Opinions Please: Is Age a factor in getting chosen for a contract?

[ChrisPackit]

I know this is a touchy subject and I don't want to get bogged down in this big 'Age' vipers nest, but do you think that your age has a big affect on securing a contract? I was more meaning from a 'growing older' perspective rather than 16 - 18 year old contractors.

I'm in my mid thirties now, and I was thinking about starting to shave some years off my 'CV' age. The reason that made be wonder this is that at this gig, it was down to me and another guy in his 50's and we were of compariable technical skill, but I got the role because I would fit in better with a younger IT team. It seems a tad 'ageist' I know, so what's your thoughts on this??

[TykeMerc]

I don't put anything on my CV that will directly communicate my age. They can imply from my >20 year experience statement that I'm in my forties, but I'm pretty sure I've never been asked.

I suppose it might be material for a minority of clients, but I've not come across them.

[northernladuk]

I don't think you can avoid entering into the 'Age' vipers nest with a question like that to be honest but here is my 10 penneth...

I was more meaning from a 'growing older' perspective rather than 16 - 18 year old contractors.

You don't tend to get 16-18 year old contractors. The whole nature of the job tends to exclude this age range for a start. I guess you meant the younger generation as a whole rather than this age range.

I'm in my mid thirties now, and I was thinking about starting to shave some years off my 'CV' age.

That would be fraudulent and would be a much bigger issue than ageism IMHO. What do you have on your CV that shows your age? I would seriously hope you don't have your DoB on there. I would also guess that you have more than enough previous job experience to start dropping gigs off the bottom to keep you CV short enough. I cannot see how they can work your age out from that. I think a well written CV can demostrate your experience for the role you are applying for without having to give the impression you are a dinosaur. With you being in your 30's as well I don't see a problem at all.

The reason that made be wonder this is that at this gig, it was down to me and another guy in his 50's and we were of compariable technical skill, but I got the role because I would fit in better with a younger IT team. It seems a tad 'ageist' I know, so what's your thoughts on this??

My thought's on that would be that they are breaking the law, or at the very least treading a very very dangerous path. If it is a largish client I bet the HR don't have visibility of this policy. Ageism and team fit apart, it is down to the HR to be responsible for keeping the client on the right side of the law and I would say 'team fit' is not a strong enough case should the 50 year old complain, which if I was him and knew this I would.

I would say mid 30's is absolutely fine and no need to be shaving years off. You just got a gig so why do you think you need to. I have no idea about what happens in your 50's to be honest but if I had the skills at that age I would hope this would not be a stopper for getting work. If it was I would throw a right stink. I am not sure how people of that age deal with it though.

I have never come across true ageism at work, or sexism thinking about it so would hope it doesn't exist. The reality of course, is a different thing altogether.

[ChrisPackit]

[What do you have on your CV that shows your age? I would seriously hope you don't have your DoB on there.I would also guess that you have more than enough previous job experience to start dropping gigs off the bottom to keep you CV short enough.]

Sorry it may not be the done thing, I have my DOB on there and a summary of every contract, permie job and my school attendance years.

I don't think the 'official' reason was the chaps age, but the 'off the record' reason was this, and no amount of legislation can stop that!

[TykeMerc]

Probably unwise putting your date of birth on your CV. Don't forget that CV's often wind up on the internet and there's no advantage in handing ID scammers a rather important piece of info.
I don't put my full address or postcode on mine either.

[nomadd]

Sorry it may not be the done thing, I have my DOB on there and a summary of every contract, permie job and my school attendance years.

I don't think the 'official' reason was the chaps age, but the 'off the record' reason was this, and no amount of legislation can stop that!

Remove your DOB and "school" stuff; it's uncessary fluff.

And as for panicking in your mid-30s about your age, really...

[PropertyCrashUK]

I think it is increasingly seen as a benefit.

A lot of contractors grew up with the Microsoft boom in the late 80s / early 90s and now they have 20 odd years experience in the ensuing growth of MS, Cisco, Oracle, etc, etc, stuff.

The truth is that IT is a maturing industry and as such the age range is growing with each year.

[Fred Bloggs]

I have never witnessed ageism in my line of work, but I wouldn't deny its existence. It is not possible to determine my age from my CV within 15 - 20 years. My CV goes back as far as 1990 (yes, the experience is still very relevant to what I do today). I keep the CV to two pages max as well, old jobs are one liners.

[Clippy]

I'm sure ageism exists in one form or another so don't give recruiters an excuse to use it - remove any clues to your age from your CV.

Also, IMHO, it very much depends on the age/experience of the interviewer - on most occasions if you are being interviewed by someone of similar industry/technical experience and, hence, quite likely age you will be OK. It's when they throw in some 'young' numpty to conduct the interview that rationale goes out the window and non-events such as age may be considered.

[BlasterBates]

Yes it will be a factor, works both ways.

A survey done buy a freelancer portal in Germany (Gulp) showed that, the older contractors got more contract offers than younger contractors, and here is the interesting thing, it didn't taper off. It was linear right through into the 60's. The contractors in their 60's got the most contract offers.

Of course you have some PM's that'll look for younger contractors, but what you'll find is over time your skill will become very niche and so although there may be less contracts in your niche overall, on the whole the supply is rarer so you'll be in even more demand when you're older.

The key is really stay in your niche and don't try to be too "up to date" otherwise you'll come across as an old buffoon, rather like a Grandaddy chasing young women.

One example of a pasture for old horses is mainframe; you will hardly see any contractor under 50 going for a mainframe contract, and the best contractors will be in their 60's, probably the sh*t hot mainframe contractors will be more like 70 or 80.