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"alleged ageism" How long have you been in your job? How many times have you changed since you hit 40? Do you look your age, or younger? Personally, as someon

"alleged ageism" How long have you been in your job? How many times have you changed since you hit 40? Do you look your age, or younger? Personally, as someone well over 40, I've found it not worth my while to even apply to a company whose leadership is in their 20s. I've very rarely gotten a job offer from such a team. On the other hand, I've had pretty good success getting offers from companies with older leadership. Not sure what you'd call it, but whatever it is, most of the devs I know who are my age have had a similar experience. (and it's not new technology or a rusty mindset: I'm familiar with far more new technology than the average 25-year-old software developer. I'm constantly adopting new approaches and paradigms.). That said, as advice to anyone in my position, it's probably a bad idea to bring up specific instances of alleged ageism in a job interview. Try to avoid any negativity in job interviews.

runjake 6y ago
> How long have you been in your job? A long time: decades at my same org. > How many times have you changed since you hit 40? Zero. > Do you look your age, or younger? I look my age, but I am fit and normal weight. Totally good points you made. I guess I still preach that people our age fight their own internal "ageism": - Try your best to maintain a curious, learning mind. - Try to keep an open mind that the way you've been doing things for decades may not still be the right way. There may be a new right way and it might take a little time for you to grasp why. That's all ok. - Provide great mentorship: Let the younger people make their own mistakes and stumble into their own findings. But be there for them when they want to bounce things off of you or talk about their experiences.
- jnbiche 6y ago
  With due respect, if you're in your late 40s and have been in the same job for "decades", then you don't have any personal experience with the hiring ageism common in our industry. And I totally agree with and live by the 3 points you made (except the 3rd, in some circumstances). But that's the problem with ageism. If you look like you're over 40, then it doesn't matter if you follow that advice or not, younger companies will often still hold your age against you.

runjake 6y ago

> How long have you been in your job? A long time: decades at my same org. > How many times have you changed since you hit 40? Zero. > Do you look your age, or younger? I look my age, but I am fit and normal weight. Totally good points you made. I guess I still preach that people our age fight their own internal "ageism": - Try your best to maintain a curious, learning mind. - Try to keep an open mind that the way you've been doing things for decades may not still be the right way. There may be a new right way and it might take a little time for you to grasp why. That's all ok. - Provide great mentorship: Let the younger people make their own mistakes and stumble into their own findings. But be there for them when they want to bounce things off of you or talk about their experiences.

jnbiche 6y ago
With due respect, if you're in your late 40s and have been in the same job for "decades", then you don't have any personal experience with the hiring ageism common in our industry. And I totally agree with and live by the 3 points you made (except the 3rd, in some circumstances). But that's the problem with ageism. If you look like you're over 40, then it doesn't matter if you follow that advice or not, younger companies will often still hold your age against you.