Help! I’m ‘Older’ and on the Job Hunt.

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They Didn’t Want Me, but Took My Concept

I’m irritated and angry on your behalf. And I’m also wholly unsurprised.

This sort of thing happens all the time, which is why, in my experience, it’s best not to give free information or advice to a potential employer before you’re asked to do so. In a cover letter, informational interview or even more formal sit-down, I’d recommend that you talk up your accomplishments and outline the ways in which you could best serve the company — why you’d be an asset, and what you’ve learned over the course of your career — and leave the advice giving for later on, ideally in written memo form. And even then, you can be vague, gesturing at the fact that you might have even more specifics to share as the interview process goes forward.

I’m not suggesting that you play coy; just keep some of your cards close to the vest. You’ve worked hard enough, and long enough, that you don’t need to be giving information away for free. And if I sound like I’m scolding, or telling you that you did the “wrong” thing, let me just say this: I’m not. I just want you to keep your competitive edge, especially in an industry that values younger people over older, and sometimes that means saying less than more.

Revenge Is So Tempting

Question for you: What do you mean when you say “preserve your reputation”? Do you feel as if your colleague promoting your work as her own somehow damages your own standing in your professional community? That by not being properly credited, your work is not only overlooked but injured? That your work is, or will be, discounted by your former employer?

Listen, I’m not trying to downplay what your colleague has done — or is doing. It’s crappy, and it’s dishonest, and it demonstrates a lack of moral and professional integrity. But I’m not hearing, at least in your brief recounting of the situation, any reason for you to worry about your reputation. But I’ll admit I don’t have all the facts. What, for example, does it mean that your colleague “promoted” your work as her own? Did she do this within the company, i.e., to superiors? Did she do it to outside clients and partners? Both? Do you feel that you were not given credit for your hard work in the first place?