90pc job seekers over 45 face age bias at hands of recruiters
Melbourne, Nov 13 (ANI)
Almost nine out of 10 job seekers aged over 45 are treated badly by recruiters, a study has found.
A survey by Adage.com.au, a job site for the mature aged, has found 88 percent are dissatisfied with the level of response received from recruiters and a further 77 percent are dissatisfied with the response of employers, News.com.au reported.
Adage.com.au managing director Heidi Holmes said that mature-age workers have it "extremely tough" in Australia.
"Once you are past 45, no one wants to know you," Holmes said.
"It's incredible to me that there is so much discussion about skills shortages in Australia, while so many highly qualified and experienced workers are being overlooked simply because they've got a bit of grey hair," she said.
The survey of more than 800 job seekers also found 78 percent refused to put their age on their CV.
Holmes said many do this because they are scared their age will disadvantage them.
"We aren't talking about 'seniors' here," she said, adding that one third of the respondents surveyed were under the age of 55.
"Many of these workers are in their 40s," she said. "For some, that's more than 20 years until the official retirement age."
Holmes said that in the last few years there had been a large focus on Gen Y in recruiting.
"That has fed not only the focus around youth, but potentially leads to an unconscious bias," she said.
"There's this immediate assumption [mature workers] are not engaged online, or they don't know what's happening in the digital space," she added.