By Pooja Marwah
Dear Corporate HR Dept,
I have a rather funny story to share this morning. Compulsive to routine, I sat at my desk and checked my inbox, which notified me of an interesting work opportunity. With curiosity piquing out of the seams of my kurta, I replied and a zoom call with your team was set up for a few hours later.
I dabbled a bit around my daily mundanities and made myself comfortable in front of the computer at the stipulated time. We had a great conversation and, in jest, the numbers that define my age came up. I didn’t look as old as I am, I was told and I took it as a fair compliment. But the position was for someone younger, someone who could work longer hours. How a number defines the hours you work or the way you look, beats me for I have kids in the “younger” bracket so to speak and believe me, that generation can give sleep a run for its money!
To cut a long story short, I was eventually offered the job but I declined. Having gone through my credentials and curriculum vitae, you said I was a perfect match and you apologised profusely for your instantaneous remark on age but my interest in you had already waned.
The idea behind sharing this story is to simply state that growing old is a privilege denied to many. As we grow, we use our experiences to contribute to our own growth as well as to the companies we work at, self or employed. A lot of us women take a sabbatical from work to focus on motherhood and return in our forties after having fulfilled our personal commitments. Not only does that free us from self induced guilt, but also helps us, to give our complete attention to the work on hand! We are a species that is far more productive anyway and this further gives us an edge to focus our all, on the work we have taken up.
I know of companies that hire people in their mid- fifties and sixties post retirement, as they bring a lot of experience and, importantly, patience to the table. They are confident in their own skin, are not in a rat race and are using their time constructively. They have health, they have the experience of a youth gone by and they also have the intellect to teach and learn simultaneously.
It is unethical and perhaps unlawful to a certain extent to discriminate against a person based on age. Just because you are old in reference to a number does not, in anyway, make you irrelevant. I talk on behalf of people on the other side of forty when I unabashedly say that – it is you the Corporate Counsel that misses out on qualities like mentorship, reliability, loyalty and commitment when you choose to disregard an application solely based on age!
I started work in my forties and all I want to say is that I am loving every bit. It is challenging and pushes me out of my comfort zone. It is energising as I now read a lot to keep up with technology but, most importantly, it makes me feel alive! All of these together add up to the awesome work I now create, for someone, other than you!
So, it really is your loss, not mine!
Yours sincerely,
Candidate over 40!
(Pooja Poddar Marwah is an award winning author and Blogger. She writes an contemporary living and offers incisive reflections on the world around us. Her blog, Random Conversations is a go to guide to deal with the myraid stuggles we face each day.)
