As an employee looking for a job, you know that you’re not supposed to face discrimination when you apply. Businesses are supposed to give everyone an equal opportunity to show that they can do the job.
Unfortunately, some businesses will still discriminate against potential employees. This doesn’t mean that it is overt, as it may have been in the past. These discriminatory practices are illegal, so business owners may attempt to hide them. Here are some ways that they do it using specific phrases.
Recent college graduates
One of the most common examples is when a business posts an ad for a job opening that says they are looking to hire a recent college graduate. This is problematic language because most recent graduates are in their early 20s. Technically, the posting doesn’t mention age, but it can still be seen as age discrimination.
Fitting the company culture
Another potential issue could be if you don’t get a job because you don’t “fit the company culture.” That may just mean that they didn’t think you were a good fit. But what is the culture they are trying to create? What fit are they looking for? Is it based on something like age or race?
Digital natives
Finally, companies in tech spaces will sometimes say that they are looking to hire digital natives. This generally just means people who grew up in the Internet age. As with asking for recent college graduates, it can be a form of age discrimination against older workers.
If you have experienced these types of discrimination, be sure you know about your legal options.
