Midlife career change? Here are some tips.
musings on age
CAREER | by Logan Nakyanzi Pollard | February 13, 2025
“Catering to ageism isn’t a great long-term strategy. Great opportunities await people who are courageous and honest about who they are and what they’ve accomplished. And companies worth your time will recognize that.”
I’ve just read a post by a resume advisor suggesting that one should obfuscate the dates of college and/or otherwise hide one’s age on a resume.
So lets walk this deception out:
You hide your graduation date.
You get the interview.
You dye your hair and/or otherwise claim (and succeed at) appearing to be younger than you are.
How does that all work out?
How does that feel?
In our society now, it seems we’ll do whatever is easiest to get by, rather than the right thing, you know, what is actually correct. This is such a simple thing.
Is it morally wrong to color your hair? Of course not, this isn’t a test about youth; it’s about making yourself smaller than you are . . . in an absurd way:
A 50-year old person is evidently not a kid (who’s just out of college or grad school).
The truth is, a company that will discriminate against you for your age will likely do this anyway, eventually. And you’re only kicking the can down the road.
Better to seek employment with companies that a) have more integrity and b) see your value.
I think the intent of this resume counselor was to help people navigate a system that is excluding people of a certain age. But the truth is that cooperating with evil (omitting a graduation date to imply a younger age) does not overcome a system of algorithms that are discriminating against people; or the laziness of a human recruiter who can’t see the value of an older candidate.
In other words: gaming the system very often plays (only) you.
There is always another way.
And by that I mean: companies that work to exclude older people will soon find that they are dealing with issues that you typically might see from younger workers: people who leave after a short period of time– low retention and job hopping; workers who are lacking in social/soft skills and have trouble handling conflict– because they’ve spent their formative years online and not navigating delicate social situations in real life . . . these companies will fall behind.
An ideal workforce has multiple layers and a deep bench. Those that recognize this will thrive.
I think we all need to stop pretending we’re 25-35 years old. Instead: own your age. Own your accomplishments. I do.
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