Thanks Mom and Dad!
I was fortunate to grow up with parents who taught me to be polite and respectful. Those qualities have been extremely beneficial in my life and career. In fact my father used to say to me:
“You know, son, if you weren’t respectful I would still love you, but I would miss you.”
He had many, many sayings like this that always made his point very clear. There was one particular saying that he began using on me when I was a teenager. This particular quip always stopped me dead in my tracks. I had no argument. It went something like this:
Dad: “Are you smarter today than when you were 10 years ago?”
Me: “Yes Dad”
Dad: “Are you smarter today than you were 5 years ago?”
Me: “Yes Dad”
Dad: “Well imagine how smart you are going to be when you are MY age!”
Whenever my brother or I would disagree with our father’s decision, he would say this, and we could do nothing but agree with him. You know what? He was right all along. Now that I am 30 years old, I look back and think about how much I have learned since my teenage years.
What Did I Learn
I’m much wiser, I’m a better listener, I’m a harder worker, I’m more punctual, I’m more focused, and I make better decisions. Well guess what, in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and further, I plan on being even better.
OK, so where am I going with this?
Older = More Experienced
Older = More Loyal
Older = Wiser
With all of this information right in your face and with anti-discrimination laws in place, there are still companies who are hesitant to hire the older workforce. WHY? Why would any company make a decision to ignore what is potentially the MOST qualified pool of candidates available? I believe that in some cases, younger hiring managers are intimidated by the older workforce and tend to hire peers or people younger than them. Let me be the first to say that I would not want to work for a company with that type of poor decision making.
While it wasn’t intentional, every one of my employees is older than I am, and I couldn’t be happier about that. I have the opportunity everyday to learn from and work with experienced, wise, and dedicated people. Even though I would never base a hiring decision on age, I have found the qualities that I am looking for in my current older staff. And for that I would like to thank you, Mom and Dad, for teaching me the lessons that are so valuable to me now.
Giving Thanks to Mom and Dad
Thank you for teaching me that with age comes wisdom.
Thank you for teaching me to be polite and respect my elders.
And above all, thank you for giving me the tools to teach the same to the next generation.
This article was written by Joe Fagan, the General Sales Manager of the Boston / Providence Employment Guide. To contact Joe regarding this article or for general questions, please send him an email at joe.fagan@employmentguide.com.