Dear Hiring Manager,

I’m writing to you because I hope you’ll see what you are missing.

You may be younger than I am. Busy and told to find the “right fit.” I understand. For 20 years, as a headhunter in New York City, I was the one sending you people: résumés of qualified candidates of all ages, backgrounds, and skills, able to do the job.

I know what gets said behind closed doors about sagers.

“This is not geriatrics.”

“Too much high mileage on that one.”

“Been around the block a few times.”

I watched companies turn away brilliant people for reasons unrelated to talent. One client only interviewed candidates with a certain SAT score. Another hired only from Ivy League schools. Today, software does it faster, without a face. Without feelings.

The person across from you with graying hair has already survived recessions, reorganizations, and bad bosses. They stay calm when everyone else is panicking. You may call that high mileage. I call it proof. They have been tested on every kind of road, and they still run exceptionally well.

Mature workers tend to stay longer. According to AARP, 65 percent of employees 55 and older are engaged at work, compared with 58 to 60 percent of younger workers.

The experience you are screening out is exactly what your team needs.

Don’t look at age or a date of birth. Look at skills, contributions, life experience, expertise, and credentials.

Have practical empathy. Stand in the shoes of the person applying. Look through their eyes. See their possibilities and what they can bring to your team.

Here is what I’m asking:

• Stop requesting graduation dates. They tell you nothing about what someone can do.

• Read past the first screen, especially when a machine rejects someone in minutes.

• Replace “overqualified” with “value” and this ask this question: “What could this person teach us?”

• Talk with the person. It’s called human resources for a reason. Human is the first word.

Remember, age discrimination has been illegal under federal law since 1967, and that includes rejections made by software.

At 70, a respected global company hired me to coach people around the world. Someone hiring looked past my age and saw my experience.

One day, you will sit where we sit. You will have decades of skill and a birth year someone else can judge in seconds. When that day comes, I hope the person across the desk sees you clearly. Sees your worth.

It’s about respect. Taking the time to talk with another human being, without age judgment, and with goodwill for what that person is and could become.

So hire the way you will want to be hired.

With respect and hope,
Michael Sager

Feel free to share this letter with a hiring manager, or make it your own. Add your story, your skills, and your words.

All your skills are transferable. You are not finished yet.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share my Daily.
This matters also – How to Answer the Age Questions.

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