Whether or not this is a good idea can be debated, as demonstrated by the plethora of commentary here. Nevertheless, this corresponds well with my lived experi

Whether or not this is a good idea can be debated, as demonstrated by the plethora of commentary here. Nevertheless, this corresponds well with my lived experience in BigCo on both sides of the candidate / interviewer table. People who are almost qualified for a job, and show progression, get given the job aa a "stretch". People who have done the same job before don't get the job. This can be interpreted as "ageism", but it's more a reflection of companies wanting to hire people that will progress (possibly into management), and not just perform the initial job at hand.