A couple of months ago while heading to the office, I ran into one of my coworkers at the elevator. As I proceeded to turn off my iPod to say “Hi”, her twenty-something eyes took notice. She then said to me with some surprise, “You have an iPod?!!”
Honestly, I admit that the rock snob in me questioned the comment first – why wouldn’t I have one? But then it set in a bit – does she think I’m too old for an iPod? What gives? And no – that’s not a picture of me to the right there. I’m 37.
While I know that the remark didn’t mean much of anything, I was reminded of a blog post I stumbled upon several months ago about Brian Ried, an accomplished computer engineer in his 50′s who was told he wasn’t a “cultural fit” (in addition to being called an “old fuddy duddy” and “lethargic” among some other not so-nice things) for the youthful atmosphere of Google. He was ultimately terminated.
I was reminded of this particular post because the average age of a person working in advertising is well … let’s just say it’s under 37. And I was really feeling my age for a moment there.
In addition to highlighting the case, the author also believed that copy in Google’s current job postings was questionable – questionable because Google is in the midst of a major age discrimination case brought on by Ried that’s now headed to the California Supreme Court.
The copy in Google’s job postings reads “We have a preference for those who like to work and play hard.” Is this copy really “code” for: only those of the younger-set need apply? After looking at the inner workings of the case the author felt so.
What do I think? Cultural fit should never be a cover for discriminatory practices whether that’s in the workplace or in messaging used to recruit talent. Not so sure that Google is crossing the line with their job posting copy though – that seems to be a bit of a stretch.
The economic downturn has led to many layoffs and we’re seeing age discrimination cases at record levels. This timely report from the Wall Street Journal has some more to say on the overall subject, what’s your take?
Author Bio:
Annette DeHaven, Alstin's Vice President, Operations, serves as right hand woman for an impressive roster of clients. Known for addressing problems head-on, Annette, who's led by example for more than 15 years, remembers crazy statistics, regularly spouts off mind-bending metrics, and recalls just about every field description for birds you've never heard of. 
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