PR, Job Hunting, and Ageism (or Why I’m Not Too Old For Your Agency)
Image by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
I’ve been on the job hunt for just over four months now. As of today I’ve applied for no less than 73 jobs and cold called just about every PR agency in the province asking about possible opportunities. Six interviews and exactly zero offers have thus far transpired from my efforts.
Being out of work sucks at any age, but the older you get the suckier it becomes. Your bills and other expenses are higher. Your expectation that you put away every month for retirement and whatnot is higher than ever. And then there’s the ageism part. At my age (I’m in my forties), I initially didn’t think ageism would be an issue—yet—but four months in I’m starting to have second thoughts. After enough rejections coupled with ambiguous feedback about “fit” and seeing who some of the successful candidates in my place have been, it’s a conclusion I’m increasingly coming to.
My last full-time gig was the first time I got to experience being the oldest employee—at least I’m pretty sure I was. Being the oldest one around didn’t bother me at all. I found that my counsel and feedback was very much sought after. I got along with everyone else, regardless of age. And I was as keen as anyone on the AI innovations that were being onboarded and eager to learn. Thanks to that opportunity, I’m definitely in the “with it” crowd when it comes to AI and digital PR and I use AI tools all the time in my work. I also consider myself to be pretty with it when it comes to trends and popular culture, although my musical tastes definitely lean toward the sort of vintage heavy metal and grunge rock that very much dates me.
In other words, being older than most of my colleagues doesn’t bother me at all, especially in my capacity as a volunteer mentor for IABC Edmonton. The trouble is I’m not convinced that everyone else feels the same way. The agency world, in which I’ve been living most recently, very much skews young. Agencies want “digital natives” and despite the fact that I’ve been doing “digital PR” for over a decade now, perceptions don’t necessarily reflect that. And then there’s that elusive factor called “fit”. I’m never quite sure what people mean when they say I’m “not quite the right fit” for an organization, but a difference in age from the rank and file is definitely a strong possibility.
Salary expectations are, of course, an important factor. As an older, more experienced communicator, I’m perceived as being more expensive, even when it comes to jobs where the salary range is made public. When asked in an interview what my salary expectations are, I generally state something that is on the high end of what I think they’re willing to offer—I do, after all, have over 17 years of experience in PR and professional writing—but I’m starting to wonder if the salary ranges posted on job advertisements don’t truly reflect the reality of what employers want to pay for a particular role. Again and again, I get told that I was a great candidate but that they decided on someone else who was a better fit. It might in fact be that they opted for someone less expensive.
Salary expectations aside, workers of a certain age, according to an article in CommPro, face the following stereotypes:
Older workers are less adept at learning new skills than their younger counterparts (the old “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” cliche).
Older workers are less creative than younger workers.
Older people can’t handle as much stress.
The older you get, the more likely you are to miss work due to illness.
Older people are slower and less productive.
Older workers are more likely to succumb to burnout.
While the salary aspect is pretty accurate, none of the above myths stand up to any scrutiny. I for one have learned a ton about AI and its many applications to PR and writing over the past year in what has been one of the steepest learning curves of my professional life. Less creative? You’ve gotta be kidding me! Tell that to Leonard Cohen or any of the other famous late bloomers in the arts. Stress? Much of my twenties and thirties was spent dealing with a debilitating anxiety disorder that is thankfully behind me now and I can handle much more stress than I once could.
More time off? Personally, my health has never been better. Slower and less productive? I’ve written elsewhere on this blog about overcoming my ADHD and the results have been speed and efficiency like never before. Burnout? I burned out in my thirties, something I never intend to repeat, and as such I’m cautious about my time commitments and work to manage my energy resources. Again no.
In sum, I would argue that workers in middle age and beyond are a terrific investment. We know ourselves better. Most of us have stable family lives and lack the sort of relationship turmoil that takes a toll on so many twenty somethings. We’re probably less likely to bring a world of drama into our workplaces. We’re also generally ready to commit to something long term. Having moved around a lot in my career, I’m at a juncture where I’m really craving stability, someplace where I can settle in and really carve out a niche. Sure, we cost a bit more to employ, but other than that I see no downside. Furthermore, we’re all living and working longer than ever these days. Barring any unfortunate setbacks, I see myself with a good three decades of work left in me.
If you’re a PR practitioner in your forties or older, I’d love to know your thoughts on this subject. Have you found age to be a barrier in the job hunt? Love to know. And if you’re a prospective employer, please know that I’m not a used car—I get better at what I do with age. In any case, I established my writing craft well before the age of generative AI and will never use it as a crutch. But I’m also very good at using these new technologies and thanks to them are more productive than ever. Try me. I’m very good at what I do and I’m also a lot of fun to work with. Even my customized job search GPT says so.
