13 ms·

I was applying to a job with a large game studio. The interview was going pretty well, I'd thought. We talked a bit about how we'd implement certain gameplay el

by fiblye 7y ago

I was applying to a job with a large game studio. The interview was going pretty well, I'd thought. We talked a bit about how we'd implement certain gameplay elements, the content of the projects we've worked on, and overall it just seemed good and we all seemed to get along pretty well. Then they asked me how old I was. Their response to my age was, "Oh... maybe it's a little late then. You're not too old, but... kind of cutting it close by just a bit." I was 26.

justanother 7y ago
In the United States, literally nobody should be asking your age during a job interview.
- robin_reala 7y ago
  In the UK (and I suspect all of the EU?) it’s specifically illegal to discriminate on age (https://www.gov.uk/employer-preventing-discrimination https://www.gov.uk/employer-preventing-discrimination), and when I was last interviewing there HR would remove any birthdates that came in on CVs before passing them over to the interviewers.
  - the-dude 7y ago
    Are the interviewers blindfolded too?
    - alistairSH 7y ago
      NO, but at least the older candidate can get their proverbial foot in the door before being screened out. Of course, the CV/resume is likely long enough to infer age within a decade or so. It's a hard problem to solve.
  - klingonopera 7y ago
    In Germany, it's customary to include a picture of yourself in your CV. ...I think you can figure out your chances, if you don't include one. EDIT: I'm saying this to show how the German (who are European) employers will try to circumvent such age discriminating laws. You get it taught in school, in vocational training, at jobless centers, self-help books and the Internet, that the picture must be of "high-quality", in a sense already arguing past the necessity of why they'd even require one in the first place. I personally do not agree with this practice, though it seems, that more and more employees are becoming aware of this and employers are starting to respect that too.
    - tjungblut 7y ago
      For that exact reason I'm rejecting everybody that puts a picture on a CV in Germany.
      - markdown 7y ago
        Well that's just silly. If it's the norm, why penalise people who're just doing it the way they think everyone else will. Better to specify in your job ad that you won't accept CV's with pics.
        klingonopera 7y ago
        ...I guess he's looking for people out-of-the-norm and willing/able to stand up to their convictions? I wouldn't put a picture, but when I had to write some CVs here, I caved in and put a photo. I used to think it was a fault of mine to be so far off the norm, and I tried really hard to fit in. It just didn't work out for me. Today, I think I know that this is what can make me valuable. EDIT: ...but it is kind of a play of statistics vs. faith, and I think that one shouldn't fault someone, if they can't pull the faith together for it. A comment on my parent comment tells about someone applying in the US with a comical picture. That person was able to afford applying in such a way, but when you really need a job, because money or family, would you really take that risk/leap of faith? EDIT2: ...or that could also be signalling, that someone is high-risk taker, which could also be an attribute an employer is looking for.
      - carstenhag 7y ago
        So... You throw 90% of CVs away because... you do?
    - gbacon 7y ago
      Why is this comment being downvoted? Is it factually incorrect?
      - klingonopera 7y ago
        I wish it were. Google "lebenslauf muster" in image search to see it in full effect. > There are a few must-have personal details every Lebenslauf should include which you might not have on your original CV: a photo, your marital status and place of birth. https://www.thelocal.de/20130131/47649 https://www.thelocal.de/20130131/47649
  - mcv 7y ago
    It's illegal, but also hard to prove. Even without birth dates, you can make a reasonable estimate based on work experience and graduation date. And when the candidate turns out to be a bit grayer than you expected, that can, even subconsciously, affect your decision.
