As I See It: The Big Five-Oh

by Victor Rozek

A few years ago, I accompanied a friend to a Bay Area hospital where he was scheduled for a minor surgical procedure. While in the cafeteria waiting for him to recover from his operation, I struck up a conversation with a plastic surgeon. I expressed my dismay over the growing number of people who are apparently so terrified of the aging process that they try to cheat time and fool the world by surgically altering their appearance. Her response surprised me. "In California, a lot of them do it to keep their jobs."

She went on to explain that in Silicon Valley there was a pervasive youth culture that emerged from the dot-com revolution. The stereotypical, successful entrepreneur was youthful, energetic, driven, hard working, hard playing, and squarely impaled on the leading edge of culture and technology. That description didn't fit very many people over 50. In fact, the majority of dot-com workers over 50 held positions in more traditional low-tech fields such as finance and marketing. The doctrine of high-tech supremacy decreed that if you were not already a screaming success by age 30, you must be a failure. By 50, your golden moment had long since tarnished, and time and technology had passed you by.

Beyond a certain age, she said, people were no longer promotable. After 50, they served as place holders in organizations looking for youthful replacements. Getting another chance at the brass ring required staying young as long as possible. The surgeon told me that at the first sign of a wrinkle, or baggy eyes, or displeasure with the inevitable effects of gravity, people rushed to see her convinced they could not compete unless they looked younger.

All of which is problematic because the Boomers aren't babies anymore. Next year alone the number of Americans over 50 will jump by 50 percent. By 2012, 19 percent of our entire workforce--that's almost 28 million workers--will be 50-something, and very few of them will be mistaken for being 30.

Older IT workers walk a tightrope stretched between expert and expendable. Increasingly, employers are weighing the benefits of their experience against the cost of their compensation. Higher health care costs alone make older workers less desirable and more risky to retain than their younger counterparts. High-salaried workers are often the first to be targeted for layoffs, and with companies eyeing pension funds like a glutton eyes his lunch, older workers are becoming more and more replaceable.

Not only are older workers economically undesirable, but many require flexible working conditions. People in their 50s are often caught in a generational vise. They must provide care for their growing children as well as their ageing parents. Thus, the soccer mom may also function as the Medicare daughter, chauffeuring an elderly parent to an endless stream of medical appointments, all of which occur during business hours. Few employers can offer that level of flexibility.

Ironically, the disenfranchisement of older workers is taking place during a time of labor shortages. Our nation, as compared to other industrialized countries, has for years proven to be academically weak in math and science. We both outsource and import a great deal of engineering and scientific expertise from Asia. The import part of the equation should, in theory, bode well for experienced IT professionals, making them a desired commodity. But so far, the options for older IT workers have been few. AARP reports that some companies are, in fact, looking toward seniors to bridge their employment needs. The healthcare industry in particular was singled out as being friendly to workers over 50, which makes some sense. What do 25-year olds know about hot flashes or prostate problems?

Being unemployed and over 50 can be stressful and frightening, and more than a little annoying. People that age have paid their dues, but they're not through paying yet, and now their future may be in the hands of someone half their age who doesn't care and can't possibly understand the conflicting emotions they're grappling with: excitement and dread, resentment and gratitude, the need to provide versus the desire to retire.

When job hunting, two of the biggest questions asked of those over 50 are: "Do you think you're over-qualified?" And, "How do you feel about working for a younger person?" The honest answer to the first question is "Hell, yes, I'm over qualified," but in this instance the truth may indeed set you free--free to look elsewhere for employment, that is. So answer the question with a question. "What's the fear, that I can do the job too well?" Employers want to be reassured that you won't get bored too easily. Tell them you've actually sat through an entire episode of Survivor without nodding off. That should cinch it.

As for how you feel about working for a younger person, tell them you love taking orders from someone young enough to be your kid. You've had lots of practice doing it at home with your teenager. And if they don't believe that, assure them you respect competence at any age, and that leadership is not a function of age, but a confluence of vision and skill. If nothing else, they will be impressed by your use of the word "confluence."

During my research, I came across some curious advice from the Chicago Sun-Times for the over 50 job seeker:

• Stress your loyalty. Although your former employer may not have demonstrated any, your new employer will apparently be relieved that you're not the type of person for whom the grass is always greener elsewhere. Of course, if you've job-hopped and been divorced three times, it's probably not a good idea to mention these things while you're rhapsodizing about your capacity for loyalty.
• Emphasize your relevant work experience, your short learning curve, and "discuss ways you have solved problems . . . to make your former employer more money." Of course, if you had made your former employer that much more money, you would probably still be employed, so don't exaggerate. Be proud that you didn't lose them any money.
• "Embrace technology," the Sun-Times advises. "You do not want to appear as if the world has passed you by." Yes, mentioning that you personally knew Herman Hollerith and have expertise with punched card technology will probably not help you. If you still think that "PS2" refers to an ancient IBM PC rather than a Sony PlayStation 2, you need to get out more.
• "Don't apologize or get defensive about being over 50." That advice was probably written by someone who is employed and therefore has no need to be defensive. There is something demeaning about begging for work when you're over 50. In a just world, employers would be bidding for your expertise, but if you're over 50, you already know the world isn't just, so relax and smile. You can start plotting your revenge once you get hired.
• Now here's an interesting one: "Don't lead with your resume. It might show that you graduated from college before your interviewer was even born." Isn't that depressing? It implies that perspective and maturity have no possible value to someone who is too young to have lived through Vietnam, witnessed the first moon landing, or have heard Martin, Jack, and Bobby in person. The fact that the young have no interest in the world before the Internet and cable TV, speaks to immaturity, not interviewing guidelines. If you can't lead with a lifetime of accomplishment, what's left?
• Ah, grasshopper. Now we get to the crux of the issue. "Look and act young," advises the Sun-Times. "Dress in fashionable clothes and show enthusiasm for your work." I guess the good news is, if you're old enough your clothes have come back into fashion. If not, you'll need to spruce-up your enthusiasm. As Harry F. Banks noted: "A salesman minus enthusiasm is just a clerk."

So don't worry, if your job search fails because you're not a fashion plate or can't conjure up the right degree of reverential enthusiasm, you too can become a clerk. There are lots of them working at Wal-mart. Rumor has it they like older, desperate workers there. But only part time, of course.

And if that doesn't keep your boat afloat, or at least earn you enough money to make payments on it, I know a plastic surgeon in the Bay Area who can help.