Preconceived Notions
Variety is the spice of life…why do so many recruiters develop such a boxed-in, preconceived notion of what the ideal candidate looks like? It’s a question I’ve often asked myself as I’ve considered the evolution of my career, and I think a lot of very talented and qualified people get overlooked because they are typecast.
An article at Fast Company about shady practices in recruitment hit a nerve when I realized how true many of the scenarios are in the real world of job seeking.
Case 1:
Versatile Copy Writers
Take the Technical Writer position as and example here, and I’ll create a hypothetical set of situations that are seem totally unfair. Jane Doe is career technical writer in their 60’s that worked for Hewlett Packard as a technical writer for most of their career, probably ended up managing a team of technical writers over time.
This person became displaced in the economic crash of 2009-2012, maybe nearly lost their home. They’re looking for a new job in the market, maybe they picked up some writing gigs freelance for a while, but want to re-enter the workforce out of necessity and boredom now.
How come this person is discriminated against in the market? Because a recruiter sees self-employment or freelance on their resume for an extended period and assumes they are not valuable in the market or irrelevant? When they want to switch career track and parlay their writing skills to something like Marketing or Travel, why should they go unconsidered?
It’s called typecasting and it’s a form of discrimination one way or the other. Only companies in similar realm will be seeking someone working for an older company like HP. Think IBM, GE, etc, and only want someone that’s a Technical Writer background, to fill that exact role at their organization. As if they don’t want to evolve, learn, and be challenged. And then their age is another factor. I hear so often that people over 60 are having an exceptionally hard time getting jobs…period.
Case 2:
Creative Designers of Varied Interest
Take the case of an experienced design professional like myself. If I have worked in software marketing design for years, I am continually overlooked for roles that I would be excellent to fill, in UI/UX design, Environmental Design, Art Direction or Creative Direction, because it’s just not my last role on my resume. Industry wide, I’d only be considered for design at a software company since it’s on my resume for the last 7 years.
When I strive to switch gears to a different industry, like say, outdoor sports, then I’m rarely considered. In that way, even if the job description and skill set fits perfectly, and outdoor sports are a natural talent and personal passion, it’s usually overlooked. So basically everyone is typecast. If you’re done sports design and it’s in your portfolio, then you might make the first cut if the work is good.
Working freelance for many years across many industries that I’m inspired by, and good at, doesn’t seem to help me.
I’ve never seen an honest description because it would go something more like this:
Position: Art Director (for say Nike Apparel)
Qualifications: Must have worked as Art Director for a large sports brand like Aditas, Puma, UnderArmor regardless of your skill or passion. We want you only if you have a competitor or related big brand on your resume. If you’re over 50, don’t bother, we want a young mind for this work. Senior designers need not apply, Marketing Art Directors or Directors from other industries need not apply. Freelancers need not apply.
Case 3:
Versatile Mature Individuals
Something that really frustrates me around employment typecasting is pervasive but it is virtually undiscussed in this job climate…it’s age discrimination. I have two people with stories I’m going to relay here, from personal experience.
There’s a creative baby boomer I know,
that lived the hippie days having fun, pursuing music as a career and a lifestyle, that dropped out of art school because it was too commercial. This person is creative visually, handy with tools, carpentry, an excellent musician, intermedia with computers, but not probably as technologically savvy as a younger gen x or gen y person. He worked in varied jobs and still craved the creative outlet of music, still played music periodically throughout his career. He was hired into the corporate establishment in the early 2000s, but didn’t fit in there quite right. The job was below his experience, but companies routinely pass him up since he didn’t conform to the corporate career model. This person was never considered in the current job climate, even though he has deep technical skills in commercial printing, music, art, carpentry.
Contractors are hesitant to hire him, maybe because they’re fearful of liability of an older adult working with power tools, or not willing to pay a living wage when they can hire unskilled labor for pennies on the dollar. Commercial printing is unwilling to hire him, because he is not a career printing professional or because the printing industry is currently getting flipped over by disruption of digital marketing, and he can’t teach art or music because of the lack of formal training or advanced degrees. And so after years of looking he gave up, as I’m sure many baby boomers have, on finding a job for anyone else.
Eventually, he started his own business in light carpentry, where he can chart his own course, play by his own terms.
There’s also another baby boomer I know,
She’s been frustrated in this job market too. She’s been looking for several years for a solid paying job. She owned her own marketing company for many years, has worked as an executive director in the holistic arts, and has a lot of experience in the business world. She is relatively computer savvy, motivated, and continues to look for something to help her make ends meet and save. But contemporary job market overlooks her because of her age and her experience level. I assume it’s that when someone is well or over-qualified, they are overlooked because recruiters or non-profits see them as too expensive to hire, as if they demand more based on their long resume. So they never get a second look.
This attitude of age discrimination and employee typecasting is, I’m sure, a source of frustration for a large swath of the job force who have given up in the new economy.
So how do we incorporate the skills of everyone into our economy, and pool our strengths?
Not sure, but recruiters, you have to acknowledge, that people evolve, and you have to look past that gap in the resume history, or that person not fitting the exact industry or role in their past position. Don’t typecast…it’s just another word for discrimination.
