So, age discrimination is "illegal"?

[GailS]

How can you prove age discrimination? How can a healthy 63-year-old Vietnam veteran, who has a broad background and experience in all forms of home remodeling/construction, office procedures, and quality control/quality assurance for an aerospace company, prove to potential employers that he IS NOT READY FOR RETIREMENT, HAS MANY MORE PRODUCTIVE YEARS TO OFFER, and is a INTELLIGENT, FAST LEARNER willing to learn something new at this stage of his life, and have the potential employer HIRE him??!!?? Since 2003, my husband has sent out 146 referrals through the NH Employment Security and close to 50 resumes answering ads in newspapers, has made numerous cold calls, and has had only 7 - SEVEN! - hard interviews! What gives? Even Home Depot hasn't called him for an interview, and he's applied online 4 times, once through AARP! Should he dye his hair? Should he shave his beard? Is it his breath? How about if we take out "Vietnam Veteran" off his applications and resume? Maybe then, potential employers won't be able to "guess" his age. Ah, well, they'll definitely be able to "guess" it when he goes for the interview. Perhaps it's because he's a transplant from Connecticut to New Hampshire. Does New Hampshire only hire their own natives? Does the term "employment at will" override the age discrimination law(s)? My goodness! The thoughts that are going through our minds!! Any advice?

[LConnell]

That is a great question. I have seen the situation often...without beign obvious, many employers are reluctant to hire someone who is considered as being more "mature". My suggestion is this....have him whittle down his resume to the last 10 years or so, if it reflects his level of knowlege, etc. Also, make sure that he doesn't show any dates of education, etc., that may indicate the date he graduated.

This doesn't mean lying to the employer because, of course, he could provide more complete information at the time of the interview. However, it is a common practice to get past a potential illegal age barrier.

[Texas709]

Excellent thread! Allow me to offer a few suggestions that worked for me.

Forget dying hair--we don't have enough of it left to make much of a difference. I used to dye my beard, although I gave that up, since it's just too much trouble. I also never put the "Vietnam Veteran" logo on a resume. It's now been 30-40 years for most of us--it's just not relevant to any job. At least, not in a positive sense.
I cut my resume to detailed information for the past 3 jobs, covering 10 years or so. I included dates, but not salary information. (My salary history is scary to most employers). I included the 12 years experience prior to that in a separate paragraph, since it was all in the same industry. No one reading my resume needs to know that I worked for 15 years before that!
A resume is for one purpose--to get an interview. Use a good, abbreviated resume (2 page max) to get in to the office, and impress the interviewer with your youthful qualities, drive, knowledge and experience. I know youthful 70 year olds, and I know tired 30 year olds. It's all about projecting an image, and being able to fulfill it.
Using this approach, I have scored 3 jobs in the past 10 years, all in new fields, all with interesting things to learn, and all for significant promotions. As Churchhill said, "Never, never, never, never, never give up!"
BTW, I'm only 59, but feel good, and act interested. I have a lot to offer, and my employers have noticed that.