Dear Hiring Manager,

For 28 years I’ve been an independent career coach. Funny coincidence: for 28 years I’ve been over 50. So, I write to you not only as a job market observer, but as an advocate for older workers as part of your diverse workforce.

The best hiring decision you can make is to stop thinking of reasons not to hire older workers (there are generally none) and start thinking of reasons you should (generally, tons).

Why to Hire Older Workers

In 2009 I wrote an article called “Fifty for Fifty: 50 Reasons to Hire the 50+ Candidate.” It went viral, with more people around the world reading it than anything else I ever wrote. Problem is, while it seems every 50+ candidate ate it up, you apparently didn’t. So let me boil the issue down to a few points on why you should hire the older candidate.

The Older Workers and Technology Myth

Let’s start with a quite common myth. Older workers are not unequipped to deal with new, rapidly developing technologies at work, and we’re not suffering from declining cognitive skills. Just the opposite, in fact: older workers who stay active are just as mentally acute, decisive and able to switch from one task to another as anyone else in the workplace.

On the Subject of Older Workers and Focus

Multitasking? Nonsense! Multitaskers do none of their tasks as well as they should. The human brain, neuroscientists know, cannot do more than one thing well at a time. Multitasking only creates distraction, a trap older workers tend not to fall into. Smoothly switching tasks in timely ways, on the other hand, requires mental agility that takes decades to develop, not to mention good judgment as to when to engage in the switch.

Regarding Older Workers and Change

If all you’re looking for is a snappy youngster who intuitively picks up new technologies, well, yeah, that works. But what you’re passing on is the weathered veteran who first dealt with change before any of these kids were out of diapers. We’re good at it because we have great experience with it. How cool to have both on your team!

Creativity and Innovation In Older Workers

Next, what about creativity and innovation, assets generally ascribed to younger minds? In my

coaching practice, I’ve met many creative youngsters who will do stunning things some day. Truth is, while young workers can impulsively and impatiently generate new ideas (some with merit), creativity as a sustainable asset depends on the ability to recognize patterns in seemingly unrelated things, ideas or events – and that depends more on maturity than anything else. Seniors can be blazingly creative. Look at Thomas Edison, Richard Strauss, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ben Franklin, Mother Teresa, and Julia Child (among many others): highly creative into their seventies and eighties. So, go for a mix of young, curious minds that are fearless and older, curious minds with perspective.

The Concern About Older Workers And Higher Productivity

Another fallacy is that older workers are more expensive because we’re paid more. While that’s generally true (30 years of cost-of-living raises will do that), what about our disproportionately higher productivity? We’re not as much of a cost as we are a value. And the fallacy that older workers miss work more frequently is preposterous. Surveys show that absenteeism is lowest in the 50-65 age group, and older workers have lower turnover rates than younger workers, too. Surprised?

A New Look at Older Workers and Stability

The typical 32-year-old has had 10 jobs. Even if that career started at 18, that’s an average of a year and five months at a job. Now, what do you think you’ll get from the 50+ candidate? Hint: subtract current age from retirement age. There’s your likely answer. Looking for stability? There it is.

Older Workers Are Mentors

And by the way, who’s going to mentor all those young snaps?

Incidentally, none of this is theoretical. It’s all quantifiable; it can be studied, measured, analyzed and— literally—assigned monetary value. It can show up on your balance sheet, in other words.

After the most severe blow of crises in history, you, dear employer, need the best talent you can find and keep. Hire the older candidate, and take the money to the bank.

The Hiring Process for Older Workers

Oh yeah, here’s how you can start this change. As the first step in your hiring process, stop giving resumes to junior people to screen. Those young ones have no clue what they’re looking at. Give those resumes to an empathetic, seasoned manager and watch what happens.

Career Coach Eli Amdur provides top-notch one-on-one coaching in job search, résumés, interviewing, career planning and executive development. Reach him at [email protected] or 201-357-5844.