Design a Role that Attracts Top Talent of Any Age

Remove “culture fit” criteria which often is where unconscious bias plays out in preferring a candidate with whom you have things in common, or with whom you would be willing to socialize outside work. If you strongly feel that” “likeability” is a key hiring criteria, ask yourself why.

Define “likeability” and add it to the qualifications rubric so your hiring team will have a structured, informed conversation about each candidate’s “likeability.” For example, if you are hiring for a client facing role, you might include a core qualification as “Able to quickly create rapport with clients and to understand their needs.” This clearer definition of “likeability” can help avoid affinity bias, which often weeds out candidates who are both youngest and oldest.

Scrub language from your job description that can signal to older candidates that they will not be a good fit, or language that is generationally or age-specific and therefore not as likely to appear on older candidates’ applications. Your job description language determines how recruiting software will filter and rank the applicants, so ensure the language is age-neutral and bias-free.

Use the same top skills/acumen criteria to design the interview assessment rubric that all interviewers will use, and the work assignment that all interviewees will complete.

Ensure your language does not accidentally signal that older candidates should not apply. Reference the Say This, Not That chart from this guide.

Test the language by “flipping” it – substitute another aspect of identity in place of age proxies to see how it sounds. How might it read to someone who is much younger than you are? Significantly older than you are? Ask others with different perspectives to review it for you.

Include older and younger workers in any websites or marketing materials used in recruiting reflect a diverse workforce. Remember that older workers need not always be “coded” as grey-haired in the images you select. People in their 40’s and beyond have a wide range of self-presentation that you can feature.

Include details on retirement savings benefits such as company matching, which can be key to workers who want to accelerate their retirement savings in later career phases.

Include information on specific amount of vacation and holidays, so older candidates are aware of this in advance. This may be of particular interest to candidates who have built up a lot of vacation time with their current employer due to seniority,