In this latest Experience Advocacy Taskforce (EAT) column, Rob Morrison, director of morro talks the reality of ageism in Adland and how, despite overt policies of inclusion, companies continue to discriminate against senior staff once the dreaded DOB is submitted as part of a job application.
If you’ve read a job ad recently, you’ll have seen this…
“[Company Name] does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other class protected by legislation, and local law”.
…or maybe this version…
“[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability or age”.
When you first read that, it’s easy to feel warm and fuzzy. The intention is good. It looks right. Almost obvious. Of course, people should be hired based on talent. Of course, traits beyond an applicant’s control shouldn’t factor – how they look, who they love or the year they were born. That makes complete sense in the modern world.
But the truth is very different. Most of us grey-haired creatives will tell you ageism is alive and well in Adland. If anything, it’s getting worse.
Don’t believe me?
I was recently at a gathering of creative directors. All 50 years plus. All well-respected. All international award-winners. All had been very senior – some had even climbed to the lofty ranks of ECD. All are now looking for work. Their stories are an echo of each other. They’ve leveraged every contact from their years in the industry. They’ve applied for a cross-section of full-time jobs, from high-end roles in multinationals to midweight roles in start-ups. None of them has had a single interview. Zero. Worse, they’re ghosted most of the time.
The big question is ‘Why?’
You’re probably thinking it’s a CV problem. Or cover letter. Or folio site. Not true. Each had pushed their application through all the hacks for the new and insipid ATS (Application Tracking Systems). Keyword repetition. Copy/pasting recruitment language. Printing the ad in white on white.
None of it mattered because the automated HR gatekeeper knows my generation’s kryptonite.
Date of birth.
As soon as DOB is required before hitting ‘Submit’ all these senior creatives should simply abandon cart. It’s a heart-sinking moment. Because you know what’s coming (and what’s not).
Much as it’s tempting to blame the rise of the machine, it’s not actually their fault. Because someone wrote the question. Someone in HR. Now, I’ve ranted about HR departments in the past. I still believe the name should be typeset as lowercase 9pnt “human”, all caps 50pnt extra bold “RESOURCES”.
It’s costing Adland right when we can least afford it.
When margins are under pressure, wouldn’t you love to improve the hit rate of selling ideas to clients? Or minimising double and triple handing. Or just avoiding production cost blowouts. Everyone can. Just commission someone with experience. We’ve seen it. Managed it. Sold it. But, sadly for HR algorithms, the only way to get experience is to live it. So, it’s underrated or ignored by ATS and the human RESOURCES overlords.
So, the grey-washing continues. And the tokenism. And those blood-boiling boilerplates.
