Are Millennials the Victims of Age Discrimination, Or Guilty of it?

Will millennials find themselves in the same position as baby noomers in a few years?  Kerry Hannon, writing in Forbes, explains the problems boomers have and do face. While she doesn't blame younger people for shunning older worker, what she does have to say should be understood by those newly to the world of jobs and business.

Hannon comments that "Despite a demographic shift that is making the nation’s workforce older, a national survey commissioned by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) found that Baby Boomers and their Gen X and Millennial counterparts value each other in the workplace to a surprisingly high degree."

Hannon goes on to give a list of things people should do to help increase their opportunities while looking for jobs.

1. Make sure you are up to snuff. Know what you know and learn all you can about your prospective job.

2. Remember you will be judged by your appearance.

3. Expect to be asked about your age.

Hannon goes on to list a total of ten pointers for boomers or seniors to use when on a job search. What she doesn't say is that those pointers should apply to even millennials. Millenials will be in the same place as the boomers sometime in the future. This means millennials should be aware of job discrimination and be prepared to combat it, and they will have to do that in both directions. Millennials need to be aware they may be discriminators instead of victims, and understand that older people are not here to replace them. Older people brought them here.

Lorie Eber on the Huffington Post is campaigning for Boomers to give up their discount perks, pointing out that younger folks in greater numbers are resenting special discounts for the elderly. She writes, "Reputable economists are predicting that the boomers will bankrupt Social Security and Medicare, leaving our kids and grand kids to fend for themselves. The millennials are none too pleased by this prospect, and some have even taken to calling us parasites and leeches."

From what these two ladies have reported, there may be a growing divide between millennials and their forebears. It appears we all need to recognize this strain between age groups. It behooves us all to make sure that age discrimination does not happen.  This will be especially difficult for millennials because they are and will be a minority throughout their lives. The older ones extend for years before them and the newborn will keep coming. We all need to live together.