This whole growing old thing is overrated. Used to be, that I cared about a whole lot of things, big things like world peace, sex and rock and roll. Now the only thing that is really exciting is food. Even waking up in the morning hurts. Now to top it all off I have this "ageism" thing to worry about.
We are hiring here at work. Each day we try to find to a few more potential squints to join our merry band gazing hypnotically into fingerprint smudged LCD screens. Its not easy I tell you. Between the draft-dodgers and psycho-killers there are very few, only slightly mental, candidates out there. It seems recently that some of these are over 40. One foot in the grave in our business. Even if they pass all the tests and the daunting HR interview, we probably will not be able to hire them because they are not fun to party with. Its all quite exhausting for an old fellow like me. If I had to interview for a job here now, I'd never make it I'm just too old.
I think I'll go blend up my lunch and have a nap, this high-tech world is clearly for the young.
Wet varnish
17 hours ago
4 comments:
Your style is very clever, it masks whether you really believe that you are in the same boat as some of the geriatrics looking for hitech work.
You might be an old fella, but you definitely create the image of the slightly aged rock star (like that Israeli "rock star" that permanently wears a pair of tinted Lenin sunglasses). And you know it. So if you came for an interview, you will pass for the trustable eccentric soul that we know you to be.
Having said that, the question regarding age-old candidates is whether they are jaded or whether they love their work. When I was going through university, the professors where inveriably old, and some of them bordering on senile, but there were some who blew your mind away. So it's all about attitude. Some people walk through life burning with passion and following their passions. It doesn't matter what age they are, you'll hire them. However I suspect that for many (including me) work is associated as an obligation and the years wear away the passion that might be there. So when you find yourself in that case, a jaded high tech worker, you have to ask yourself, why don't I have the courage to go and do something different, something that lights my fire. I can see ninety nine reasons why I wouldn't take the risk - it's exactly the reasons that turn a job from a passion to an obligation. But it's that missing one reason that keeps me awake at night: what do I really want to do with my life?
I suspect that if you were really tired of this place, you would throw in the towel and build guitars for the future rock stars. As it is, you're the man in black that everyone who works for you respects. You are the head (even if you are no longer the CEO) of a bunch of essentric computer wizards. Unfortunately, as a company grows, something about the original magic fades, maybe that's what you feel. Personally, I believe you have more fun when you keep things small ...
Wow, my first comment that is not from a family member. Thanks for the compliments (I think), but I do believe that we are biased away from "older" (40+) people in our industry. If at this point of your career you are not a manager or exec of some kind, its tempting for people to believe there is something wrong with you.
The question I ask is can we keep the same culture we love here at work, and grow, hiring people that perhaps do not fit the typical mold?
A reaction to old-er people, there is, no point denying it. But then there is a reaction to anyone at the beginning. I tend to say that if they have talent and agile minds, the reactions will quickly diminish. The young ones will congregate together and talk about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, the middle ones will make beer and lunch together and the older ones will leave work early and indulge in a bit of wood work. I say, if they have a brillant mind and they love this stuff we do, hire them. Personality comes second. However, I may be wrong. What exactly is the mould for this jazzing hitech company? Sure, we don't want sharks in suits working our corridors and we don't want primadonas who don't want to get their hands dirty. What else don't we want?
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