If you’re Gen X, recruiters might think you’re too old to hire

Workers over 50 worry that their age will hinder their job prospects, and a new survey may bolster that fear.

TotalJobs surveyed 4,000 UK job seekers, along with 1,000 HR decision-makers. It conducted interviews with workers over 50 and analysed 4.5m job ads, to explore barriers for older workers.

It found that 59 per cent of recruiters admit to making age-based assumptions, with almost half (46 per cent) considering candidates over 57 “too old”, while 42 per cent say they feel pressured to hire younger workers.

Over half (56 per cent) of recruiters doubt older candidates’ tech skills, and an overwhelming 97 per cent of recruiters prioritise cultural fit when hiring. Crucially, one in two rely on age as a factor for determining that fit.

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Some 15 per cent of candidates say they have been rejected from a job because of their age, and one in four jobseekers now refrains from applying to jobs due to feeling too old.

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For those in the Gen X cohort, or workers who are 44-59, this is particularly worrying.  And according to research from stateside group AARP, things are getting worse.

It found that around 80 per cent of workers between the ages of 40 and 65 reported having either witnessed or personally faced age discrimination at work. This is the highest it has been since the body began conducting polls in 2003.

Ageism is a problem both in and out of the workplace. It affects younger workers too, with Gen Z workers often perceived as lazy and entitled, less reliable, less conscientious, less organised, selfish and poorly motivated, all because of their age.

When it comes to older workers, a review, which aggregated findings from 43 separate research papers, found that older people face negative stereotypes including perceptions that they are less adaptable, lack physical capabilities, have limited technological competence, are less trainable and are resistant to change.

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Gen X in particular represents a group of people, many of whom entered the workforce at the dawn of the internet, and who have had to constantly shift and pivot throughout their careers thanks to recessions and ever-changing technologies.

They may not recognise these negative categorisations of themselves or their abilities, preferring to consider their own lived experience. But perception is a powerful thing, and negative stereotypes, even though they are often largely unfounded, persist and can result in significant discrimination.

Additionally, according to official figures, in the UK, people are working for longer. Between May 2023 and May 2024, the number of payrolled employees aged 65 and over increased by 71,000 (6.3 per cent) to 1.2 million.

That puts Gen X workers at a double disadvantage. They’re waiting longer for leadership positions to open up, but economic factors are keeping the Baby Boomer generation in work for longer. Then, when jobs finally open, age discrimination can kick in, and those 44-59-year-old employees may lose out to younger candidates.

Discriminating against someone based on their age is illegal, of course. A savvy recruiter won’t come right out and say it, so you may hear coded versions as to why you’re not getting hired. They may say things like you are “too senior” or “overqualified for the role”. These have been found to be euphemisms for age discrimination.

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So what can you do if you think this might be happening to you? To mitigate a perception that Gen X workers aren’t open to learning or aren’t technically savvy, for example, you can focus on the sorts of skills you’ve developed over a long career.

Software platforms come and go, and can be learned. Tech skills can be picked up too; older workers understand this.

But things like a willingness to learn, teamwork, versatility, empathy, communication and problem solving are the sort of skills that you hone over a lifetime of work, and which are used to grease the wheels of a smoothly-running business.

To succeed in a tough job market, Gen Xers would be wise to lean into these on their next job hunt.

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Article written by Kirstie McDermott at Amply.