Question

Martin, 58, is sitting in a conference room being interviewed for a job. It is all going well, but then one interviewer asks how old he is, as his date of birth wasn’t indicated on his resume. Martin refuses to give his age – he states that his age is not an indicator of whether he can do the job well, but his work experience, knowledge and strong references should be what proves his abilities. Martin does not get the job. A friend who works in the organisation tells him that they employed a 25-year-old female because they felt a ‘younger person with a soft approach’ would be best for the position.

1) What breach has the workplace committed?

2) What could be the consequences of this scenario?

3) What do you think would be the impact on Martin in this situation?

Answer 1

1. Workplace has to clearly mention the criteria of job as age , credentials, experience, category, financial packages etc. Also job description has to be very clear. If in this case these detalsd are not mentioned management cannot deny Martin's resume. If age has been mentioned earlier Martin have not had to apply for the said job.

2. Martin could have become aggressive and reach court litigations for not advertising the job properly. He may go against the management and give negative feedback to other interviewees. He may spread wrong image of the company.

3. Older adults like martin feel demotivated that their age factor becomes barrier in getting a job. Also he may think his knowledge,skills are no more being considered to be of value. In near future he may not even try to apply to any other jobs and get stressed and depressed.