It certainly isn’t because I’m not looking. I’ve been seeking employment ever since I was laid off in June of this year.
I’ve applied for jobs for which I am thoroughly qualified. I have applied for jobs for which I am overqualified. I have applied for entry-level positions with a list of responsibilities about which I have no clue.
I have yet to get a call back.
Why?
First of all, Georgia has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. With that in mind, there are probably an average of at least 100 people (probably more) applying for each position. The competition is stiff.
I suspect my age may have something to do with it.
Yes, it is illegal to ask a job applicant her/his age. Even so, one job for which I applied asked outright on the online application if you were 40+ years of age. Direct. Possibly illegal, but direct.
But there is a very simple way for employers to find out an applicant’s age without posing any direct inquiries into the matter.
What year did you graduate high school?
A simple question, standard on most applications. But a sneaky and roundabout way to guestimate an applicant’s age. Most people graduate high school around the age of 17 – some a little younger, some a little older – but that’s the average age. From the year of graduation it’s a matter of simple addition to get a ball park figure of the age of an applicant.
I would guess about 97% of the applications I have submitted for employment require the field for year of graduation filled.
Logically, if it is illegal for employers to inquire about age, should it not also be optional to provide the year of graduation, whether from high school or college? Given that an estimation of age is so easily attained by this method, I don’t doubt it has some bearing upon the decision-making process when it comes to potential interviews.
Lastly, and certainly the reason I detest most, I fear looks may also have something to do with it. Everyone and everything is judged by appearance. This is a simple truth.
Google my name and my mug pops up a few times. Not the attorney who was a Tennessee circuit court judge, mind you. The other Penny W., a struggling self-published author. One gander at me and I’m sure whomever is in charge of setting up interviews cringes and puts my résumé at the bottom of the pile.
Sometimes, this Internet thing is more curse than blessing.
But I keep trying. Rent is due and I have bills to pay. I’m tempted, at times, to pull an Erin Brockovich and demand someone give me a job.
But that only works if you look like Julia Roberts.
Pen has self-published 20 titles in print and e-book formats. Her latest endeavor, Nero’s Fiddle – a fictitious account of an EMP attack – can be found here: http://bit.ly/1rsEQFX Follow her on Twitter @penspen, visit her website at www.penspen.info or follow her blog www.mytuppence.weebly.com Contact her at mytuppenceblog at yahoo.com to inquire about proofreading, editing and formatting services.
I’ve applied for jobs for which I am thoroughly qualified. I have applied for jobs for which I am overqualified. I have applied for entry-level positions with a list of responsibilities about which I have no clue.
I have yet to get a call back.
Why?
First of all, Georgia has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. With that in mind, there are probably an average of at least 100 people (probably more) applying for each position. The competition is stiff.
I suspect my age may have something to do with it.
Yes, it is illegal to ask a job applicant her/his age. Even so, one job for which I applied asked outright on the online application if you were 40+ years of age. Direct. Possibly illegal, but direct.
But there is a very simple way for employers to find out an applicant’s age without posing any direct inquiries into the matter.
What year did you graduate high school?
A simple question, standard on most applications. But a sneaky and roundabout way to guestimate an applicant’s age. Most people graduate high school around the age of 17 – some a little younger, some a little older – but that’s the average age. From the year of graduation it’s a matter of simple addition to get a ball park figure of the age of an applicant.
I would guess about 97% of the applications I have submitted for employment require the field for year of graduation filled.
Logically, if it is illegal for employers to inquire about age, should it not also be optional to provide the year of graduation, whether from high school or college? Given that an estimation of age is so easily attained by this method, I don’t doubt it has some bearing upon the decision-making process when it comes to potential interviews.
Lastly, and certainly the reason I detest most, I fear looks may also have something to do with it. Everyone and everything is judged by appearance. This is a simple truth.
Google my name and my mug pops up a few times. Not the attorney who was a Tennessee circuit court judge, mind you. The other Penny W., a struggling self-published author. One gander at me and I’m sure whomever is in charge of setting up interviews cringes and puts my résumé at the bottom of the pile.
Sometimes, this Internet thing is more curse than blessing.
But I keep trying. Rent is due and I have bills to pay. I’m tempted, at times, to pull an Erin Brockovich and demand someone give me a job.
But that only works if you look like Julia Roberts.
Pen has self-published 20 titles in print and e-book formats. Her latest endeavor, Nero’s Fiddle – a fictitious account of an EMP attack – can be found here: http://bit.ly/1rsEQFX Follow her on Twitter @penspen, visit her website at www.penspen.info or follow her blog www.mytuppence.weebly.com Contact her at mytuppenceblog at yahoo.com to inquire about proofreading, editing and formatting services.