Stupid Human Tricks: Ageism February 1, 2010
Posted by hardly Job Hunt Process
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There's this guy I know, he's a programmer. We'll call him John. He learned Java shortly after Sun released Java 2 that was his 3rd or so major programming language he learned (he's added a few more since). He's the kind of programmer who takes the compiler's bugs in stride, works around them, and then goes back and updates his code once the bug is fixed.
(For those of you who consider yourself non-technical, why would you think that software to create software is any different that your Web browser, your PC's operating system, your word processor?)
Anyway, John is good. He has written all kinds of different commercial software. Developer tools, games, and hard computer-science type stuff that requires research, clear thought, and tight coding.
John also happens to be looking for a job at the moment. He has been sending out his resume for the past four months, and nary a nibble.
Why no nibbles, when this programmer is clearly worth his salt?
John says, "It's Ageism". "The hiring managers are all in their thirties, and are biased against an older programmer, and are afraid that I'll be asking for too much money, that I won't put in the hours, and that I won't get their business model."
I look at his resume. I ask him, "If you are looking for Programming jobs, why are you saying all this stuff about leadership?"
"Oh, that's because I think I add more value as a Lead or a Manager."
"And what about this stuff you wrote regarding architecting systems?"
"I'm good at architecting systems. I like architecting systems. It shows I bring more to the table than a regular developer."
I say, "Well, your problem isn't ageism on the part of the Hiring Manager. Your problem is that you are not writing your resume to the job requirements, and the Hiring Manager does not see you as a Sr. Developer. They see you as a Lead, a Manager, an Architect. They aren't looking for one of those, they are looking for a Sr. Developer."
Your resume has about 15 seconds to convince the hiring manager to call you for an interview. ANYTHING that you put on that resume that is other than the job requirements becomes a bump for the hiring manager to trip over.
Besides, how can it be ageism when they haven't even met John?
Here's what I recommended to John:
- Write three resumes, each one targeted to a different role you want to do (Sr. Developer, Architect, Manager).
- Be the hiring manager. Ask yourself, 'What are the three top problems I'm trying to solve in hiring for this role?" Answer those in your resume. Since John has the experience, he also knows what the hiring manager is looking for. Because if he didn't he wouldn't be worth his salt.
- Stop thinking about ageism as the problem. It's like riding a bike, the bike is going to go where you look. If you look over the side of the rail you are riding across the river, you are going into the river. Replace that that thought with what you think the hiring manager is trying to solve, what do they want?
Caveat: Ageism does exist (but John is not an it-thing actress in LA, trust me!). But don't let the small percentage of time it does happen define the prism through which you view the entire world.
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