It’s a well known anecdotal “truth” that companies, especially silicon valley and high tech, tend to eschew or avoid older workers. Recently there have even been allegations, and lawsuits alleging age-bias in redundancies, layoffs, and downsizing.
In a report from the Urban Institute, it appears that the problem most likely worse than believed:
“we find that about one-half of full-time, full-year workers ages 51 to 54 experience an employer-related involuntary job separation after age 50 that substantially reduces earnings for years or leads to long-term unemployment”
Link to Source, Full Report
The idea that older workers are somehow “less technical” is silly, many of the people that innovated or created the technologies that the internet, and society run on are over 50.
Are you guilty of interviewing an older candidate and passing on them for a younger one? Have you ever really considered your motives? Only by honestly examining and being aware of our own biases can we be sure we are choosing the right candidate.
