Employers are not allowed to discriminate against you on the basis of your age. If you’re 40 years old or older, that cannot be used as a reason to terminate your position, deny you a promotion or reject you for a job that you applied for. Your age is not supposed to be taken into account, and everyone is supposed to have the same opportunity.
Unfortunately, rather than adhering to this, some employers will just try to cover up age discrimination with code words. It’s important to identify these, so let’s look at two of them below.
Recent college graduates
One common example is a posting job that asks for recent college graduates to apply. The implication of this is that these are supposed to be young people, likely in their mid-20s. The vast majority of college students start at 18 and graduate around 22 or 23 years old. While it is technically possible that someone could go to college and graduate at almost any age, this is still coded language saying that someone in their 50s or 60s shouldn’t apply for the job.
A high-energy individual
Some postings will also state that the business is looking for a high-energy person to fill that role. It is understandable that the business is looking for someone who fits their company culture, and it may be a fast-paced environment. But using the words “high energy” is often done to denote that this person should be younger. Someone in their 20s is naturally going to be more energetic than someone in their 50s. But both need to be given a chance to interview for the job.
If you believe you’ve been discriminated against because of your age, take the time to look into all of your legal options.