We may have crows feet, fine lines around our mouth, a sagging chin, and wrinkles where there never use to be any…but all this is just proof that we’ve traveled further down life’s pathway and may have some knowledge, wisdom, and advice worth listening to! Don’t throw us away as possible employees because we may be just what your company needs!

Today’s job market is geared toward the youth of our nation.  More often than not, young people are desired over older people by many companies who wish to employ workers whom, it’s believed,  will stay with that company for more than just one, two, or three years.  

Many companies also feel that it is better and more cost-effective to train a younger recruit according to that company’s standards and it’s beliefs of just what a good worker should be like rather than try to help an older worker…who, it’s feared, may be more set in his/her ways…to fit in with that company’s way of doing things.

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Whoa!  Hold the phone!  Stop that train!  Wait a minute!

Let’s look at some of the realities here: 

Most young people like to party…and partying on the weekend can often lead to absenteeism or reduced functionality at work.  Statistics repeatedly show that older workers are less likely to call in sick to work especially on Fridays and Mondays, and can be relied on to ‘take up the slack’ when other workers fail to show up for work.

Older workers usually have good work ethics and do not expect ’something for nothing’.  Most are hard workers who take pride in what they do. 

Older workers will also usually stay with a company LONGER than a younger person which means that a company will spend less training dollars if it hires older workers.  Since only about twenty percent of the elderly population ever need to enter nursing facilities due to mental or physical impairment, this leaves eighty percent of a large community segment that could very easily fill employment needs instead of being put out to pasture, so to speak,  just because they aged. 

The idea that a younger person will stay with a company for years is simply not true: unless a job is extremely lucrative, most younger people will  ’sample” the competition because there are so many employment opportunities available to this age group.  Most young people stay with a company for only a year or two while looking around for better advancement possibilities which is a normal thing for anyone to do when they want to better themselves and their living conditions while working in a market that caters to the younger employee.

In this day and age, knowledge is important…both that which is learned in a classroom  and that which is learned outside of the classroom.  Hiring older employees gives a company the best of both worlds; knowledge from structured schools, and knowledge learned and earned through the School of Hard Knocks!