I love my kid but I don’t mention kids or family in interviews because I know both subjects are metrics on the ageist scale. I also stay current with everything though it’s exhausting. What do you do through the youth off the trail of dismissing you a grandma/pa?

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I wish there was a way to take an agency full of people over 40 (maybe over 50) and pit it against an agency full of < 30 year olds and see the difference in success (profitability and client ROI). But I’m afraid we’d either love the outcome or hate it.

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I stopped handing out butterscotch candies at my interviews.

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And sold the passenger van?

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I definitely don’t bring up having children, or other life experience such as college or previous employment, to avoid unnecessarily communicating my age, level of intelligence, or larger perspective that could inform what I might bring to the role. Interviews are meant to demonstrate that you are exactly identical to the interviewee who, as you know, holds all the cards. Relating to them in a way that says I understand you, Life began the day you were born so I won’t reveal that I know anything previous to that, We’re the same person, You can like me because you like yourself, I’m not any better or different than you because I am you, is the secret to hiring success. It’s called “mirroring” and it’s the surest bet when in situations with people who’ve spent a majority of their adult life in front of one.

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Mirroring is a great technique and I loved your response. Sadly, this technique is also used by sociopaths to mask and socially assimilate. 

funny

These answers make me sad. Imagine if we were talking about hiding things of culture, gender or orientation.
Is this really how it goes? I’ve interviewed hundreds of people and always want to know about them personally.

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By the time they get to you it may be alright to let a bit of guard down but the gatekeepers may not be as understanding as you are. Yes, this is how it goes. It’s sad. Several friends tell me they change their lock screen pictures in the extreme cases and other remove wedding rings.

The folks in here at high levels hiding children, etc, you guys may be the problem! If you are at a high level and have to lie, it’s a shame. You all can change this by how you interview others. The fact that you have to hide these things already tells you it’s not fair and should want to change it. Some of you have the power to. No disrespect but how the hell are you making an impact?

The younger gatekeepers are only doing the ageism because their boss is allowing it. Most Executive level employees are older, of course it’s assumed you have children, if not I’d assume something’s wrong with you socially and question your commitment abilities.

Very soon some of you will just be a memory, how would you like to be remembered? Changing things up to give everyone a fair chance is how. Forward thinking is what makes history, changing things for the better. Not doing what others do because that’s the way it is. Such a disappointment seeing high level folks doing this. You guys are the power of change, do something about that outlook because it also makes you uncomfortable. Our kids will suffer through this years from now if you do nothing.
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If you have seen the movie Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. At the end the King said to his wife “That’s how it is, who am I to change it?” His wife said with sarcasm “I thought you were the King”. It made him remember he can actually do something. Time for the Execs to do some about this across the board, it will sure go viral and hit Forbes, LinkedIn, etc. Change that affects lives/jobs/finance always do!

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I’m not the problem. I’m a POC and probably have the most diverse team in the game working with me not to mention probably the few in North America with my title. I hide my kid because ageism can’t be changed in a culture that lionize it. Age tells creates presumptions like ability to work late, salary demands, the ubiquitous ‘culture’ questions come into play.

If you think I’m the problem, ask yourself that last time you cast someone over the age of 55 or had a target demo for client that wasn’t between 25 to 40?

I agree with these points. Avoid talking about kids, music/movies/sports/pop culture that might date you, or anything about your college experience. Don’t mention old ads you worked on, or agency leaders you worked with who were prominent years ago. Do talk about Instagram posts, memes you found funny, current celeb news, and how you go right to YouTube for all of your news, highlights, clips from shows, etc., I also agree with adjusting your resume and LinkedIn profile to only show the last 15 years (on my resume, I have an “Other Advertising Experience” section near the bottom - just to appease my conscience), with no years quoted for college, and no interests that would date you (I took “Interests” off entirely - if it’s useful in interviews, I will see what the interviewee likes and try to mirror it, if I can find something close. But I find it rarely comes up anyway.) It sucks to be a chameleon like this, but hey, this is similar to what we have to do to bond with clients anyway. And we need to have a job.

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Question—are you a woman? I find this more true for women. At 50 I will admit to refraining from mentioning my kids in the past. But I’ve become unapologetic about it. They are amazing, they are the most important part of my life. And I’m more than capable of having both a family and a career. Agree with poster above—need to normalize it. Because it is, in fact, normal.

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Nope. I am a He/Him (as the youth declare now) and I’ve even go as far as dying my hair to get the grey away. I’m in my late 40s. I can’t be that unapologetic because frankly it could work against me. It’s one of those weird gender things where other men your age in this game don’t want to hear that you’re a great girl-dad or whatever. They want you to be one of them game to drink, golf, do even more toxic shit when asked.

The good dude who goes home to be an equal partner with their partner isn’t appreciated.

I’ve just embraced the fact that I’m an old fart (60). It’s fairly obvious that I’m not 24. I never mention my kids or how long I’ve been married. That being said, I HAVE deleted my graduation date on my resume and have kept it at 1 page. Making sure to feature my awards front and center because agencies still like to see that

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