Master Graphic Designer Vyacheslav Biletsky shared an unpleasant conversation with an employer who reacted strangely to his answer about his age. The designer talks about ageism: everyone wants a young employee with experience, but no one wants to work with an experienced "pensioner."
Master Graphic Designer Vyacheslav Biletsky shared an unpleasant conversation with an employer who reacted strangely to his answer about his age. The designer talks about ageism: everyone wants a young employee with experience, but no one wants to work with an experienced "pensioner."
As Vyacheslav said on LinkedIn, an employer called him with a job offer. When he heard that the designer had worked at the same company for 14 years, he immediately asked about his age.
— How long have you worked at company x?
— Fourteen years.
— WOW!!! How old are you?
— Forty-seven.
— WOW!!!
After this phrase, the employer hung up the phone without saying goodbye.
"I guess the world isn't used to 47-year-old graphic designers yet. Okay, I'll go work in a warehouse so no one sees me and doesn't ruin your idealistic view of the world. Thank you for not asking about my weight, orientation, and religious beliefs," Vyacheslav added.
Manual Quality Assurance Specialist Yulia Veretelnik-Rekhletska joked: "They haven't asked you about children and pregnancy plans yet."
Unity Developer Volodymyr Drakh wrote in the comments to this post that it is already difficult to find a job at 40: "Although you know that you can move mountains with your vast experience. You constantly develop, learn to keep up, and it is still difficult to find a job. It feels like age is an obstacle."
But it seems that even 40 is not the limit. Customer Success Manager Oleksandr Nedilko: “I was told that at 30. I don’t know where that threshold is, so you shouldn’t pay attention to such “strange” people.”
Recruiter Sofia Schleyer said that she also experiences ageism, but on the contrary - because of her young age: "Ageism is a really sad story, I have a different perspective, even yesterday on Zoom it was: "did you know that you are the youngest in our team?", but it's already frankly triggering. Because each person is an individual with their own personal experience. I started working at 17 and it's not my fault that I started my career earlier than many. At first I thought it was an additional plus, as if I was young and ambitious, but no... A stupid young lady (with a completed higher education, two additional trainings in various psychotherapeutic approaches, advanced training, achievements, 5+ years of work experience). Well... young, inexperienced, what can I say. Thank you for writing this post, destigmatization is definitely needed!".
" I sincerely hope that all ageists (those who reject candidates because of their age) will not be hired anywhere after 35. This will be world justice," commented Full-stack Software Engineer Maksym Mohyla.
Front End Developer Natalia Ponomarenko offered her own version of how to behave when asked about age: “If I encounter an employer or their representative who is interested in my age, I will not answer this question. I will do as a Jew would — I will ask in response: what will my answer affect and what consequences will it have for them and me in their team. By the answer, you can judge what is on their mind. But it is not necessary to answer at all. If it worries them so much, then you are not on the right track with this company.”
