A 60-year-old former CEO who reckons he's missed out on around 50 jobs due to his age has filmed himself doing press-ups in a suit to show he's not an 'old wrinkly' - and has been inundated with responses.
Paul Marks has an impressive CV with 40 years' experience in retail and impressive roles including chief operations officer, managing partner and operations director.
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But since losing his job in lockdown, he says that he's applied for 50 roles and has had no luck - something that he puts down to prospective employers binning his CV due to his age.
So, in a slightly bizarre attempt to show that he's not past it, he has filmed himself doing six press-up before urging recruiters to 'look past' his age and give him a shot.
The clip, which was uploaded to LinkedIn, has picked up more than 700,000 views. It seems his unusual plan paid off because he's also had around 100 recruiters and employers get in touch.
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Paul has been taking part in a challenge to complete 60 press-ups and run 6km by his 60th birthday, which was yesterday.
Paul, who lives in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancs, but was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, said: "I thought, 'What if I combine the press-ups with a call to action?'
"I didn't think I should do it in my gym gear because it doesn't look very professional, so I thought maybe I'd wear my suit, take my jacket off, then that would be underneath.
"But my wife said, 'Who do you think you are, Superman?' So then I wondered if I could do the press-ups in my suit. It was a bit tight after I put on some Covid weight, but I managed it.
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"Because I'd been doing the press-ups as part of the challenge, I was confident about physically doing them but I was nervous because I thought people might think I was a bit of a twit.
"The message was 'I'm not an old wrinkly' and 'I'm not dead yet', because when it comes to recruiting you might as well be dead. I can't get in front of a recruiter.
"The idea of the video wasn't even to ask for a job, it was just for someone to read my CV. These computers can jump past a 59-year-old, so I thought this would help."
Paul says applicants are treated like a 'jar on a shelf' with a sell-by-date, but that he's been humbled by the response to his video.
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He added: "I've had around 100 people contacting me about roles and then loads of support messages saying, 'I'm in the same boat as you,' and that's given me a lot of encouragement.
"Even if nothing comes of it and I don't get a job, it's been one of the most uplifting experiences and I've got a lump in my throat when I think about it.
"I'd encourage recruiters to forget about age. If you interview me and you see the number 60, write it down on a post-it note, rip it up and put it in the bin.
"It's got nothing to do with who I am or how much energy I've got. It's totally irrelevant."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media