Despite the fact that any discrimination, including age-related discrimination, is considered a violation of the Constitution, employers often agree to this by setting age limits for candidates for vacant positions. Moreover, both young specialists and experienced workers over 45 years old are subject to such discrimination.
Objective reasons for age discrimination
Age requirements are set for almost all categories of workers whose work is called office work, including for administrative personnel, heads of structural divisions and even top managers. At first glance, there are quite reasonable explanations for such age discrimination. If we are talking about a young specialist who has just graduated from the institute, it is clear that his education with a diploma is just beginning. The company will have to spend some time, usually about a year, for him to learn the basics of the profession, and at the same time it is not yet known whether he will go to competitors after that.
On the other hand, an experienced and highly skilled worker is usually already at a critical age. Since technology is constantly developing and improving, it is no longer so easy for people after 45 to remain competent due to some inertia and conservatism inherent in age. In addition, high qualifications and experience of candidates, in some cases, especially when the company's management is less experienced and competent, is also not welcomed.
Which one to prefer - a young specialist or a candidate with experience
In each specific case, employees of recruiting agencies will optimally use an individual approach and take into account not only the requirements of the employer, but also the personal qualities of the candidate. There are professions that require quick reaction and visual acuity, in which even experience and high qualifications are not a serious argument and a guarantee that they will be able to do their job better than a young specialist.
For some qualified professionals, such as lawyers, experience is a kind of blinders, preventing them from looking at the problem from a different angle. In such cases, a young specialist who has studied according to the latest regulations may become a more profitable acquisition for the company, despite the fact that he will need to be trained for some time. On the other hand, a professional with a name and his own client base will also always be in demand.
When recruiting new employees, you should take into account the personnel situation in each specific company. If there is already an experienced backbone of qualified specialists, it makes sense in the future to form a team with the involvement of less experienced young specialists, who will be trained by more trained colleagues. In the event that the company clearly lacks experienced professionals, preference when hiring will have to be given to those who already have the necessary qualifications, even if they are people of pre-retirement age.
