Too Old At 38
Letter to The Editor Gold-Coast Mail 11/11/1999

Editor,
Given the unemployment increases over the past two months, I thought it appropriate to voice the following for publication.

At only 38 years of age, male and a qualified professional in Production/Planning/Inventory management and with over 20 years of constant employment, I would assume that I have a great deal to offer a wide range of employers, however it seems this is not the case.

In fact some of us accept that in order to actually meet a prospective employer, we first of all need to get beyond the employment agent by way of lying about age, downplay big qualifications and somehow condense a wealth of experience into 10 words or less.

Have you ever been left with the gut feeling that you were considered as being too old, over qualified, or not open to change or even worse, considered that the agent may not be experienced to determine your suitability for a position beyond their own scope?

Do you think that these agents are motivated by reducing unemployment figures and supporting commerce/industry for the benefit of the wider community?

Or is possibly about increasing their own turnover by way of focussing on predominantly high demand sectors?

Business is business after all.

One has to ask "Where do we draw the line between quantity versus quality", and "What are the agents' qualifications?"

Mike Davis, Currumbin Waters