3 ms·
It certainly is possible that the HR folks at the places you've applied just are not reading correctly the skills and experience that you have conveyed. I think
by mxuribe 7y ago
It certainly is possible that the HR folks at the places you've applied just are not reading correctly the skills and experience that you have conveyed. I think i heard some people refer to this as an "HR Fail". While it hurts you (by not getting you that job), it hurts the company far more, because they lost out on talented individual.
The alternative could be that they're discriminating you because of your age. Just for the sake of argument, you noted "twenty years experience"...if i assume that you started working on your 20th birthday, that means you are theoretically 40 years old...ripe for being the victim of age discrimination (or at least the beginning of it). And, if true then this sucks royally!
I've recently been looking to jump to another gig. I have a degree and almost 20 years of experience. (I'm 45 years old this year, by the way.) In my summary I would always begin with something along the lines of "Technical professional with over 18 years of diversified experience...etc." And, while that has worked ok in the last several years, lately, I get barely any replies. Jobs that in the past i would have easily gotten, are no longer even replying to me. Then, a friend noticed my opening line, and suggested i drop the number of years, and remove 1 or 2 of my early jobs...In essence make it seem like I'm younger...Wow, what a difference. While i still have not gotten any bites (my job search is still early), i now have many more replies...Which confirms that employers don't want to hire "older people".
I feel for you. My suggestion: make yourself appear a bit younger on paper, to at least get your foot in the door and interview. Best of luck with your job search!!!!!
- mixmastamyk 7y agoI get quite a good response rate in general, and most folks are rather impressed with my resume. The visual design as well. Its one weakness is having only a two-year degree. There's not a lot of dates on it though, and only go into detail over the last ten years. So while ageism is a thing I've encountered when people see me, this happens long before that moment. Not surprising at any place that receives a hundred resumes a day. You need a leg up advantage just to get noticed. JPL was the worst, my application was rejected within 15 minutes of submitting. If I had known it was possible to work at such a place as a kid, or that Netflix would even exist, I'd have gotten a degree.