Are Your Interviews Safe From Age Discrimination?

Avoiding Age Discrimination: Tips for the Interview

Here are some tips for avoiding age discrimination during the interview:

• Watch out for biases. Members of the recruiting team may have biases that end up resulting in exclusion of older applicants, even if they do not intend to do so. They should be trained to avoid biases as much as possible. (Simply understanding that unintentional biases exist can help.)
• Don't make assumptions. Interviewers often assume things about older workers that may not be true. For example, they may assume an older worker is less likely to stay long-term (wanting to retire sooner) or that the individual will be less likely to want to work long hours. Or, they may assume that an older applicant will not be well-versed in the latest technology used on the job. Or, they may assume the individual will be unhappy working for a younger supervisor. None of these assumptions are necessarily true.