The US economy has been on a slow train to recovery, but tech layoffs are still happening. Men still outnumber #womenintech, but the gap is narrowing. There are now four generations actively in the workplace. And in tech—a sector notoriously always looking for the next hot, new thing—some people whose days as fresh-faced coders are long gone say that having decades of experience can feel like a disadvantage.

#Ageism, a long, open secret in the tech industry, affects a 58-year-old programmer. He recently ran into explicit ageism on his job hunt. A recruiter told him that he wouldn’t be appealing to employers and opined that he should be chief technology officer at this point in his career, not a software developer, the programmer tells the recruiter.

After his LinkedIn post about that encounter went viral, he created a LinkedIn group for people to discuss ageism in tech. He says he has often thought his age might play a role in job hunting, but “this was the first time I’ve ever had anybody say it directly.”

Source: WIRED

For decades, techies could jump from job to job, but with the rise of AI in reading resumes, and the economy has become more tech-centric means that many more senior workers—which in tech can sometimes be considered to mean over 35 but includes people in their late forties, fifties, or sixties—may have less experience with job hunting. Recruiters and Employers want to see more involvement on LinkedIN conversations, networking groups, and brand awareness. In other words, being able to fliudly adapt to the changing landscape of job hunting.

Your first job is often because you know someone in the industry. That’s how I got started. My buddy was in the tech department at the mortgage company where we worked, and when he left for a IT Consultant position, he told me to get my resume together and he’d get me hired at his new place. That was the start of my long, illustrious career in tech … and yes, I’m from the 1900s.

Tech can be taught. You can acquire all the certifications and degrees you can, but if you are not able to deal with different personalities, prioritize needs vs. wants, and keep those wannabe office employees who think they can figure it out to save the company a buck, then you;re not going to last in tech … no matter your age.

#ageism #techworkforce #techindustry