- fiblye 7y ago
  I don't live in the US and age discrimination here certainly isn't uncommon. I didn't expect it to be so obvious, though.
- lacampbell 7y ago
  That's the law in a lot of countries, including here, but I've been asked it anyway. What are you going to do about it, beyond secretly recording your interviews then suing?
  - thecardcheat 7y ago
    For the sake of your time and your sanity you should do neither of those things. You should file a complaint with the appropriate state labor body, particularly in a US state like CA where the agencies are well funded. The chance of it benefiting you is virtually nil, but the chance of it causing pain for the employer - hopefully forcing them to change their ways - is non-zero. Outside the US I have no knowledge of at what level those protections may/may not be enforced (but hopefully somewhere).
- kqr2 7y ago
  They can ask what year you graduated from college which is a proxy for age.
peteradio 7y ago
I have a very hard time believing this happened. 26?
- bartwe 7y ago
  As someone in games. I believe it.
  - throwaway66920 7y ago
    How is that possible?
- shitgoose 7y ago
  they weren't looking for developer, they we looking for a slave monkey that can be trained and worked to death.
lr4444lr 7y ago
In all fairness, are you sure there was no playful sarcasm behind that?
- colejohnson66 7y ago
  Even if it is sarcasm, it’s still illegal
kungito 7y ago
Were you applying for a junior position? Not saying you were not worth hiring, just that they didn't see it. To me it sounds more like they needed an excuse not to hire you. People here are complaining about being discriminated at age 40 or 50 and I don't see a point in introducing an angle that people are discriminated for being too old at age 26.
playing_colours 7y ago
I think the rejection might actually be good for you - they certainly were looking for a young, naive, and enthusiastic person - to exploit to death their desire to work in game industry, and pay them peanuts.
- mslip 7y ago
  This sounds familiar
robmaister 7y ago
I'm 25 work at a relatively large game studio. My boss and the whole chain up (3 people) are all in their late 40s or older. I've learned so much from them as well as the senior engineers that I sit next to. After my experience here, a low average age for an engineering team is a red flag. You're better off for not having been offered or taking that job.
sanderjd 7y ago
Sounds like an easy lawsuit if they directly asked about your age and then implied it was relevant to their hiring decision.
- T-hawk 7y ago
  Not in the US. The Age Discrimination In Employment Act specifically only prohibits age discrimination against workers who are 40 or older. Discriminating against someone not over 40 is perfectly legal. More generally, discrimination in employment is legal by default. It becomes illegal only when a specific law gives protection for a specific characteristic. The laws are much narrower than many people think. For example, there are no laws disallowing discrimination for or against smokers, or Yankee fans, or D&D players.
Impossible 7y ago
This is blatantly illegal and if you really wanted to you could win a lawsuit against them (there are many reasons not to start legal action, but you could). I worked for a large game studio and we had a mandatory training session about protected classes because of things like this.
- username90 7y ago
  It is not illegal to discriminate against 26 year olds, the law explicitly states that you are only protected when you are 40 or older. (Assuming this is USA)
onemoresoop 7y ago
This is an example where age saved you from a bad experience. They wanted you naive and be able to shape you the way thet wanted to and pay you next to nothing.
streetcat1 7y ago
Your age was not the real reason.
- throwaway2393 7y ago
  I think it was since after changing it I got the job.
pry86 7y ago
I was working in a small startup in Germany. I think our boss was around 40. He didn't want developer older than 38 :D We were just above 30 at that time.

