3 ms·

I don't personally know any sharp ICs who have trouble finding work, regardless of age, provided they keep learning. I've met many people who have struggled to

I don't personally know any sharp ICs who have trouble finding work, regardless of age, provided they keep learning. I've met many people who have struggled to find work after they stopped learning. But someone who refuses to learn at 30 is less employable than someone who still gets excited about a new framework at 60.

downerending 7y ago
I passed an all-day at Google in my 50s. No offer, though, and that job hunt lasted many months. Pleased to meet you. :-)
- slumdev 7y ago
  I live in flyover country and have worked many years for companies way less sexy than Google. The environment here is different from the Bay Area's "moving on at 26" mentality. Certain industries (especially insurance, financial services, and healthcare) prefer someone who's been around the block and is more interested in maintainable, well-architected solutions. A lot of the in-joke humor about tech culture that you see on HN would probably go over the heads of most of my coworkers because they just don't care. They want to write great software and leave at 5.
- sethammons 7y ago
  How do you know you "passed" the all day? Why do you think the lack of an offer is age-related?
  - downerending 7y ago
    The Google recruiter told me that I passed that and the follow-on hiring committee. I have no reason to believe that wasn't true, especially since the people in the all-day seemed genuinely enthusiastic about me. I didn't say they didn't hire me for age. Rather, I was offering that as a proof of sorts that my skills are current and yet I had a hard time getting hired. (I did hear via back channels that I was nixed there for being [euphemism for too old]. Hard to know whether that's true, but all things considered, it's hard to think of a non-demographic explanation, aside from bad luck. In any case, I'm over it.)
    - bgee 7y ago
      Please see my comment above. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22079448 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22079448 Recruiter would not know if you have passed, I assume you mean your package was sent to the hiring committee? If you did not receive an offer after your package passed hiring committee, one common reason I heard was there is no head count. A not recent news: Google Settles Age Discrimination Lawsuit [0] [0]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/07/23/google-settles-age-discrimination-lawsuit-highlighting-the-proliferation-of-ageism-in-hiring/#43e5b46a5c67 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/07/23/google-set...
      - downerending 7y ago
        I was told by the recruiter that the hiring committee had passed me, and I subsequently had a conversation with a team manager that seemed fine. Then heard I was nixed at the final executive review--something like that. Was contacted after the usual six months by a new recruiter wanting me to apply again. Asked what happened last time, which he seemed to know nothing about. He investigated, and came back with the corporate-speak I interpreted as "too old" (though phrased in a way that would probably avoid legal issues). The "no head count" explanation doesn't make much sense to me. And in any case, given the effort required to go through the process, it'd be kind of a dick move to be interviewing candidates when there were no openings. Their recruiters continue to contact me about every six months.
        bgee 7y ago
        By "no head count" I meant was it could happen that the head count they are conducting interview for was lost by the time the package reached its final stage. Giving Google's extremely long hiring process, I imagine this happens more often to Google then to other tech companies. I do wish companies are more transparent about their hiring decisions.
        downerending 7y ago
        I could see that for a small company. For a company of Google's size and wealth, it simply doesn't make sense not to pick up a good candidate even if you don't need them right away. In any case, it did drive home the point that Google would never see me as anything but marginal and expendable, and I realized that there were other places where I could really matter.
- bgee 7y ago
  Googler here. Recruiter would not know if you passed or not. IIUC, Google recruiter would send your package to the hiring committee if your interview result isn't bad (this is at their discretion); the hiring committee has the final say on if someone has "passed", recruiter doesn't.

downerending 7y ago

I passed an all-day at Google in my 50s. No offer, though, and that job hunt lasted many months. Pleased to meet you. :-)

slumdev 7y ago
I live in flyover country and have worked many years for companies way less sexy than Google. The environment here is different from the Bay Area's "moving on at 26" mentality. Certain industries (especially insurance, financial services, and healthcare) prefer someone who's been around the block and is more interested in maintainable, well-architected solutions. A lot of the in-joke humor about tech culture that you see on HN would probably go over the heads of most of my coworkers because they just don't care. They want to write great software and leave at 5.
sethammons 7y ago
How do you know you "passed" the all day? Why do you think the lack of an offer is age-related?
- downerending 7y ago
  The Google recruiter told me that I passed that and the follow-on hiring committee. I have no reason to believe that wasn't true, especially since the people in the all-day seemed genuinely enthusiastic about me. I didn't say they didn't hire me for age. Rather, I was offering that as a proof of sorts that my skills are current and yet I had a hard time getting hired. (I did hear via back channels that I was nixed there for being [euphemism for too old]. Hard to know whether that's true, but all things considered, it's hard to think of a non-demographic explanation, aside from bad luck. In any case, I'm over it.)
  - bgee 7y ago
    Please see my comment above. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22079448 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22079448 Recruiter would not know if you have passed, I assume you mean your package was sent to the hiring committee? If you did not receive an offer after your package passed hiring committee, one common reason I heard was there is no head count. A not recent news: Google Settles Age Discrimination Lawsuit [0] [0]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/07/23/google-settles-age-discrimination-lawsuit-highlighting-the-proliferation-of-ageism-in-hiring/#43e5b46a5c67 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/07/23/google-set...
    - downerending 7y ago
      I was told by the recruiter that the hiring committee had passed me, and I subsequently had a conversation with a team manager that seemed fine. Then heard I was nixed at the final executive review--something like that. Was contacted after the usual six months by a new recruiter wanting me to apply again. Asked what happened last time, which he seemed to know nothing about. He investigated, and came back with the corporate-speak I interpreted as "too old" (though phrased in a way that would probably avoid legal issues). The "no head count" explanation doesn't make much sense to me. And in any case, given the effort required to go through the process, it'd be kind of a dick move to be interviewing candidates when there were no openings. Their recruiters continue to contact me about every six months.
      - bgee 7y ago
        By "no head count" I meant was it could happen that the head count they are conducting interview for was lost by the time the package reached its final stage. Giving Google's extremely long hiring process, I imagine this happens more often to Google then to other tech companies. I do wish companies are more transparent about their hiring decisions.
        downerending 7y ago
        I could see that for a small company. For a company of Google's size and wealth, it simply doesn't make sense not to pick up a good candidate even if you don't need them right away. In any case, it did drive home the point that Google would never see me as anything but marginal and expendable, and I realized that there were other places where I could really matter.
bgee 7y ago
Googler here. Recruiter would not know if you passed or not. IIUC, Google recruiter would send your package to the hiring committee if your interview result isn't bad (this is at their discretion); the hiring committee has the final say on if someone has "passed", recruiter doesn't.