As I say, in tech 53 is the new 85
I was filling out a job application for a senior architect position on LinkedIn this evening, and one of the questions I was asked was how many years I've been working in technology. I put in 33 years and it tells me it's an invalid value. Did some testing the largest number you could put it was 29 years. I seem to have three choices:
- Lie, which would invalidate my application
- Track down the company and send an email to their HR department
- Skip it and move on.
I have to admit it does wonders for one's self-confidence. I'm not saying it's age discrimination, because I believe it is incompetence, not discrimination. But it's clear to say that somebody could interpret this as a message "people over 50 need not apply". So I lied on the application, and corrected it in my cover letter.
| Seán Reiser