Today, although companies are trying to portray themselves as a politically correct Equal Employment Opportunity Company, it seems discrimination is still very evident when looking for a job. It seems that everyone at some point feels they have been discriminated against for one reason or another. They are either too old, too young, the wrong sex or the wrong race, overweight, not enough experience, not enough education, too much education or even not from the “right” University. 

In some cases is not true discrimination at all, but a lack of skills and experience on the part of the candidate with the term discrimination used as an excuse for not getting the job. A candidate has to be honest with himself and objective about his qualifications if he wants to find a job that fits his strengths and provides him with fulfillment.  

With that being said, there is still a great deal of discrimination within the hiring practices of many companies. Here are five ways to help you prepare for such discrimination and how to work through it to find the job you want and deserve. 

1.  Prepare Yourself – Make certain your resume reflects the accomplishments, experience, skills, and education that are specifically being asked for. Use examples that include percentage or dollar amounts of savings, revenues, or expansion you were responsible for in your resume to demonstrate why they need you.

Update your resume so that it only goes back 10-15 years, employers aren’t interested in your entire history, they just want to know what you are doing now and what you can currently offer them. Dates should be kept in the resume; it is more of a red flag to leave them off. Also, don’t include high school information, if you are trying to appear younger or older this will be a true giveaway. 

Some who have worked at one position or company a long time look like they’ve don’t like change or to work at a fast pace. One suggestion would be to take a few certification courses in your field to show you are interested in ongoing education and keeping current with the technology and position expectations. 

2.  Do Some Research - Check out the companies you are interested in working for. Look at the overall demographics of the company; is there a trend or overwhelming number of younger workers, men, professionals with at least one Masters Degree, or some kind of noticeable trend? If you have reason for a discrimination concern, investigate the discrimination policies and any past law suits to find out how the companies have handled discrimination in the past. Most importantly find ways to meet people who actually work there. Ask around, rumors of discrimination are usually easy to find.

3.  Put Your Resume in the Right Hands – The HR department of any large company is usually the first place your resume will land. The job of the HR department is to review and screen all incoming resumes. To ensure your resume gets in the hands of the actual hiring manager you need to locate and sell your “fit” to others already within the company and let them put in a good word to reduce any discrimination that might be raised by just looking at your resume. 

This might take a little time and research but it is worth it to get your resume where it needs to be. No one knows better then the actual hiring manager what qualifications are needed for the position and so that is where you want to focus your efforts. 

4.  Dazzle Them During the Interview – If your resume made it past all of the screeners and you have secured an interview, it is time to show them what you are made of.  While in the interview talk in terms of accomplishments and achievements and how those skills and dynamics can be utilized at this new position. Be energetic and passionate about your past experience and your intent on helping a new company strive toward their goals. Now is your time to shine, be charismatic, personable and help them to realize your value.

Avoid sabotaging your chances by drawing repeated attention to your discriminating aspects.  Don’t explain past achievements by saying you were the only women, or only person under 30, for example, to accomplish a certain goal. Keep the focus on how you can benefit their company and they will see your value. 

5.  Know When to Walk – When you are prepared, qualified and still have hit nothing but set backs by what you feel is discrimination, you have to ask yourself if this is the type of company or manager that you want to work for? Sometimes the best thing to do is walk – no run to the next opportunity. You want to be able to spread your wings and fly and if you are feeling pressure before accepting the job, you’ll never be free to give everything you have to offer.

Discrimination unfortunately is a fact that many job seekers must deal with every day. Take what you have learned in the past and use it to try something new to get more positive results.