The Case for and Against Hiring Candidates Over 40 in Silicon Valley

“Wait. How old IS this guy?”

An HR friend of mine and her lead recruiter were presenting resumes to their CEO for a Controller position, and this was his initial response to one of their potential candidates. The applicant had significantly more experience than the others and was older than the CEO by at least 15 years. His immediate reaction was to pass, saying, “He won’t fit into the vibe we have going here.”

However, after a lengthy discussion about the candidate’s merits, the CEO agreed to speak with him. It took a lot of involvement from my friend and the recruiter throughout the interview process, but they went with the candidate in the end, and he proved to be a terrific hire.

Situations like this are not unusual, even though our HR and Recruiting teams have tried to eliminate Ageism in Silicon Valley for a long time.

Nevertheless, we know that Ageism is still prevalent and sometimes practiced with impunity. Well-known Valley executives have talked openly about why younger workers are better than older ones. Top industry publications have written articles pushing back, with data-driven arguments that decry this tech industry habit of treating employees like they have a limited period of value. We’ve battled this with varying results, stressing that it is ILLEGAL to discriminate against someone because of their age, along with color, religion, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Perhaps we can make additional progress by adding an incentive. There is ever-increasing data about the skills and attributes we develop as we age, skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and adaptability. There are also specific qualities only long-term experience in the Valley could provide. Suppose we could show our clients what gives some of these senior workers a competitive advantage over other applicants. Then we might be more successful in addressing Ageism.

We’ll talk about what makes this group more valuable later on, but first, let’s start by looking at potential reasons why it’s so tough to change minds here. Then we’ll examine four commonly cited viewpoints we hear and why some people are quick to pass over these older workers. We’ll talk about the limitations of those viewpoints, provide another take, and consider why those in their 40s, 50s, or 60s+, may be especially desirable.

Finally, we’ll look at the distinctions of this group on the whole and how to evaluate each candidate on their own merit.

To begin, a better understanding of why this thinking is so entrenched can help us with our strategies for addressing this issue.

Understanding the Roots of Ageism

The best way for us to understand a leader’s point of view is to ask. But let’s also take a crack at understanding the seeds of Ageism and why it’s so hard to sway opinions. I think it’s fair to say that most of our leaders have gotten to where they are partly because they have terrific gut instincts and the ability to make quick decisions. Those who have spent time working in Silicon Valley know that speed is obligatory. And if their experience has shown them any trending data corroborating their position that employees are like athletes with a limited shelf-life, they’ll stick to their opinions. Some typical views we hear are below, along with an alternative perspective.

Common Perceptions

These workers won’t work as hard because they have less energy or competing personal commitments.

Let’s acknowledge that as many people go through life, their priorities shift, and work may take a back seat to family demands.

But some can keep up, do the work, and excel precisely because of their additional years.

One of my first bosses in Silicon Valley was the Director of Recruiting for a particularly hectic start-up. She was 72. She shared her schedule with me on my first day - 10 to 10 Monday through Friday and in on weekends when needed. She had raised her kids and had a husband who supported her career wholeheartedly. She was extraordinary at her job, helping the company get from under 50 to over 3,000 employees in five years.

In addition to being loved by her team, she was actively sought out for her wisdom and ability to provide invaluable insight and advice. Senior execs down to entry-level engineers listened to her and benefited from the knowledge she had gained throughout her 50 years of experience in the Valley. 

Older workers have a sense of entitlement.

Some believe older workers have a sense of superiority, expecting a higher salary and a rich benefits package.

Okay. We know that, in general, people expect their salary to increase over time. And one would assume that people with families need more out of their healthcare package than a single person in their 20s. Managers don’t want to spend cycles on a candidate who turns out to be arrogant or too expensive.

Understandable. But for this, our recruiters can easily (and probably already) discuss candidates’ decision-making factors early in the screening process.

We know candidates primarily focused on pay or top-tier benefits will not make the best hires.

We all seek out people passionate about the company’s mission. A candidate must communicate their enthusiasm and prove they have a solid skill-set to contribute to the bottom line. But often, older candidates are never given this opportunity. It might pay off if managers can buy into the possibility that a senior worker is worth a look. In addition, humility is a valuable trait in the workforce and is much more likely to be found in people with greater experience than less. All of this can be learned by asking the right questions in a fifteen-minute phone screen.

Their skills are stale, or they are not A-players if they haven’t progressed as much in their career.

I remember, early in my career, having a conversation with a VP of Engineering about his programming abilities compared to his team. “I can’t do any of what they can do. I rely on my staff to evaluate quality and gauge how we are doing based on milestones. As a VP, my job is totally different.” He had moved up by developing his leadership capabilities and left his days of writing code behind.

But unlike him, there are a lot of people who have no desire to stop doing what they love in exchange for advancing into management roles. Recently, I asked one of our engineering recruiters to participate in an external meeting with an overseas company we were considering for outsourcing. I thought it would be a learning experience for her, and I felt her participation would be helpful. She was much less enthusiastic than I expected. When pressed, she finally said, “Jen, I have no desire to do anything other than be a recruiter. I love recruiting and want to stay a recruiter my entire career.” I told her she didn’t have to participate, and she was very relieved.