by fiblye 7y ago

justanother 7y ago

In the United States, literally nobody should be asking your age during a job interview.

robin_reala 7y ago
In the UK (and I suspect all of the EU?) it’s specifically illegal to discriminate on age (https://www.gov.uk/employer-preventing-discrimination https://www.gov.uk/employer-preventing-discrimination), and when I was last interviewing there HR would remove any birthdates that came in on CVs before passing them over to the interviewers.
- the-dude 7y ago
  Are the interviewers blindfolded too?
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    NO, but at least the older candidate can get their proverbial foot in the door before being screened out. Of course, the CV/resume is likely long enough to infer age within a decade or so. It's a hard problem to solve.
- klingonopera 7y ago
  In Germany, it's customary to include a picture of yourself in your CV. ...I think you can figure out your chances, if you don't include one. EDIT: I'm saying this to show how the German (who are European) employers will try to circumvent such age discriminating laws. You get it taught in school, in vocational training, at jobless centers, self-help books and the Internet, that the picture must be of "high-quality", in a sense already arguing past the necessity of why they'd even require one in the first place. I personally do not agree with this practice, though it seems, that more and more employees are becoming aware of this and employers are starting to respect that too.
  - tjungblut 7y ago
    For that exact reason I'm rejecting everybody that puts a picture on a CV in Germany.
    - markdown 7y ago
      Well that's just silly. If it's the norm, why penalise people who're just doing it the way they think everyone else will. Better to specify in your job ad that you won't accept CV's with pics.
      - klingonopera 7y ago
        ...I guess he's looking for people out-of-the-norm and willing/able to stand up to their convictions? I wouldn't put a picture, but when I had to write some CVs here, I caved in and put a photo. I used to think it was a fault of mine to be so far off the norm, and I tried really hard to fit in. It just didn't work out for me. Today, I think I know that this is what can make me valuable. EDIT: ...but it is kind of a play of statistics vs. faith, and I think that one shouldn't fault someone, if they can't pull the faith together for it. A comment on my parent comment tells about someone applying in the US with a comical picture. That person was able to afford applying in such a way, but when you really need a job, because money or family, would you really take that risk/leap of faith? EDIT2: ...or that could also be signalling, that someone is high-risk taker, which could also be an attribute an employer is looking for.
    - carstenhag 7y ago
      So... You throw 90% of CVs away because... you do?
  - gbacon 7y ago
    Why is this comment being downvoted? Is it factually incorrect?
    - klingonopera 7y ago
      I wish it were. Google "lebenslauf muster" in image search to see it in full effect. > There are a few must-have personal details every Lebenslauf should include which you might not have on your original CV: a photo, your marital status and place of birth. https://www.thelocal.de/20130131/47649 https://www.thelocal.de/20130131/47649
- mcv 7y ago
  It's illegal, but also hard to prove. Even without birth dates, you can make a reasonable estimate based on work experience and graduation date. And when the candidate turns out to be a bit grayer than you expected, that can, even subconsciously, affect your decision.
fiblye 7y ago
I don't live in the US and age discrimination here certainly isn't uncommon. I didn't expect it to be so obvious, though.
lacampbell 7y ago
That's the law in a lot of countries, including here, but I've been asked it anyway. What are you going to do about it, beyond secretly recording your interviews then suing?
- thecardcheat 7y ago
  For the sake of your time and your sanity you should do neither of those things. You should file a complaint with the appropriate state labor body, particularly in a US state like CA where the agencies are well funded. The chance of it benefiting you is virtually nil, but the chance of it causing pain for the employer - hopefully forcing them to change their ways - is non-zero. Outside the US I have no knowledge of at what level those protections may/may not be enforced (but hopefully somewhere).
kqr2 7y ago
They can ask what year you graduated from college which is a proxy for age.

peteradio 7y ago

I have a very hard time believing this happened. 26?

bartwe 7y ago
As someone in games. I believe it.
- throwaway66920 7y ago
  How is that possible?
shitgoose 7y ago
they weren't looking for developer, they we looking for a slave monkey that can be trained and worked to death.

lr4444lr 7y ago

In all fairness, are you sure there was no playful sarcasm behind that?

colejohnson66 7y ago
Even if it is sarcasm, it’s still illegal

kungito 7y ago

Were you applying for a junior position? Not saying you were not worth hiring, just that they didn't see it. To me it sounds more like they needed an excuse not to hire you. People here are complaining about being discriminated at age 40 or 50 and I don't see a point in introducing an angle that people are discriminated for being too old at age 26.

playing_colours 7y ago

I think the rejection might actually be good for you - they certainly were looking for a young, naive, and enthusiastic person - to exploit to death their desire to work in game industry, and pay them peanuts.

mslip 7y ago
This sounds familiar

robmaister 7y ago

I'm 25 work at a relatively large game studio. My boss and the whole chain up (3 people) are all in their late 40s or older. I've learned so much from them as well as the senior engineers that I sit next to. After my experience here, a low average age for an engineering team is a red flag. You're better off for not having been offered or taking that job.

sanderjd 7y ago

Sounds like an easy lawsuit if they directly asked about your age and then implied it was relevant to their hiring decision.

T-hawk 7y ago
Not in the US. The Age Discrimination In Employment Act specifically only prohibits age discrimination against workers who are 40 or older. Discriminating against someone not over 40 is perfectly legal. More generally, discrimination in employment is legal by default. It becomes illegal only when a specific law gives protection for a specific characteristic. The laws are much narrower than many people think. For example, there are no laws disallowing discrimination for or against smokers, or Yankee fans, or D&D players.

Impossible 7y ago

This is blatantly illegal and if you really wanted to you could win a lawsuit against them (there are many reasons not to start legal action, but you could). I worked for a large game studio and we had a mandatory training session about protected classes because of things like this.

username90 7y ago
It is not illegal to discriminate against 26 year olds, the law explicitly states that you are only protected when you are 40 or older. (Assuming this is USA)

onemoresoop 7y ago

This is an example where age saved you from a bad experience. They wanted you naive and be able to shape you the way thet wanted to and pay you next to nothing.

streetcat1 7y ago

Your age was not the real reason.

throwaway2393 7y ago
I think it was since after changing it I got the job.

pry86 7y ago

I was working in a small startup in Germany. I think our boss was around 40. He didn't want developer older than 38 :D We were just above 30 at that time.