EDITOR’S NOTE _ Aging America is a joint AP-APMEproject examining the aging of the baby boomers
and the impact that thisso-called silver tsunami is having on societyOlder people searching for jobs have
long foughtback stereotypes that they lack the speed, technology skills anddynamism of younger applicants.
But as a wave of baby boomers seeks tostay on the job later in life, some employers are finding older
workersare precisely what they need."There’s no experience likeexperience," said David Mintz, CEO
of dairy-free products maker Tofutti,where about one-third of the workers are over 50. "I can’t put an
adsaying, ‘Older people wanted,’ but there’s no comparison."Surveysconsistently show older people
believe they experience agediscrimination on the job market, and although unemployment is loweramong older
workers, long-term unemployment is far higher. As theAmerican population and its labor force reshape,
though, with a largerchunk of older workers, some employers are slowly recognizing theirskill and
experience.About 200 employers, from Google to AT&Tto MetLife, have signed an AARP pledge
recognizing the value ofexperienced workers and vowing to consider applicants 50 and older.Oneof them, New
York-based KPMG, has found success with a high proportionof older workers, who bring experience that the
company says addscredibility. The auditing, tax and advisory firm says older workers alsotend to be more
dedicated to staying with the company, a plus forclients who like to build a relationship with a consultant
they cancount on to be around for years."Some Gen Ys and Millennials havethis notion of, ‘I will have
five jobs in 10 years,’" said SigShirodkar, a human resources executive at KPMG. "We’re looking
for waysto tame that beast."Many employers find older workers help themconnect with older clients. At
the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham,Vt., the average customer is now in their 60s, and about half of
thebusiness’ 400 workers are over 50, coming from a range of professionalbackgrounds, often outside retail.
"Having folks internally that are inthe same demographic certainly helps to create credibility and to
haveempathy for our customer," said Chris Vickers, the store’s chiefexecutive.One such employee is
60-year-old Ashley Roland, who gota marketing job at the Vermont Country Store last year after thecompany
she previously worked for shut down. She dreaded the thought of amarathon of unsuccessful interviews, but
the store ended up recruitingher."When I was being hired, I didn’t feel any kind of concernabout my
age," she said. "I believe in experience. I think you’re crazynot to hire someone who’s
older."Even when the customersthemselves might not be seniors, employers find older adults bring alevel
of life experience that helps them in their work. About 20 percentof the roughly 26,000 customer service,
sales and technical supportagents working for Miramar, Fla.-based Arise Virtual Solutions are 50 orolder,
and chief executive John Meyer said they often find ways toconnect with the caller on the other end of the
line."Havingsomeone who is more senior, who has had some life scars, makes them muchbetter at
interacting with people," Meyer said. "This is a chance forthem to use the skills that they have
built up over their life."Theembrace of older workers by some companies comes as the
country’sdemographics shift and a greater number of people stay on the job laterin life, some because of
personal choice, others out of necessity aftertheir retirement savings took a hit during the recession.
Between 1977and 2007, employment of workers 65 and older doubled, a trend that hasstayed on track and is
projected to continue as the massive baby boomgeneration moves toward old age. But long-term unemployment
has plaguedolder adults: Nearly half of those 55 and older who find themselvesjobless remain out of work for
27 weeks or more.Many companiesstill tend to overlook older applicants. Peter Cappelli, a University
ofPennsylvania professor who co-authored "Managing the Older Worker,"said because the economy has
remained relatively weak and demand forjobs has been so high, many employers haven’t been pressed to
directlyrecruit older individuals.Stereotypes have prevailed. Hiringmanagers often still view older
applicants as having lower jobperformance, higher absenteeism and accident rates, and less ability tosolve
problems and adapt to changes. But Capelli said research has foundolder workers outpace younger ones in
nearly every metric. And in jobswhere age might be a detriment — say, a highly physical job beyond
aparticular older person’s ability — seniors tend to exclude themselvesfrom applying in the first
place."The evidence is overwhelmingthat they’re better," Cappelli said. "But the hiring
managers are justgoing with their guts, and our guts are full of prejudice."PaulLugo, 69, of Kendall
Lakes, Fla., has felt that prejudice. After decadesof work in business development and customer service at
variouscompanies, Lugo found himself unemployed about two years ago. He needsthe money, but no one wants to
hire him."I’ve been to every mall,I’ve gone to the TSA, I’ve gone through thousands of
applications," hesaid, "but I get the same thing: ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.’"Lugorelies
on occasional jobs as an extra in movies and television shows tosupplement his Social Security check. He has
even offered on jobinterviews to work for free for a week to prove he’s worth hiring, butno one has taken
him up on it."With my experience, I’ve learnedso much," he said. "As a senior citizen, I have
a lot to contribute to acompany if they allow me, but they never give me a chance."Butolder workers are
just what Michelle Benjamin, CEO of TalentREADY, a NewYork-based consulting firm, is looking for. She holds
open housesspecifically aimed at recruiting them. About three-quarters of thecompany’s senior employees are
over 50. They often cost more to hire,Benjamin said, but they don’t require much training or supervision,
andend up paying for themselves with the quality of work."Clients are paying us to get to the bottom
line really quickly," she said.Mintzadmits his own age, 82, fuels his support of older workers. But
heechoes Capelli, saying he sees daily proof among the older individualshe has hired at Cranford, N.J.-based
Tofutti: Fewer absences, fewermistakes, a greater ability to solve problems and a willingness to putin more
hours.Though workers in highly physical warehouse jobs athis company skew younger, and older employees are
not as adept intechnology driven roles, Mintz says overall their experience pays off."They’re loaded
with knowledge," he said. "They can teach the young whippersnappers."___MattSedensky, an AP
reporter on leave, is studying aging and workforceissues as part of a one-year fellowship at the AP-NORC
Center for PublicAffairs Research, which joins NORC’s independent research and APjournalism. The fellowship
is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundationand supported by APME, an association of AP member newspapers
andbroadcast stations.___Follow Matt Sedensky on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sedensky.Copyright 2013 The
Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
orredistributed.