Dr. Tracey Gendron serves as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology and as Director for the Virginia Center on Aging. Tracey has a Master’s degree in Gerontology, a Master’s degree in Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. With over 25 years of experience as a grant-funded researcher and as a nationally recognized speaker, Tracey is dedicated to raising awareness and ending ageism through education.
Tag Archives: #ageism
AGEISM STRATEGIES FOR YOUR 50+ JOB SEARCH
In states that require helmet use for all riders (operators and passengers), 99% of motorcyclists wear helmets. Nowhere near the same compliance when it comes to age discrimination in the workplace. Although age discrimination in hiring is illegal under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), it’s clearly a research-supported reality that older workers have more difficulty landing new jobs than their younger counterparts; even when skills are comparable. The harsh truth is that, according to a 2020 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), workers 40 years of age and above are only about half as likely to get a job offer as younger workers if employers know (or surmise) their age. But, take it from someone who at 70 and 72 has been offered notable positions with major companies, it IS possible to secure meaningful work…you just need to know how. Continue reading AGEISM STRATEGIES FOR YOUR 50+ JOB SEARCH
CHALLENGE TO UP & OUT EMPLOYERS
Robotics and AI are rapidly changing the way goods are manufactured today but the typical career is still stuck in 20th century assembly line thinking. Employees take an entry level job, move up the ranks, get promoted, make more money and then are forcibly put out to pasture as part of the up & out employer attitude as to how business works. Up & out is based on the principle that older workers become a liability in their 50s and 60s and that younger employees have more to offer. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Continue reading CHALLENGE TO UP & OUT EMPLOYERS
NOW IS THE TIME FOR LATE BLOOMING
Let’s pretend for a moment you and I are taking a road trip. The luggage is secured, snacks are within reach, the GPS is plugged in and the gas tank is filled. You lean over to me and ask, “Are you ready?” I respond, “No” and proceed to get out of the car, select the screwdriver from my Swiss army knife and remove the side mirrors. I reenter the cabin and you yell, “Are you crazy?” to which I unaffectedly respond with, “Oops, forgot this one” and remove the inside rearview mirror as well. You have now deemed me certifiably crazy as well as a significant safety hazard. I account for my actions with, “We’re not here to look back and see where we’ve been but rather to experience where we’re going” and I toss the GPS out the window.
Don’t markdown your career or grab it off the rack. Make it a perfect fit.
Don Fisher had bought two pair of pants. When they didn’t fit, he and his wife Doris began a search for the right size at clothing stores in San Francisco. Their futile search became an epiphany. “What if,” Don mused, “someone put together all the styles, colors and sizes Levi Strauss had to offer in one store?” That led to the creation of the first Gap store which revolutionized the retail industry. With no retail training or experience, they created a contagious shopping experience that the Fishers grew into a major global brand with over 3,200 stores and a portfolio that includes Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy. Continue reading Don’t markdown your career or grab it off the rack. Make it a perfect fit.
International success at 46 is no “Fiction”
Samuel Leroy Jackson grew up as an only child in Tennessee, the son of an alcoholic father who lived away from the family. He was raised by his mother, a factory worker and supplies buyer for a mental institution. During childhood, he had a stuttering problem but eventually learned to “pretend to be other people who didn’t stutter.” Continue reading International success at 46 is no “Fiction”
How many doors are you willing to knock on?
How many doors are you willing to knock on to reinvent your career? Sara Blakely has knocked on a lot of them.
After a brief stint at Walt Disney World, she sold fax machines door-to-door for seven years. Frustrated by having to wear pantyhose in the hot Florida climate on her sales route, she experimented by cutting off the feet of her pantyhose while wearing them under a new pair of slacks. Continue reading How many doors are you willing to knock on?