You are right. I am involved in the interview process and hiring for my crew. Of course.....since we have to make sure they have a valid drivers license since they are required to drive our vehicles, we have to ask them if they have one and if we can look at it to make sure it is current. I suppose someone's eyes could accidently glimpse their birthdate. No confession *S*. It is really no big deal for the most part, but sometimes in an effort to avoid discrimination the laws have put employers in awkward circumstances that do not involve discrimination, but an honest effort to see who best qualifies.

For your concern of someone too young (you interpret as inexperienced), have them prove they can do it with experience. Can that headhunter verify the project mgmt experience? What about training and certification in the area? Cant eh headhunter waste THEIR time finding out if the person knows the PMBOK etc.?

Age shouldn't matter, but in proj. mgmt. a little age is ncie :)

The rules are more focused on teh other type of discrimination. The wiser (and closer to retirement folk) can cost in ways the young chickens don't... and please don't get me wrong - it's pretty sad to treat our trailblazers as bottom-line fodder - but that's what companies have done and will do again.

I agree, sometimes these laws can get a little out of control. However, I think this particular regulation was intended to protect potential employees from people with a perspective oposite of the one you folks in this thread seem to have.

I believe the people this law is really designed to protect are older job seekers. Some companies (unfortunatelly for them) do not value the experience, wisdom, and maturity an older employee can bring to their team. Younger workers often come cheaper and are a bigger return on investment in the short run. Also, younger employees are less likely to need expensive health-care, less likely (unfortunatelly for them) to participate in a 401K or other benefits that may cost the employer more money.

Of course, I disagree with this kind of mentality. Experience DOES count... possibly more than anything else. Give me a 50yr old project manager who can hold a team together, really lead, and for whom keeping a project humming along has become a hardwired part of his/her dna over a 20yr old right out of college who has zero experience but will work for beer money and the occasional pizza. There's a reason that 50yr old guy is still around.

In any case, don't get your feathers too ruffled about this law. Be encouraged that it's actually designed to keep the people you value out there and working.

The comments posted seem to address the employer's awkward position on age guessing rather nicely. But what about the 40+ candidate with tons of experience and talent that doesn't want to work for kids anymore?

Should the candidate ask the age of his/her potential boss prior to interviewing? I definitely do. And it has served me well after working in the past for inexperienced MBAs who can't manage people and don't value older, more experienced workers. Their loss.

Over 40,

That is a great point. I haven't heard of a law about asking your boss's age, but there is probably one.

One thing I have asked guys being interviewed is if they would have a problem taking orders from someone younger than them.

Scott

Hello Scott,

I just happened upon your site while googling for information on converting images to favicons. Thanks for all the useful information.

In regard to the question at hand, I had a unusual exchange a few years ago on a job interview with a very well known ISP. During the interview I was ask "when did you graduate from high school?" Being in my early 30’s at the time, I was somewhat taken aback by what I thought was a weird question. I answered. Then the interviewer asked me "if it would be a problem for me if my supervisor was a lot younger than me?" I thought to myself: just how young is this supervisor --twelve.

After the exchange I thought --that was a weird way of asking my age. It was only later that I learned that asking a interviewee their age was illegal, and that the interviewer was just not asking the question directly to avoid trouble.

At the time, even after learning that it was illegal to ask an interviewee their age, I though the question was reasonable. The employer is just trying to figure out if there are going to be any potential problems, I thought. But now that I’m in my late 30’s, seeking employment in a industry dominated by 20 somethings, I realize the importance of making that question out of bounds.

BTW, great site! I’ll be coming back.

Great story, Rob! Glad you like the site and hope things work out for you in this now 20-something dominated industry.

Scott

My how things have changed in 30 years. I remember going on an interview for an office job when I was 18 and newly married and the first question I was asked was whether or not I was planning to have children anytime soon. I guess he must have liked my answer of "no way" because I got the job. I don't know whether he was concerned about spending the time to train me and then losing me to motherhood or maybe there was a concern for over burdening their insurance program. Either way today he would certainly not be able to ask such a personal question of a potential employee and that's a "good thing" as Martha Stewart likes to say.

There are more questions that should not be asked.Have you ever had or been treated for any of the following conditions or diseases? (Followed by a checklist of various diseases or conditions.)
List any conditions or diseases for which you have been treated in the past three years.
Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, for what condition?
Have you ever been treated by a psychologist or psychiatrist? If so, for what?
Have you ever been treated for any mental condition?
Do you suffer from any health-related condition that might prevent you from performing this job?
Have you had any major illnesses in the past five years?
How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year? (You may, however, tell the applicant what your attendance requirements are and then ask the applicant if she will be able to meet those requirements.)
Do you have any physical defects that preclude you from doing certain types of things?
Do you have any disabilities or impairments that might affect your ability to do the job?
Are you taking any prescribed drugs?
Have you ever been treated for drug addiction or alcoholism?
Have you ever filed a worker's compensation claim?
According to the EEOC, you may ask the following questions in a job interview:
Can you perform all of the job functions?
How would you perform the job functions? (If you want to ask any applicant this question, you should ask all applicants this question.)
Can you meet my attendance requirements?
What are your professional certifications and licenses?
Do you currently use illegal drugs?

see this site:http://www.eeoc.gov

Thank the lord we can still discriminate based on mental disabilities or else we would have to hire the first person that applies. And what about dead people? Can we discriminate against them? What if a person applies and then dies and then you say to the recruiter "we don't want to hire dead people", can that dead person sue you? I don't want any stupid zombies working for me, all they think about is eating brains. And what if they are reincarnated and they still want the job but you don't hire them even though they are qualified, does that fall under religious discrimination? What if my religion is to worship the gods of hiring anyone I want, can I claim they are discriminating against me and sue them back? On a more serious note, why can employers of actors and models discriminate based on age, sex and race? On a less serious note, can I take advantage of that by saying I want to hire a 21 year old female supermodel to do java programming while I take pictures? I am hiring for such a position if anyone knows anyone.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one out there who feels that age CAN and HAS been a deterrent for employers. I am 30 yrs old and have worked extremely hard to get to the executive level of my career and have had to work against age discrimination for being too young. My father, however, who has taught me so many things about IT and Project Management over the years, has been discriminated against for just the opposite reason. He looks amazing on paper and with references, however, once he arrives, his 50 yrs of laugh lines and intellect show on his handsome face. He's thanked for coming in and "they'll be in touch".

I have traveled to all but one continent in this world and find it ironic that the older generations in so many other countries are revered as the wise and all-knowing. They are looked up to, consulted on all matters, and ever-present in important decisions. Here, if you're not the "young breed" you're set on the sidelines. You couldn’t possibly have anything to add to the bottom line.

I am happy to say that my father has secured a position after 3 months of interview cycles with this one company and an internal employee going to bat for him. He was promoted within 3 months because of his capacity to excel due to his intellectual prowess and his calm demeanor derived from years of experience. If there is a tough client that needs to be calmed, he's called in. If there's a project gone awry, he's brought in to get it back on track and put out the fires. His age should be seen as an asset, not a detriment.

Though they're my age group peers, I'm saddened to know that so much knowledge and talent is being swept aside because the young crowd does not recognize the need for the proverbial "gray hairs". So much time, money and business angst could be circumvented if the younger generation understood that the older generation has “been there, done that and has the t-shirt.”

Unfortunately it is not my father's decade anymore.

i have a question