Carole writes:
I have read where it is illegal to ask the year you graduated from high school or college. How do I get around the request for an “official copy” of my recent transcript from said college for my master’s that refuses to remove the date of graduation from my bachelor of science degree (1973)? Said college told me that would be tampering with the transcript!!
The Career Doctor responds:
Asking your age is illegal. Asking when you graduated from high school or college is a legal way of trying to determine age, though I am not aware of many employers who ask this question.
I am also puzzled — unless you are applying for some sort of academic position — why an employer would request a transcript.
Age discrimination is certainly an issue in job-seeking, and that’s why I also suggest to older job-seekers that you should limit the number of years of job experience on a resume to no more than 12-15 and that you should remove all dates from your educational record.
I suggest contacting the registrar of your master’s degree university and requesting the removal based on age discrimination issues. If that fails, I would move up the ladder of the institution — perhaps the dean of your college — and keep requesting the removal of the date. There is no excuse for their potentially aiding age discrimination.
For more advice for older job-seekers, including more resume advice and interviewing advice, go to this section of Quintessential Careers: Job and Career Resources for Mature and Older Job-Seekers — Including the Baby Boomers.
