The Age Factor

Q. I have nine years of executive experience in nonprofit arts programs, and six years of faculty experience at liberal-arts colleges. I’ve been looking for a nonprofit job for nine months, and have had no luck. I am 54 years old, and beginning to suspect that age discrimination is a real factor. What can I do about this?

A. If you really believe that you are not getting hired because of your age, you may want to keep track of who ended up getting hired for the positions that you were seeking, advises Michael Karpeles, a lawyer in Chicago who specializes in labor and employment law. If the people who were hired for those positions were substantially younger — as in, 10 or more years — and their qualifications are inferior to yours, you may in fact have a valid age-discrimination claim, he says.

Usually, however, it is hard to find out this information, so Mr. Karpeles says that you should also keep track of any age-related comments made to you during the interview or inquiries asked of you on the job application. If you have some such evidence beyond a mere hunch, you could file a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or your state human-rights commission , either of which can help you file and process a claim for discrimination.

Be advised, though, that age discrimination is very hard to prove. Factors unrelated to age — such as over- or under-qualification, higher compensation expectations because of experience, and general personality traits — are all lawful reasons for an employer to not hire an applicant, says Mr. Karpeles.

“The fact that several employers have not hired you cuts against the idea that age discrimination is at work, since it is hard to believe that all of these employers are engaging in the same form of discrimination,” he says. “My practical advice is to ask each employer, in a respectful way, why you didn’t get the job. You may learn something valuable about your skills or interviewing techniques that could be improved.”

Leslie Bonagura, managing consultant at the Stamford, Conn., offices of the human-resources consulting group DBM, which has its headquarters in New York, concurs that the chance that blatant age discrimination is at play here seems unlikely. A more plausible answer, she says, is that an outdated r�sum� or poor interview skills are the culprits. Ms. Bonagura suggests that you review your resumé and make certain it clearly demonstrates the link between your skills and those needed for the positions you are pursuing. List only relatively current job experience.

“In today’s marketplace, you should really only show detailed information for positions you have held within the last 10 to 15 years,” says Ms. Bonagura. “Then, follow those items with a statement of ‘Prior experience includes[…]’ or ‘Other relevant experience includes[…]’ and list any other positions you have held in the past, without dates.”

If you find that you are getting interviews but just aren’t converting them into offers, you may also need some interview coaching. Work through some mock interviews with friends or family for practice and to get feedback, suggests Ms. Bonagura. It is also a good idea to videotape a couple of your mock interviews so that you can watch yourself and analyze the appropriateness of your responses, your body language and you mannerisms, she says.

For more pointers, check out AARP’s Careers page, which offers all kinds of advice for mature job seekers, from updating your resumé to shifting into a new career field.

Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.