Unlike those who progress in their careers by going up the chain, some people out there want to stay “do-ers.”

They love what they do and want to keep doing what they do, and they keep up to date, continually investing their time learning about advances in their field. They simply don’t have a desire to move on. If these do-ers know the latest and greatest, which can be determined with well-designed screening questions, you could find Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their field who can produce work better and faster. They may also be willing and able to mentor others and share their expertise.

One challenge we face during initial resume reviews is that our leaders and managers, who have all progressed in their careers by ascending the org chart, may not at first be able to relate to this “do-er” group. Many managers don’t immediately recognize the worth of those who wish to remain in the same role. We may need to intervene and discuss the SME career path.

They won’t fit into the culture or aren’t as fun to work with.

We would never say this about any other group that increases the diversity of our teams. Besides the fact that this opinion is incredibly narrow-minded, short-sighted, unjust, and unfair, it is flat-out discrimination.

Plus! Remember, these people probably saw The Godfather and Star Wars in the theater, had the first home video game consoles, and used Commodore 64s, the Apple I or the first Mac to do their homework. Does this make them old? Yes. Does this make them interesting? I think so!

The Value of the Valley Vet

We’ve looked at the most common objections to older workers and provided other views for discussion. But let’s consider the additional value this older group can bring and why it’s worth looking closely at these applicants.

Some people, as they age, have less energy. Their skills have gotten stale. Their priorities have shifted away from work. But Silicon Valley is made up of many accomplished people. And the Valley Vets who define themselves as lifelong learners, are great at managing through change, love what they do, and want to share their knowledge with others can bring a lot to the table.

True Valley Vets know what it takes to be successful. Many have developed a wealth of experience and kept pace as they participated in considerable shifts in the tech field.

To expand, we can acknowledge how Silicon Valley significantly shifted from silicon chips and enterprise hardware to software development and home computing in the 90s.

Prior to that, massively parallel processing was cutting edge, as was the stealth work at Xerox PARC. Those who were 20-something back then remember Intel, Sun, and HP ruling the Valley. Apple hardware turned the Valley on its ear with a breakthrough UI and Operating System and redefined how we looked at software development. Netscape, with the democratization of the internet, and Google opening the internet’s vast sea of information to the world, drove the new focus of the Valley.

The invention of the home computer and other revolutionary personal tech, the consumerization of the internet, and massive advances in tech that helps business deliver remarkable products and services to the market are just a few of the seismic changes they faced. All of this required them to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. Many put in the effort to keep current by learning new skills and new ways of working.  

Playing their part in the Valley’s multiple evolutions, they have seen where and why companies have succeeded or failed. Many have had a front-row seat to good business decisions and poor ones. They know what worked and what didn’t. They’ve seen how great teams are fostered and the results of dysfunctional behavior. They recognize the underlying drivers of healthy and unhealthy cultures and the subsequent outcomes.

Having someone around with this experience might be useful.

Some of the skills these Valley Veterans can bring:

The ability to handle change

These Vets have learned to adapt and succeed in facing the constant change the Valley is known for. Because they have lived through multiple technological evolutions, they are accustomed to handling change. And they can help others through change as well

Strong teamwork and communication skills

These workers are great at working with others, are more adaptable, and are better able to deal with the typical clashes and inevitable disagreements between teammates. They have developed skills to address conflict and know how to resolve it. They may even become role models who people turn to for guidance.

Loyalty and dedication

This group knows what they want, where they want to be, and why. They’ll stick around if they are in an environment where they feel they are making an impact.

What can the People team do?

If we want to get our leaders and hiring managers to set aside their preconceptions and take a closer look at some of these applicants, first, we need to create a solid foundation for a productive discussion. And then we can discuss how we can shape our recruiting practices to screen for the potential untapped value of these Valley Vets.

Creating a Strong Foundation for Open Discussion

In addition to stressing the illegality of Ageism to our managers, we can reference our conflict management skills and begin by listening to their views and looking for things we can agree upon.   If we can concede that sometimes the reason a candidate is unqualified stems from their age, we have a chance to increase their interest in finding applicants who defy their original expectations. Then we can discuss why these older candidates might be desired because of their experience. Hopefully, some of the content here can help in that discussion.

What We Can Do During the Interview Process

It’s possible to address people’s common assumptions about these older workers head-on without straying into illegal territory. Here are a few screening questions that can provide additional insight.

• ·       What’s your work style? How do you like to plan your workday?

• ·       How do you keep up with the latest trends/tech? Through peers and managers? Reading? Conferences or classes?

• ·       What would make you stay with a company for the long term?

• ·       What motivates you? What time in your career were you most motivated, and why?

• ·       How do you see your career progressing?

• ·       Looking back over your career, what were the most considerable times of uncertainty?

• ·        What have been the most considerable times of change? What was your role in the change? How did you handle it?

• ·       Is there a time in your career that you learned the most? What was it? What made it significant?

• ·       What was your favorite job, and what was it like? What about it did you enjoy the most?

• ·       How do you handle conflict? Do you handle conflict now differently than earlier in your career? Can you give me examples from then and more recently?

Helping clients recognize their inherent biases isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes effort, persistence, and courage. But swaying their thinking could result in a hire that is not only great at their job but also contributes to the company’s success in unexpected ways.