Covidien

This company is located right up the street from my now-former home, so my commute would have been a dream. They advertised for a designer in February 2013; I applied and heard nothing. They advertised for a designer again in July 2013; again, I applied and, again, I heard nothing. They advertised a design position again in August 2014. I applied. Nothing.

On September 4, 2014, I received an email from a recruiter at Resources Global Professionals: “We are working with a client who has a need for graphic designers for a year-long project in Mansfield, MA, that I thought might be a fit for you.” I immediately suspected the company was probably Covidien. I emailed back that I’d love to chat, but “please be aware that at 46 I am well beyond the desired age that companies require when hiring a designer. You may want to confirm with your client first whether they'd consider someone my age before investing any time in learning about my background.” We spoke very briefly on the phone. She confirmed the client was Covidien. I explained how I had applied there numerous times, most recently last month, and they won’t give me the time of day. This girl really didn’t know what to say to me and ended the call with the canned “I’ll keep you in mind should similar opportunities are” line. 

On October 13, I received an email from a recruiter from the same recruitment agency. “We are currently looking for Graphic Designers as well as Artwork Planners/Coordinators for a large medical device client in Mansfield, MA for a 6-9 month project (or longer).”

So, there are multiple job openings, huh? And they’re still struggling to fill them? And I am still not qualified for even an interview (but I’m qualified to receive emails from recruiters telling me I’m a “good fit”)?

I emailed her back, “Thank you for your email, but unfortunately I know that this client (Covidien) will not consider anyone over the age of 45 for these positions, as I have applied multiple times (as recently as August) and have not even been worthy of a telephone interview.”

One would expect a normal human being in a similar position to get outraged at my accusation and do everything in his/her power to either defend their client against such accusations, or prove me wrong by landing me an interview with said client. Either direction would involve a little “work” from the recruiter.

Instead, here was her response: “Really?? We haven’t had that issue with them. I’m so sorry to hear that.”

And that was that. (Yeah, I’m sorry, too.)