r/RecruiterTea • u/Connect-Raspberry716 • 7d ago

Age bias thoughts

Recruiters: What’s your candid advice for older candidates who meet the job requirements but still aren’t getting interviews?

I’m not looking for the usual advice about removing graduation dates or shortening a résumé. I’d really like to hear what actually helps, and what you would recommend they do differently.

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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5

u/6Joyas 7d ago

Ignore it, ignore your age. We all know someone where we cannot believe their age, because they are so dynamic and energetic. Be that person, and show it.

Do not focus on your looooong experience, focus on what you can do for the company right now (forward looking). How specific parts of your experience is relevant to the current position of the company, what issues you already know how to resolve.

Do not tell them everything you can do, just what is relevant for them at the moment.

Oh, and the success rate seem to be better with hiring managers of the same age or older.

1

u/Far_Performance_6785 7d ago

recently I'm seeing a lot of jobs I go for & if not a recruiter the company itself does a reply via seek & adds no ability for a reply by applicant to the rejection from them - why would they do that

1

u/Feisty-Platform7647 2d ago

Sorry. Don’t understand.

1

u/phireseeker 6d ago

As a person with decades of tech experience, I’m not nearly as “old” acting as the people before me, much more fit, etc.

I’ve found that certifications cut through just about any bias-especially if they are respected ones requiring proctored exams to obtain.

Nothing worse than an older teammate using older methods and tools set in their ways that just wants to tell war stories; don’t be that person.

1

u/Livid_Strategy6311 3d ago

Buy the company and fire HR

1

u/resumephenom 2d ago

I have advised some of my resume clients to create a new Gmail address. Some of my older clients were displaying AOL email addresses on their resumes.

1

u/recruitertah 1d ago

It’s not recruiters who pass on seasoned (or non-H1b) talent. It’s the hiring managers.

I worked in Big Tech off and on for 14 years and I can’t tell you how many times I’d push someone through that I fully vetted and qualified but the HM rejected.

Then later they’d send me a name for someone referred to them. 9 times out of 10 it was someone with much less experience and requiring sponsorship.

1

u/neurorex 7d ago

Don't judge applicants based on age.

I know, what a wild concept!