AGE LIMITS

[Published in Manila Bulletin, August 2011]

When you are young and free, your career possibilities are endless. Opportunities abound. You can experiment a bit and hopefully quickly find a career that is best suited for you.

As you grow older, however, your choices begin to shape your career and you’ll find yourself in a set line of work. By the time you are in your late thirties, you’ve gained enough knowledge through the years on your chosen field and you should ideally be moving upwards in your industry.

During this time, you would also have taken on more of life’s responsibilities. You may get married and have children. You may need to take care of ailing parents or other siblings. All of these are reasons why you want to work to provide well for your family.

But what if, all of a sudden, you find yourself longing for a change of career? Or what if, life suddenly throws you a curve ball and you find yourself out of work and in need of a new job?

You then open Manila Bulletin’s classified ads section. You look for job listings that are suitable for your knowledge and experience since you want to capitalize on what you’ve mastered in the last decade. You find a couple of job advertisements that suit you.

Good reputable company, check.

Good position, check.

Skills required, check.

Competitive compensation and benefits, check.

You’ve found your next job! BUT WAIT! It says in the job ad that the age requirement is from 25 to 35 years old. You’ve just celebrated your 40^th birthday. Bummer.

You then look at other job ads and notice a similar pattern. There is an age limit specified in the job ads. You’re way above the age limit. You then start wondering exactly what our letter sender asked:

Dear Ms. Jhoanna,

I’m an engineer by profession and also finished EMBA. I currently work overseas for a power plant. Pay is good and knowledge advancement is great. However, I miss home and have been exploring the possibility of coming back for good. I’ve been looking at job advertisements but have been noticing age limitations that are, well, limiting.

We say that experience plays a big part in true learning and you can acquire this through years of working as you also age. As I browsed job listings, I am qualified for most of the opening, but I always end up frustrated due to age requirement.

So I have a few questions on this issue: Is the Age limit mandatory as a minimum requirement for all hiring companies? Does HR have an influence on this? Is this what we call Equal Opportunity? I hope you can enlighten me.

Thanks,

A Mature Engineer

My Response:

Thanks for writing in with this relevant issue. Allow me to answer your question about Age Limitations...

Before HR practitioners post job advertisements, they usually conduct a job analysis wherein they try to define the required skills, competencies and scope of work needed for the position. They also determine what age range and sometimes even the gender the manager in need of staffing prefers so that they will have a clear set of criteria for recruitment. As much as possible, HR confers with the manager on his or her preference since s/he will be the one working directly with the new hire.

Although Age Limitations and Gender Specification do not exactly reflect the ideals of equal opportunity which has been made into law by some first world countries, it is a practice many companies do in our country for practical purposes.

From an employer's point of view, younger employees are seen as less costly and tend to demand lower compensation because they do not have that much family obligations or medical health problems yet. They also have more years ahead, so investing in their training offers the chance for longer service time.

On the other hand, some companies are also aware that older and veteran workers have more experience and knowledge. They have already been trained by their previous employers. They have first hand practical experience and are usually more emotionally mature to handle work concerns and issues.

So it really depends on the company’s culture, needs and financial capacity. Some companies have strict age requirements, others are more flexible. If they can afford to, they hire veterans for higher positions; if they cannot, they get consultants to help out and train their younger work force.

I understand how difficult it is for older people to find jobs. Usually, the older you become and the higher your position gets, the opportunities seem to get narrower... But older people still have a lot of options. You just have to go out of your comfort zones, think outside the box and explore other ways to pursue your career.

Stay tuned for my next article to get ideas on how to conquer age limits.

About the Author:
Jhoanna O. Gan-So is president of Businessmaker Academy, HR Club Philippines and Teach It Forward Organization. Since 2003, her company has served more than 15,000 participants from various companies and industries by providing corporate skills training, business and human resource seminars. To know more about the seminars and services that they offer, you may visit www.businessmaker-academy.com or www.hrclubphilippines.com. You may also call (632)6874645. Email your comments and questions to: mbworklife@gmail.com

TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF GREAT EMPLOYERS

[Published in Manila Bulletin, August 2011]

In my last column, I wrote about “Ten Characteristics of Star Employees”. This time, I’d like to explore the flip side and discuss what makes employers great to work for.

