IT Job Interview

1. Age Discrimination
2. Strategies in Workplace
3. Strategies in Job Hunting
4. Best Workplace for Aging IT Pros

1. Age Discrimination

For mid-aged and 50+ IT professionals, I have bad news and good news for you. Let’s check out the bad news first:

Bad News

• (1) Age discrimination does exist in IT industry.
• (2) IT industry workforce is very young. You’ve seen fresh college graduates play all sort of hot skills and compete with you. When you get older, you’ll see more young kids around you in workplace.
• (3) IT industry is a changing world. IT experiences are built by continuing learning, but not by time. So your time with the industry does not add much value if you stop learning.

OK, that’s enough. So what’s the good news?

Good News

• (1) Everyone is getting older, you are not alone.
• (2) You can underplay your age in many ways.

Why you are discriminated

Before we jump onto strategies, we need to find out why IT professional may be discriminated by age. If you were a 50+ IT guy, your boss and coworker might think you:

• (1) Less productive.
• (2) Over paid.
• (3) Lack of new skills.
• (4) Not fit in.
• (5) Higher cost.
• (6) Health problems.
• (7) Less energetic
• (8) …

Whether or not they are true, they are the reasons of age discrimination. One thing for sure, age discrimination is illegal and morally wrong. If you are discriminated, you can always grip the legal weapon to fight. That’s of course beyond our topic here. In the following sections, let discuss some of the easy-apply strategies to avoid age issues in workplace and in job hunting.

2. Strategies in Workplace

By doing the following, you can greatly down play your age in work.

• Talk about new technologies – Don’t talk too much on mainframes and JCLs, instead, speak Java, .NET, and XML web services.
• Keep yourself look young – dye hair, have new hair style, dress good, you’ll look younger, feel younger, and behave younger.
• Make friends with young co-workers. Learn their lifestyle and find common language with them.
• Retain your physical energy level. Do exercise regularly. A can of Red Bull Energy Drink could be helpful too.
• Learn new skills, catch up the pace. Remember, never too old to learn.

3. Strategies in Job Hunting

During job hunting, there are many effective ways you can down play your age:

Resume strategies

• Include only the most recent experience up to 10 years. If your way back experience has specific value, i.e., industry sector knowledge, we can present it in the summary section.
• Don’t show year and date of graduation in the Education section. Only list the name of college and the degree obtained. Include recent trainings and certifications in the Education section.
• Don’t over emphasize old skills such as mainframe, COBL, JCL, etc. no mater how you are proud of them. Present your skills with focus on new technologies – put a bunch of hot stuff related to your field, such as J2EE, .NET, XML, Web Services, VOIP, Wireless, or whatever.

Interview strategies

• Make yourself appear younger. A lot of cosmetic stuff available can help you achieve this goal fairly easy. Dye your hair if necessary. If you wear glasses, choose a fashion glass frame.
• Be energetic. There are several ways to upscale your energy level: have a sound greeting, make a firm hand shack, speak on a little bit faster pace, and listen with interest and quick response.
• Present up-to-date knowledge and skills. Talk about your recent experience; don’t refer your work back to 15 years ago.

4. Best Workplace for Aging IT Pros

If you are a mid-aged IT professional, you should consider finding a workplace that fit your lifestyle and secure your job for the rest of years till retirement. The truth is you become less competitive when you get older, so job security becomes more important than career growth.

I found that the best places for aging IT pros are, with no surprise:

• Federal agencies.
• State governments.
• Local governments.
• Traditional corporations.

I see a lot of old, happy faces there. They always told me how relax they are and they won’t worry about lay-off in bad economy. That sounds great.