INTHEBLACK May 2022 - Magazine - Page 54
F E AT U R E
// A G E I S M
“ACCOUNTANTS AND FINANCIAL ADVISERS ARE
SUCH A VALUABLE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY...
THEY HAVE A LOT OF POTENTIAL TO ENCOURAGE A
MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATURE-AGE
WORKERS AND JOB SEEKERS.”
HUNTER LEONARD, SILVER & WISE
Above: Ian Yates,
Councils on the
Ageing (COTA)
Australia
54 ITB May 2022
a range of vital workplace skills compared
with younger workers, including dispute
resolution, mediation and managing others.
“Employers should look at the whole
picture and understand that, while some
people might take longer to learn a new
system, they might be quicker to pick up
other things, because they have a higher
emotional IQ, or bring a higher level
of experience and level-headedness,”
says Lamb.
For Roxanne Calder, founder and
managing director of recruitment agency
EST10 Recruitment and author of
Employable: 7 Attributes to Assure Your
Working Future, the negative attitudes
about age actually go both ways. “Sometimes
people in this demographic who are job
seekers do themselves a disservice, because
they carry ‘baggage’ into the interview. They
take on the persona that they are older, or
not as quick as younger people.
“I’ve met and interviewed so many people
who are in this situation – lacking selfconfidence, letting the bias and prejudice
of others affect their demeanour.
“Unfortunately, it can be perceived as
negativity and then be self-fulfilling. Selfawareness around this is really important,”
says Calder.