ask that start with, “Have you ever. . .?” When you have in fact had experience in a certain area, but it was awhile ago, you may be tempted to answer with a response like, “Yes, I did work with that system, but it was over a decade ago.” If you are able to give an answer closer to this one, this doesn’t emphasize your age or experience quite as directly, “I worked with an earlier version of the platform, and have taken the opportunity whenever possible to get acquainted with the new release.” You’ll also want to refrain from making comments related to how things operated before the internet and email became so necessary to get business done. An easy area for a candidate to emphasize their age is when they’re asked about a particular challenge in their career, and they answer with a response that starts with, “Before there was email. . . ” This ages any candidate that is older than their potential new boss because he/she won’t have experienced professional life before the internet.
- Address the “Why don’t you want to be manager/director/senior manager” question
Your interviewer or potential new boss may not directly ask you the question about why you don’t want to be a manager, but they will ask you other questions that will get to the heart of the matter. If you had been with an organization for a few years and you never had a manager title, you’ll likely be asked if you were offered a manager role and turned it down, or what the circumstances were around your career progression with that company. If you were a manager previously and are now applying for a non-manager role, you’ll likely need to explain why you’d want to take a perceived demotion. -This isn’t always the case, but just be aware that you’ll have to explain your thinking if you were a manager and want a role without a management component.
If you’re completely changing industries the answer to this question is likely pretty easy, and you should explain that you understand you need to take a non-managerial role to learn the ropes before being considered for a more senior position. Your new potential manager wants to know if you have any ambition at all, or so much ambition that you’ll be expecting to do their job in six months. However, if you explain that you didn’t like being a manager at your last employer because you didn’t like the leadership and policies, you are likely unintentionally telling your new potential manager that you have a hard time enforcing rules or getting along with others. If you didn’t like managing you can say something about how your previous management roles took you away from the day to day interactions with customers and clients, and you’re wanting to get back in the trenches.
- Understand the best way to market yourself
You’ll want to make sure that your skills are up to date for the industry you are wanting to join or the position you’re interviewing for. Understand what software you will need to be proficient in, and enroll in a class to learn the basics if you haven’t had any direct experience. If the software or product experience isn’t the main reason your interviewer should hire you, give examples of the skills or attributes you have that make you the right person for the job. You have some fantastic transferrable skills that will make you a great choice for this job, you just have to know how to sell them in relationship to the job you want.
When you do your homework before an interview, or are working with a recruiter, you will likely know if you’re going to be older than your interviewer before you arrive. (We suggest doing both!) Don’t feel like you have to downplay your valuable experience if you know this is going to happen to you, but just re-frame how you talk about your experience. Make sure you understand how you’re going to sell the fact that you’re the best candidate for the job, and don’t rely on just selling your experience. You may not be able to control the age on your driver’s license, but you can absolutely control your attitude and outlook!