Out of the Box

Eye on the Recession When the Young Compete Against Older Workers

By Menachem Lubinsky on February 25 2010

A payroll company that was set back somewhat by the recession was looking to hire a manager to sell a new product that it had developed. After an extensive search two leading candidates emerged. One was a 24-year old ambitious young man with little experience, but with a “great deal of fire in his belly” (described as such by the owner). The other was a 52-year old seasoned manager, a victim of cutbacks at a large Wall Street firm.

The company had suffered a drop of 20% in business in the past two years. It had lost two major clients and many other clients scaled back as they reduced their labor force. As a result, the company nearly a year ago was forced to reduce its own staff. But for the past six months, business picked up somewhat as the two partner owners tried to figure out how to bounce back. The new product was its answer, but it needed someone to manage the sales of the new products.

The two leading candidates were representative of the competition for jobs that are scarce. The younger applicant was looking to anchor himself in a company with a bright future, hoping that he would gain valuable experience. He was willing to toil hard to make a good impression and to get his career underway. The partners were very impressed with him until they met the older candidate.

The former Wall Street executive has been looking for a job for over two years. As he put it, the last two years were the most trying of his life, completely upsetting the lifestyle that he and his family were used to for the better part of two decades. After two years, he realized that he was not destined to return to his former status and that compromise was necessary, including taking a drastic reduction in his salary. He desperately needed to work and more importantly he wanted to take some of the pressure off his wife who had taken on another job just to help pay the bills.

The partners instantly realized that he was qualified for the job, perhaps even over qualified. He would require no on-job-training. He fully understood the challenge that lie ahead and instantly made the partners feel comfortable. But even at a reduced salary, he would be considerably more expensive than the younger candidate. One of the partners worried that this would not be a long-term position for the seasoned executive. He figured that as soon as something better materialized, he would leave, despite the assurances that he gave that he would be there for the long haul.

The choice for the partners was clear but for me it pointed out one of the most worrisome consequences of the recession. There are two groups of people competing for a limited number of jobs. Younger people often find these jobs out of reach since they do not have the experience of the older workers. They are faced with the challenge of gaining experience that they simply cannot get.
Older workers (older than the 20ish group), on the other hand, are faced with the recession environment where companies are looking to save money by hiring younger and less expensive workers, albeit at a price of training and perhaps not receiving instant efficiency. They are often challenged by companies to accept a paycheck that is far less than they received previously or that can allow them to live comfortably. One such worker told me that he had accepted a job that paid him 30% of what he was getting at a previous job just so that he “can go to work everyday.”

The experience that older workers have provides them with a distinct advantage in that they can often fill a job quickly and efficiently. They are also more flexible in that they can work on projects or take on consulting jobs. An important “selling job” for them is to point out that they can multi-task, which is extremely important to many companies operating in a recession environment. This might help them secure a salary that is more acceptable in terms of their lifestyle.

For the younger job seeker the key objective is to go to an interview prepared. This includes doing the proper research on the company, learning additional skills that will add value to their potential employment, and accepting challenges where the results can be clearly measured. I know of many job applicants who have been offered jobs after successfully completing a project that was important to the company.

So, which candidate did the payroll company choose? Not the answer you expected. They hired the younger worker for the full time position and the older applicant as a consultant who would guide the project and train the new hire. The company promised that if the new product succeeded, they would hire the former Wall Street executive to a senior full-time position. A Solomanic solution, except that for the consultant who still has to believe that he will one day be back in a full-time position that affords him the dignity and the compensation he once had.

If competition is good for business, it is certainly not a blessing for the many people looking to secure a livelihood.

Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Lubicom has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.

The name, "Out of the Box" is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.