Don't Let Youth Stand in Your Way

When I was twenty-two, I started a job as a receptionist at SAIT Polytechnic.  The environment was what I was looking for, with multitudes of people from every background surrounding me.  Most importantly, they all had a deeply seated passion for what they did.  This passion translated into a workforce of smiling faces and proud organizational ambassadors.  The only problem; my long term goals exceeded my position at the front desk.

But I digress, we came here to talk about ageism. 

First off, I would like to point out that I refuse to play the victim card unless I am truly the target of a malicious, conscious attempt to destruct something I am aiming for.  I have yet to have this happen (we’ll talk about the theory and pathology of the victim card later…). 

Ageism is the discrimination of an individual based on age, be it young or old.  I have been lucky in a sense in that I have always looked significantly older than I am (a quality I will enjoy less as I get older).  I’m told this isn’t based on looks but rather how I present and carry myself.  In my role as receptionist, I wore a suit every day, or at least a tie and sharp clothes.  Within three months I was moved to administrative assistant for the department’s continuing and distance education team, and fifteen months later I took over as Coordinator and lead the department through some major curriculum changes.  At twenty-three, I was the youngest Coordinator at SAIT, and no one knew by quite how much.  I launched about fifteen new certificates, increased the sales of one program by sixty per cent, nearly doubled the distance education portfolio in size and profitability, maintained a staff of ninety contractors and two support people, and eventually represented wider groups on several committees as a participant and as a Chair.  I held the respect of my colleagues and built a successful career path by twenty-five.

What does all of my personal success have to do with age?  Simple, be whoever you want to be at home, but be who you aspire to be professionally when you’re at work.   Context is everything.  If I wore my suit and tie every day and my goal was to open a chain of tattoo shops, I would not gain a lot of respect.  The same goes for behavior; you may laugh, tell dirty jokes, wear sweat pants and goof around when you’re with friends, but at work you will commit career suicide with these action…. Unless you work for an industry that embraces it.  When I walked through the doors at SAIT, I looked around at the people in the positions I wanted to be in. 

I also absorbed information about how others perceived them.  You don’t want to hitch your wagon to a horse that stinks, get it? 

Within a couple of days, I knew what level of professionalism, what language, what apparel would help me avoid ever being the target of ageism.  I ironed my shirts, I spoke up at meetings (with respect, always), I volunteered for committees and task-teams.  Note, this is not the same as volunteering for fun events.  Committees make decisions and steer the organization.  Event volunteering is good, but I personally suggest being careful not to volunteer for too many unless the activity you’re doing is a step above the type of work you perform daily.

Here’s my cheat sheet to avoid ageism (more geared at the young side of the coin, I’ll give you my perspective on the older side in about thirty-five years)

·         Be the position you want, don’t just dress for the job.  Adjust your vocabulary, talk about subjects relevant to the industry when mingling with colleagues, research your industry and keep up to date with current events. 

·         Don’t gossip – Gossip is a tell-tale sign of immaturity.  When someone tells you a juicy tidbit, just let it end there.  In most cases it’s a perversion of the truth and you would be spreading lies.  I would suggest approaching the person who the rumor is centered around and getting the facts straight.

·         Two drink rule – Never exceed two drinks at a company event.  Regardless of how well you can tolerate your liquor, you don’t want to be seen as the person who either “can really handle a lot of booze” (indicating you must drink often and a lot) or “really made a fool of himself”.  Trust me, have one or two, chat with colleagues, rub shoulders, and most importantly, listen.  If you really feel like you need to let loose, leave early and call some friends.  It takes decades to build a great career, and one sentence to destroy it.

·         Tell appropriate jokes – People like to laugh, but the workplace is increasingly pushing for political correctness.  Even if you’ve heard someone tell a bad joke, don’t reciprocate with another.  Tell clean, appropriate jokes.  Avoid racist, sexist, derogatory jokes (this includes blond jokes boys) at all cost.  It demonstrates a lack of judgment when the wrong audience hears it.  Imagine when you’re “friend” at work repeats the joke to a VP and tells her where he heard it…

·         Speak up – When you’re in a meeting and you have a valuable piece of information, share it.  Don’t sarcastically mock other ideas, just add your perspective.  Ask yourself “Is what I’m about to say adding value?” Never speak up at a meeting just to be heard.  Information without context is just noise.

·         Committees – Join them!  Limit your engagement to a few so you can be valuable and not over-worked.  You must always perform your primary job at 100%, so watch to make sure your involvement isn’t becoming a distraction.  Choosing committees that will have an impact on business decisions lets you show your skills to other workgroups and the organization. 

·         Never burn bridges, always repair them – No matter how much someone aggravates you, never purposefully do anything to make them look bad, sabotage, or otherwise denigrate them.  Every person in the organization holds the keys to a door somewhere, and you never know when you’ll need to open it.

·         Build rapport with peers.  When you have a big initiative or change to suggest at a meeting, it helps if a few people at the table are already on your side

·         Never blindside your boss.  If you want his job, make him look like a star.  Credit will flow your way and people will recognize your skill behind him, and in a good company you’ll be rewarded.  Be modest and don’t disparage others.