See, your happiness and contentment in the workplace is directly affected by how the company that you work for is run. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just the salary that people look at when they choose employers. Money is not the end all and be all of job satisfaction. So if you want to be part of a great company, aspire to find or even develop these ten characteristics in your company:

1. They have a clear vision

Great employers have direction. Their leaders have a clear picture of what they want their company to stand for and where they want to go. We’re talking here about full enculturation of the company’s vision, mission and values wherein employees live by these guiding principles. It’s not just about putting a mission statement in a frame and hanging it on the wall. It’s about building a culture that employees are proud of and can easily identify with on a daily basis.

2. They have a good recruitment process

Great employers know that top notch employees equal an excellent company. So they establish recruitment systems that are designed to get the crème of the crop, not the bottom of the barrel. They seek out people who are skilled with the right attitude to fill in key positions in their company. They are organized in their recruitment efforts and have done the necessary homework for finding competent employees.

3. They have adequate compensation and benefits programs

Once they’ve hired their employees, great employers are able to keep them longer because they provide not just competitive salaries, but also benefits and perks. These benefits may include essentials such as healthcare, allowances for uniforms or food, to fun stuff like workshops and outings, to cool perks such as transportation assistance and mobile phone loads.

4. They train their people

Great employers also ensure that each employee grows professionally by providing training to help them do their jobs. From the beginning, as soon as an employee is hired, they are given an orientation. Then as they settle in their jobs, they are provided on the job training. This is also followed up by seminars, workshops and learning materials that will help employees develop further.

5. They monitor their people’s performance

After all the training, great employers make sure that their employees are able to apply what they have learned. This is done by continuously monitoring performance. Managers and supervisors constantly look at how their subordinates are doing. They provide guidance and immediate feedback. Then this is followed up by regular performance evaluations that are documented by the company’s HR people.

6. They recognize and reward good performance

The reason why performance is monitored is so that the company can reward the good ones and correct those that need to be improved. To encourage and motivate employees, great companies provide rewards and incentives. This could range from simple treats and tokens, to elaborate programs like employee of the month, sales target bonus with gifts like gadgets and trips abroad.

7. They equip their people with tools that help them work better and faster

If you want to double or triple your team’s performance, it is important to equip them with the right tools and equipment. Great employers understand this, so they make sure that their people are given the best software and hardware. More importantly, they are trained to maximize them. They understand that, “When you give a man the tools and know-how, you can step back and see the ingenuity that may come after.”

8. They have safe and conducive work environments

Great employers understand that a person’s environment affects his or her moods. So they take care in providing a workplace that’s conducive and safe for work. You can easily determine if a company is great or not by how clean and well-maintained the place is. So gather those waste baskets and purge unimportant items, clear your desks and organize! A clean work station will improve your mood and make you work better for a great company.

9. They care about their people

Great employers are able to provide programs that ensure their employees are well-taken care of physically, emotionally and spiritually. The company has heart and they show it to their people with kind words, caring leaders, firm and constant guidance. They understand that, “When you care for your people, your people will take care of the company.”

10. They develop leaders

Lastly, great employers develop leaders. They encourage initiative and innovation. They allow their employees to shine and provide opportunities for star performers to develop themselves as leaders. From the group of star performers, they choose and hone select people to lead the company to greater heights.

The truth is, there’s no such thing as a perfect company. Great employers are simply built by the people who work for it. If you want to work for a great company, it is in your hands to make your company a great and happy place to work in.

If you are looking for a job, seek to find a company that has these qualities. If you are already employed, make your company a great place to work in. If you have influence in your company, seek to develop these characteristics to make your company great and reap the rewards of a happy and productive workplace!

Author box:

Jhoanna O. Gan-So is president of Businessmaker Academy, HR Club Philippines and Teach It Forward Organization. Since 2003, her company has served more than 15,000 participants from various companies and industries by providing corporate skills training, business and human resource seminars. To know more about the seminars and services that they offer, you may visit www.businessmaker-academy.com or www.hrclubphilippines.com. You may also call (632)6874645. Email your comments and questions to: mbworklife@gmail.com