Hey Recruiters: Are you missing out on quality candidates due to inadvertent bias in your ATS settings?
When we talk about diversity in hiring, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s establishing a recruiting pipeline with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), or reserving a certain number of compliance interviews for female candidates for that technical role. It’s increasingly best practice for organizations to combat racism and sexism in hiring by examining their policies and evaluating candidate data. But there’s one -ism that businesses often overlook: ageism. Businesses inadvertently close themselves off to older workers who are eager to work and ready to show up with decades of experience and exceptional writing skills by unintentionally incorporating ageist bias in their hiring practices in general and in their ATS settings specifically. Read on to learn how your hiring team can address this problem.
People are working longer and retiring later
The average age of retirement has increased from 62 to 66 over the last 20 years. Whether people are living longer and want to stay busy or as a financial requirement to keep food on the table, “older” workers (age 55+) are seeking work long past when their parents retired. In fact, one in four workers will be older than 55 by 2024, according to Reuters. Increasingly, these workers are female. Bureau of Labor Statistics research shows that women over fifty-five are the fastest-growing age/gender workforce category.
Bureau of Labor Statistics research shows that women over fifty-five are the fastest-growing age/gender workforce category.
Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, said “People are getting to their sixties with another 15 years of productive life ahead, and this is turning out to be the most emotionally rewarding part of life. They don’t want to just hang it up and just play golf. That model is wrong.”
How does your hiring team capture these valuable candidates? In honor of National Employ Older Workers Week (NEOWW) (September 25-29), we’re sharing key strategies you can use in your hiring and Applicant Tracking System settings to immediately capture qualified older workers in your candidate pool.
Words matter
According to a recent survey shared in the Wall Street Journal, nearly half of all people don’t apply to job postings if they don’t feel fully qualified. Job seekers spent an average of 49.7 seconds reading a job description before dismissing a position as a poor fit. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that when job ad language contained ageist stereotypes, job seekers age 40 and older were deterred from applying. Even when the language was not blatantly or specifically age-related.
A job description is often more of a wish list of the “ideal” person from the writer's perspective, be it the hiring manager or the recruiter. This means the writer will often describe someone similar to themselves, and given that most first-time managers are between the ages of 25 and 38, they’ll write a description that sounds like themselves. Wham! You’ve got bias.
If you want a diverse candidate pool, you need to give your job description a critical read. Are you inadvertently using language that dissuades older workers?
Keeping an eye out for age-biased language in job descriptions can be tricky – if you’re not an older worker, how do you write an age-inclusive job description? Practice a little empathy and educate yourself on biased language. Here are a few examples to watch for and what you can use instead:
Replace “Start-up atmosphere” and “Fun, party atmosphere” with “Innovative work environment”: Though many older workers may, indeed come with an entrepreneurial spirit and a lighthearted mindset, calling out culture in this way encourages applicants who are willing to blur the lines of professional-personal life balance, which can be difficult for older workers and parents alike.
Replace “Energetic person sought for young company” with “Dynamic candidate wanted for growing company”: More seasoned job seekers will respond better to language that doesn’t count on their energy levels (we’re all tired).
Replace “3 to 5 years of experience required” with “3+ years of relevant experience preferred”: Older workers will often have expansive, transferrable, relevant skills instead of direct experience, so remove the end cap and soften the language to be inclusive for diverse paths.
Replace “Recent college graduate” with “Entry-level candidate”: Most recent grads are in their early 20s. Try focusing more on the skills needed over education attained.
Replace “Digital native” with “Tech-savvy” or even better, “Tech-curious”: “Digital Native” specifically refers to those born during the information age, generally recognized as millennials and Generation Z.
Replace a focus on tool names “Experience with QuickBooks” with the skills or tasks that would be accomplished in the role, “Experience reconciling accounts payable and receivable”: Short handing role responsibilities with tool names exudes folks who may not be familiar with that specific tool but who have years of experience in the actions required.
Stop requiring graduation dates
Popular advice tells mature job seekers to strip their resumes of dates beyond the past 10 years. Applicants will comb their resumes, eliminating any information that might age them, fearing falling victim to age bias. All this careful redacting goes out the window when faced with graduation date requirements when applying through an Applicant Tracking System.
Whether intentional or not, this requirement results in:
Application abandonment by the job seeker
Discarding qualified older workers due to “overqualification” or ageist thinking
Applicants know that systems with date requirements immediately display to the hiring team their approximate age. This places the job seeker in a bind: Do they expend the mental energy and time continuing the application, knowing their age will be divined and possibly judged (for the worse), or do they abandon ship and go find an opportunity with a company that has tailored their hiring process to eliminate bias, increasing their chances of getting hired?
ATS success
If you’re afraid that your Applicant Tracking System is working against you, take a look at your applicant data (or better yet, ask an older worker what they thought about your application process!). Not getting older workers in your pipeline? As they say, “Here’s your sign.”
ATS can be a powerful ally in identifying diverse candidates with a little forethought. Modern ATS platforms come equipped with features that allow you to anonymize applicant data, make resumes “blind,” and track diversity metrics. Greenhouse has a DE&I feature set that will evaluate your pipeline by demographic, helping recruiting teams get a holistic view of their pipeline and pass-through rates to identify trouble areas and make a plan to engage candidates.
Benefits of hiring older workers
You might be thinking, “Why do I need to expand my candidate pools to include older workers?” The answer is simple: You’ll get high-quality candidates who are ready to work!
There are 5 key benefits to hiring mature workers:
Known Quantity: Mature workers come with an established work history and background that can be vetted quickly.
Writing Skills: A study conducted by SHRM and AARP showed that 51% of HR professionals thought spelling and grammar were two of the biggest skills in which the older generation excels over younger people.
Highly Engaged: Contrary to stereotypes, workers age 50 and up are among the most engaged members of the workforce. AARP research showed sixty-five percent of employees aged 55 and up are "engaged," compared to 58 percent of younger employees. They also offer employers lower turnover rates which is a cost savings for the company.
Well Connected: Mature workers have grown valuable connections over a lifetime, which can be called in on behalf of their new employer! They’re also great diplomats, having worked across generations most of their lives.
Talented Communicators: They often bring desired soft skills that employers find lacking in other demographics. In fact, almost half (44%) of employers complain that American workers lack soft skills such as critical thinking, communication and emotional intelligence.
Conclusion
Adjusting your Applicant Tracking System to encourage older workers will enhance your organization's performance and innovation. You’ll not only be attracting top talent from diverse age groups, but also fostering an inclusive workplace culture, full of people who are eager and ready to work. Watch your organization thrive when you diversify your hiring practices and account for talented mature workers in your pipeline.
Are you accounting for older applicants this hiring season? Let us know!
This post was written in partnership with Alan Godsey, Program Coordinator, SCSEP at Easterseals Oregon. Thanks, Alan!
Morgan
Morgan McCaughey | Career Coach
CEO, Braggin Right
🗓️ Schedule your free Career Consultation
👩💻 visit us at bragginright.com
😍 Follow us on TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram