How do you defeat ageism?
Many chief executives have stated that if you stop learning, you’re no longer progressing in your job, the same as career suicide. That’s something many Boomers ignored. They’ve stopped taking classes and aren’t reading any job-related books.
When you’re over 40, being a lifelong learner is critical to your success.
You may be 62, but a new certification will make you far more employable than if you hadn’t attended any courses or programmes in the past 20 years. Employers are looking for fresh ideas and ways to develop their workforce to achieve more outstanding outcomes. It’d be great if you could prove to a potential employer that you are what you say.
While you’re getting older, you have to be the polar opposite of the image. Those misconceptions may imply that you are not innovative. It may make you feel you don’t have the necessary technical abilities and you don’t have the will to succeed. You must ensure that these stereotypes are not valid. YouTube is a fantastic resource for learning new skills. You may take classes to learn just about everything on that site, especially technology.
http://lynda.com/ is another excellent resource. LinkedIn Learning is its new name. The good thing about http://lynda.com/ is that it has a lot of libraries throughout the country offering free courses. To access their website, use your library card. They have a lot of business and technology subjects and have employed expert professors specialists in their domain. I’ve taken a handful of these courses in the past and found them to be fantastic. Whatever course you’re searching for, whether it’s on artificial intelligence or how to use Zoom, http://lynda.com/ will almost surely have a class (or numerous classes) on it.
Another suggestion is to set aside 30 minutes each day to learn something new. Check out the Wall Street Journal, industry’s stories on your Flipboard app, or a commerce journal in your line of work. It’s only two and a half hours every week, but it adds up to 130 hours per year. And that’s just on a Monday to Friday schedule. You may even be able to pick up a new language. Over some time, you can become an expert in your field. You can even obtain a degree by taking online courses.
Speak up! Do not let yourself be pushed around just because you’re older, and be as independent as you can. You can also fight back by pressuring politicians to pass laws so that you retain your rights that no severance/pension agreement has “confidentiality” or “no suing” clauses in it. Pressure the government and make sure that they have a platform before the election. This way, each party has a platform going into the office. If each party has a platform, there’s a high likelihood that one or two things they might agree on and pass into law. Defeating ageism would not be done quickly; we need stamina, bravery, and direction to keep us in the fight.
Age discrimination shows itself in many forms. Maybe you’ve been told that you are “too old” to participate in an activity. Maybe your doctor talks about your health to your younger companion, referring to you in the third person. Or maybe people expect you not to be able to take care of yourself. The most necessary step in fighting against ageism is recognizing it as it happens. If you don’t know the signs of age discrimination, you won’t be able to stop it as it happens. After you realize someone is being ageist against you, you’ve got to stand up for yourself and let them know of their disrespectful behaviour.
Another tip is to participate in discussions. You can’t expect others to include you in their conversations if all you do is sit in the corner and watch them talk. Be as independent as possible to show people that age doesn’t define your capabilities. Repeatedly letting others help you with daily stuff makes them think you can’t do them independently.
Unfortunately, the most frequent instance of ageism is when companies refuse to hire older people solely because of their age. There are usually two reasons recruiters are unwilling to hire older adults. They believe the senior worker will retire sooner than others which will cost them extra training expenses for replacement employees.
The belief that older employees’ physical and mental agility diminishes sooner than younger candidates also resembles a substantial productivity cost. To combat such discrimination, you need to try and prove that these speculations are false. For instance, you can undertake a thorough physical examination to demonstrate that your remaining health span surpasses their ageist presumptions.
It’s advised to undergo an IQ and mind agility test to prove that you are just as productive as other candidates. These may help put you on a closer footing with similarly competent contenders younger than you.
Unfortunately, ageism is everywhere. These negative behaviours can negatively impact seniors’ health and well-being. We have to do something about it. There are some ways we can defeat ageism:
Do not let anyone bully you. Know the signs of ageism and put a stop to it. If someone is treating you disrespectfully, speak up against it. Do not hold your feelings; getting sad or angry is normal. Don’t tolerate. Others must know how they are affecting your emotions.
Prove that age is only a number. If you allow others to do things for you, they’ll believe you cannot do it. And one more thing! Live a healthy lifestyle. Prioritize your health. A healthy lifestyle with the proper diet and regular exercise will give you a better chance to defeat ageism.