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Originally published at Internet.comThe story is a familiar one: the older IT worker, with a long and impressive resume, is downsized. But the real challenge - even worse than losing their job - comes when they try to find another tech position.
They go from interview to interview, sending out their resume to scads of employers, but they get no offers. Finally, they reach a sobering conclusion: no one wants to hire me because I'm older.
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The extent to which age bias is a real factor is open to debate. Yet one fact is inarguable: in an industry that prizes today&##146;s technology, what's happening this quarter, an older worker can feel shunted aside.
Despite having mastery of the last six major technology cycles, his resume might display only adequate knowledge of the current cycle. So suddenly, he's sent to the back of the line, in favor of younger IT staffers - many of whom didn't know how to boot up a computer back when he was assembling complex networks.
Not surprisingly, a certain bitterness sets in among these veteran tech workers. They grumble about age bias, about what they see as the rampant discrimination against a professional who's been around awhile.
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"The primary difference between IT and a lot of other fields out there is that IT goes through very significant change, about once a year," says Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology.
In contrast, "You could argue that for someone in the accounting industry, although they always have new things to learn, accounts payable is accounts payable."
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Downsizing, Flexibility, and Uncle Sam
Recent Tech Job Articles How to Get Hired at Google
Want a Raise? Change Jobs
Top Four IT Certification Categories
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When the dreaded downsizing hits, don't view it as the end of the world. "People think, 'Oh my God, it's such a disaster if I get downsized or I lose my job,'" Koch notes.
However, "It's happened to everyone. And you can't be embarrassed about it and think you're some kind of pariah. Everybody's been through it, and everybody appreciates help."
The sooner you start working the phone, the better. That's especially true in IT, she says. "We've all helped one another - and we like to help one another."
As you look around at your job options, don't limit yourself to traditional IT firms. Instead, be flexible in considering new directions.
" I think a lot of older IT workers think, 'If I want to work in IT, I have to work in an IT company.' But we all know it's ubiquitous. It's in every single industry, every single business, large, small, in between." So finding another job in IT might mean going into banking, healthcare, entertainment, advertising, or any number of other industries.
And whatever you do, don't forget those job openings in government. Over the next several years, many government agencies will see waves of retiring workers - all of whom will need replacing. While government pay levels aren't top dollar, the pension and healthcare packages are outstanding.
"State, local and federal governments are just going to be huge opportunities in IT," Koch says. "They'll need workers up the wazoo."
Author: James Maguire
Read article at Internet.com site