Re: Ageism discussion

[Tim Altom <taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET>]

At 03:20 PM 10/18/96 -0800, you wrote:
>I would like to see a discussion on the issue of ageism as it affects, or
>does not affect, technical communicators. I turn 41 next month, and I have
>been advised to  modify my resume so that my age is not obvious in the
>expectation that my age is a count against me. I am not job hunting now,
>but since I am only getting older, I wonder if I am going to start having
>to take pains to appear younger than I actually am. Has anyone encountered
>age-related bias as a technical communicator? Is there a tendency to prefer
>youth because younger people are thought to be better learners, more open
>to new ideas, more creative, harder working, etc?

>I think this would be a worthwhile discussion for many of us, relevant to
>all sooner or later.

>- tgr

Isn't this just another marketing agony? Some employers/clients will value
age and experience, while others won't. You can't match up to everybody's
expectations. I've learned that it's best to be who and what you are and
seek out people who are looking for you. It sounds like a homily, but most
homilies are true. It takes so much time and effort keeping up with advances
that it seems counterproductive to spend much of either on facial creams,
retouched photos or duck-and-weave resume language. I deal with it the same
way I deal with any other marketing problem...I ask so many probing,
knowledgable questions that the interviewer forgets to even ask about age
and similar irrelevancies. I try to prove competency in the first few
minutes and everything else follows.





Tim Altom
Vice President, Simply Written, Inc.
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