95% of people try to look younger during interviews — and other findings of ageism

Whoever said age is just a number hasn’t applied for a job recently.

Age discrimination is so rampant during the hiring process that 95% of people try to look younger during interviews to land a gig, according to a new survey by WerkLabs and The Mom Project.

Seventy-five percent of the 700 US employees surveyed faced ageism at some point while on the job hunt and 53% currently experience it at their place of work.

There’s pressure to conceal your age

The new research indicates that a large share of these encounters occurred at younger companies that advertise a commitment to inclusive work culture. But sometimes it seems inclusive only if you were born during a certain decade.

“Our goal with this study was to not only identify what constitutes ageism but also where employees are witnessing it the most in order to provide organizations with actionable solutions to overcome and prevent this illegal discrimination,” the authors wrote.

Sixty-three percent of those who do not attempt to conceal their age during the interview process still worry that not doing so could impact an employer’s decision.

Coded language in job descriptions alienates older workers

Sixty-seven percent of the professionals polled by WerkLabs said that the phrasing featured in job descriptions often makes them feel unwelcome.

Interpreting the smoke signals devised to attract a younger pool of candidates starts with understanding why employers prefer younger workers in the first place.

Do recruiters fear that older applicants won’t perform certain tasks at the same level as Millennials and Gen Z employees? That’s one concern among respondents. Others worried that employers assume they’re too old to navigate technology-based roles or jobs in fast-paced industries.

Both anxieties are backed by research showing that finance (85%), advertising, (84%), and digital-marketing jobs (81%) show the most signs of ageism.

When applying for a job, the workers polled by WerkLabs said that they’re specifically intimidated by phrases like, “we are an extremely young company,” and irrelevant technical jargon that could baffle older talent.

A majority of those surveyed were told that they were “not a culture fit” after being turned down for a job. The authors suspect that this phrasing may also mask age-based discrimination.

“To ensure an inclusive workplace, all companies should re-evaluate their recruitment materials and career development programs, while educating hiring managers and employees on unconscious biases and ageist practices in work,” the authors continued.

Ageism appears at every stage of the hiring process

Ageism becomes more apparent for candidates who advance to in-person interviews; 69% of participants say an employer noticeably reacted to their age when they met face to face. Bias is also apparent in how one-on-one screenings are conducted.

Many respondents agreed that their cumulative years within a field regularly get downplayed. Instead, employers overemphasize the importance of tech knowledge “even when [respondents] made it clear that they are fully capable of the technology requirements” related to the job.

Advertising expertise with a particular skill set didn’t always offset concerns about the competence of older workers. In fact, one respondent said that employers have advised removing items from the resume to seem younger on paper.

“I limit my work experience to the last 20 years or so. That gets me more interviews, but once they see me they can guess my age and I do not get hired or even called respectfully to tell me I did not get the job,” another wrote.

Ageism isn’t widely recognized as a form of discrimination

The consequences caused by ageism aren’t as headline-grabbing as more obvious forms of workplace bias. “Ageism is everywhere, yet it is the most socially ‘normalized’ of any prejudice and is not widely challenged—like racism or sexism,” the World Health Organization reports.

Still, the adverse effects of ageism are as common as they are varied. A survey recently conducted by The University of Michigan determined that 80% of those polled routinely experience at least one form of ageism in their day-to-day lives. An additional 40% claim that they experience three or more instances on a given day.

The journal American Psychologist reported that individuals who experience ageism in any context are associated with significantly higher levels of heart disease compared to those who do not. This was found to be doubly true for older women.

Willing and able to work, but leaving the workforce

One of the most common misconceptions about older workers is that they are not as adept at handling technology, they’re unwilling to learn new skills, and they’re not interested in junior-level positions.

Even if these generalizations were consistent at some point, the data reveals a different assessment. A recent Dropbox poll comprised of more than 4,000 IT employees found that workers ages 55 and older actually operate the same number of forms of technology as those between the ages of 18 and 34.

The authors of an International Cogito Study published last year took this a step further, writing that older workers show more consistent performance in all fields compared to young people, in addition to taking fewer sick days.

As a result of ageism, the workforce is seeing a major exodus. New data conducted by economist Conor Sen shows that the number of people over 55 participating in the workforce has decreased by 2 million—in part because they aren’t being considered for promising entry-level positions.