I have been assigned at the Google Seattle and Kirkland office via Manpower Incorporated for one year this month! I love the place and really like the people, however young/old they are. I see mostly millennial generation employees. Yes, they are different…but in a good way.
I anxiously awaited the movie “the Internship” with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. I was so tired the Friday it came out, I thought I might fall asleep during the movie. Nope, I did not and loved it! I truly had a good time watching what the Hollywood producers did with the material!
Because I am an older adult, I had a lot to relate to in the movie. I have read some of the reviews and know that it did not do well in the box office. However, there were a couple of messages in the movie that caught my attention. First, as an older adult, I know how hard it is to get a job, much less a job in a highly technical company. A local company where I live has failed to hire me, even though I have tried for almost twenty years. I know I have the skills. Nevertheless, it has not happened for me. The bottom line is there are a lot of myths out there about older workers.
Secondly, there was a learning process taking place in the movie. Wilson and Vaughn, through their interactions with the young techies, held onto a vision they had to get the internship no matter what. They really wanted to learn the technology and they wanted to work for Google. I can relate to that. However, it soon became clear that there were attitudes that needed to be changed when you throw a couple of older people in with young, bright, technically adapted digital learners. They proved that older people who actually helped invent computers like we have today, can learn the technology and adapt to the culture.
I have always had computers, since they first came out. However, I never really learned the new programs and technology, so I went to the local college to get an online teaching certification. Nope, never got a job teaching and stop trying. I became so discouraged, I decided to stop and think about if I needed more training or not. I have decided all I need is a chance and experience. I am still not certain if that will ever happen. Unlike me, Wilson and Vaughn hung onto their dream and refused to let defeat get to them! A great lesson to learn and a great lesson to teach.
I want to admit that I have never really felt out of place at Google. Most of the young men/women I have met there speak to me as an equal. I do not feel by their deportment, they are talking with an old woman, who is out of touch and out of date. I have been treated with nothing but respect, even when I had some complaints…which were resolved immediately!! Both of my supervisors and/or managers are younger women and I deeply respect them for their efforts to meet my needs as an employee. I applaud Google for doing this for their employees as well. That being said, do I have the skills they need to hire me direct…that depends? Would they hire someone my age, I have no idea. Did they hire Wilson and Vaughn? We will never know, because the story doesn’t take us there.
If you haven’t seen this movie, it is a good one. I would rate it a B+. I think they could have worked toward getting a more developed story out of the script. However, they were dealing with a very complicated issue today…hiring older workers and then helping them fit into the teams they are part of, rather then hiring people human resources thinks will fit in. Actually, there are a lot of myths that need to be dispelled. So if you have the time, go see the movie or buy it when it comes out. I had a great time watching the peccadilloes they encountered real or not! I think you will too. Finally, remember Hollywood loves to exaggerate reality.
JOYSTECHTOOL 