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"OLDER AND WISER: Benefits of Experience" SEMINAR
As printed in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune
By Ryan Carter, Staff Writer Older, wiser - but maybe not richer DIAMOND BAR - There was the veteran print advertizer who's been turned down for jobs because he's overqualified. Another woman who had spent a career in semiconductors was shocked when looking for a job at a supermarket. A question on the application asked, "Are you older than 39?" Websites for 50-plus workers:
Age discrimination: Getting beaten to a job by someone half their age, and with half the skills. These are the kinds of issues facing many of the hundreds of people who showed up Wednesday at a seminar for workers older than 40 in Diamond Bar. They came to the fifth-annual "Older & Wiser" seminar from varying backgrounds. But there was a glue that bound them: They didn't have jobs and were dealing with the frustration of a recession that has deadened their hopes for getting one. Frank Kiluk, 62, was one of them. After years in the printing business, he's been looking for work for more than a year - 13 months and five days, to be exact. Along the way, he's run up against a new, much less personal job marketplace. "What happened to just calling the manager and saying, `Hi, I'm Frank' and giving them your application?" he said. Instead, impersonal job application software filters out candidates, and many medium-to-large institutions are impenetrable, he said. "It's like talking to voicemail," he said. Similar frustrations were echoed by many older workers at the event, which was sponsored by LA Works and the Employment Development Department, among others. During a panel discussion one man from the audience noted that during interviews, employers - unwittingly or not - marginalize many eligible applicants by using vocabulary that the applicants might not know. After strong applause from the audience, Andre Ellis of California Bank & Trust, acknowledged that it was a good point, but that job seekers have a responsibility to research companies and know business terminology before going to an interview. Other jobseekers noted that many employers are whittling down hours and health benefits. Employers and organizations on the panel with Ellis included representatives from the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District and AARP. Age discrimination is a "huge concern" as companies shed workers, said Charee Gillins, from AARP. She noted that older workers have won age discriminations settlements against giant companies such as Wal-Mart. Proof is vital if older workers are to prevail in an age discrimination claim, she said. "It's very, very tough to prove that an employer has used age to discriminate," Gillins said. Still, Gillins and others on the employer panel said that getting a job is primarily a matter of standing out in the interview and application process - along with a little persistence. Older workers must convince potential employers that their experience can make an organization better, they said. But experienced workers also got a sobering message: "Ability trumps seniority," Gillins said. Connie Jury, of Covina, knows the sobering reality of looking for work. She's been doing it for over a year. "I got to the point where I got up every morning and walked the streets to put in applications," she said. "Ninety percent of the time, it's a much younger person getting the job." LA Works partnership consists of Employment Development Department, Department of Rehabilitation, East San Gabriel Valley Regional Occupational Program, Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District, Pathpoint, Inc, the Department of Public Social Services, the Central San Gabriel Valley WorkSource Center and Los Angeles County Title V Program. For more information about LA Works, contact Sandy Meza, Public Relations and Marketing Specialist |
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