Morning, everyone: there's my good self in the photo above.
Note grey beard, Dave is very, very, very old. Almost fossilised, in fact. We can all obviously draw some conclusions, he obviously has erectile dysfunction, a comb over and a train set, plays bowls, needs a hip replacement and doesn't know one end of a computer from the other.
Well. Wrong on all counts. I don't have enough hair for a comb over for starters.
I'm 59. I have utterly no idea how it happened. Apparently I look and sound 45, even my dentist said my teeth look about 45, so it's apparently internal as well. (No dentures just yet, ladies and gentlemen.) I've been in IT all my life, and we're talking "pre UK 80's computer boom" here, I've held senior (appropriately) IT positions in major blue chip companies and I've been in IT Sales and Marketing for 20 years.
Can I get a job ? Can I buggery.
After literally sending thousands of CVs out, I have to admit I've just about given up on getting a job again. Nor, conversely, and to my irritation, can I get a simple job, as I'm "overqualified." Work that one out.
And here's the funny thing.
The IT skills crisis
In case you've all been asleep for a number of years, the UK is undergoing a skills crisis, especially in IT. When the pandemic came along, a large number of skilled 50 somethings, who had the financial wherewithal to do so, thought, "Right, bugger this, I'll take early retirement, tidy the garden up, I've done my time." You can't really blame them. I am not of that particular bent, so I'm one of the few old fogeys left. Actually, I think I should have thrown in the towel at that point and saved myself a major headache, but I digress.
The onus now seems to be on recruiting younger, and therefore cheaper (lets cat out of bag) staff. It's presumed that these staff will be more IT literate, more hungry for money and more malleable.
Well. Concerning IT literacy, who wrote your software, then ? Us old farts. Correct on hungry for money, and arguably correct on more malleable. The problem with malleability - toeing the line - is that without experience, you'll possibly get staff who toe the wrong line. Us old fogeys have, if you remember, ate the pie and worn the T shirt and whilst we sit there in the corner on our rubber haemorrhoid cushion going mehhhhhhhh, we're more likely to come up with a correct or appropriate suggestion. We don't care any more who we upset if they're wrong.
So mehhhhhhhhh.
Do we cost more ? Not necessarily. I have all my toys. What am I looking for ? Basically, financial stability to take me through to retirement, so- here's the next point - I'm more likely to stay at a company longer. Much longer. I was reading a few years back that the average employee started casually looking for a better position within three months of starting a new job, and usually had an 18 month tenure at a company. Not the case with us, the "pre undead."
Talking of "financially stable companies", a lot of the market is now startup based. 54% of startups fail in their first five months. There's a various number of reasons why, but "lack of experience" is one of them. Yet. Almost none of them will employ experienced external consultants as they cost money and eat into early stage profits. Yeah, well, if you don't listen to advice from experienced dinosaurs like me, prepare to be one of the 54%, of course.
Let's factor in "kudos" as well. If you're trying to sell a major IT system to a 50 something CEO of a multinational company, it's probably best if you're not 20 and don't know what you're talking about. Believe it or not, some of us (hello ! ) have been there, done that - I've sat in meetings with the owner of IKEA and 5 billion turnover companies and not been even slightly phased. Soft skills.
Of course, this is all self evident - companies need highly experienced staff. Yet. There's age discrimination again.
An invisible taboo
We live in an age where we're supposed to be kinder, or at least tolerant, of everyone, regardless of creed, colour or sexual orientation. However. From what I've seen, age discrimination is rampant in the UK, and especially in IT. It's very difficult to prove you've been discriminated against on the basis of your age. And there's not a lot you can do about it, except perhaps realise you don't want to work for any company that practices it.
I tend to think that age discrimination is unconscious bias - I'm being generous here. I know for a fact that my CV will land on the desk of a junior member of HR, who won't have a clue what it means.... if I get in front of the hiring manager, I actually may have more experience than them (embarrassing) and it will probably be presumed that I'm incipiently going to drop dead any minute due to Health Issues (actually, I'm not, I've got weeks left) - "Oh no, we don't want anyone like him, he wouldn't get on with all the junior staff."
Well, let's jump to some conclusions, then. You wouldn't if you you were older and had more experience.
Anyway.
In summary, age discrimination - it's just senseless. Employers - you have a pool of highly experienced people out there who are being ignored whilst everyone complains about not being able to find appropriately experienced staff. Incredible.
That's the little rant over, time for my morning nap.
Mehhhhhh.
