Too Old? Over Qualified? Too Loyal? Are you kidding me?!
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You have 25-30 years of experience, yet the market is leaving you out in the cold by QUIETLY telling you that the game is over – that  because you are too experienced, have worked with the same company, or for the army, for too long….“You have not seen the rest of the world”?

You have got to be kidding me!! 

Those employers who only want to hire the candidates who are 25-35 years old must remember that soon they will be 50+ themselves and should imagine someone telling them their 20-30 years of experience have no value. 

Many employers would agree that loyalty is a rare but very sought after when it comes to finding their next team member, so why are so many turning down applicants who worked for 20+ years for their previous employer, or their own company?  It seems that some are following the taboo “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. I would like to ask, have they ever been an old dog? And just a little FYI, my friend’s 10 year old dog just learned ‘triple roll over last week and I bet she can roll faster than many puppies. 

We really need to take time to evaluate and appreciate a candidate’s experience, true skills and added-values that they can bring on board, focusing on their strengths and how we can learn from them as opposed to how we can mold them into one of our own.

SMART companies are using reTrain & ReHire strategies to hire ex-employees or ex-industry professionals as a great way to combine past experiences with new trends. In many cases it is cost effective to train and hire people with industry domain and technical expertise rather than those without any experience in the field. It is also good for the moral of the existing team, and helps restore the appreciation of long term employees while supporting the community.

With a tremendous lack of experienced IT resources globally, we have seen that many companies removed the age and education barriers for their hiring. Very soon companies will be competing to hire semi-retired and retired IT professionals. That said, it is also important for those who are planning to get back to workforce to learn new skills and technologies to complement their experience.

In the past 27 years I have had the privilege of helping 4000+ professionals with their search. I met with people from all walks of life, from new graduates to the founders of leading-edge Silicon Valley technology organizations, major FinTech companies, financial institutions and army veterans who I have a lots of respect for due their knowledge, work ethic and dedication.

I say:

Let’s be fair, let’s be smart. Instead of evaluating resumes, let’s evaluate the skills and experience of the people behind the resumes. Building great organizations is about Talent, Experience and Fair practice. Bringing experience to your team will result in faster growth and a stronger team.  

Let’s put people first, not on the banners but also in the action, and make the world a better place.