> “A younger-looking face creates impressions of higher physical and mental fitness,” the authors write. “Our results suggest that these impressions may indeed be a powerful driver of favorable employment outcomes.”
It is possible that there are other explanations. Older developers may want better salaries, better working conditions, be harder to manipulate, etc.
Good leadership is going to hire people that fits in the culture of the company and have the needed skills. Whenever the candidate is younger or older does not matter.
Bad leadership wants cheap employees that obey orders and don't challenge authority. Younger, more inexperienced developers will fit this category, even if they are technically skilled.
This is as good a theory that any other one to explain the fact that recruiters want younger developers.
> better salaries, better working conditions, be harder to manipulate
That's me. I only 36 and I absolutely do not buy the corporate bullshit that someone's product is going to "change the world" through some incremental improvement of some software as a service. I am strongly against exploitative business models. And I know how much I am worth. When interviewing I like to give the CEO a little push back and see how they respond. I'm not going to work for someone who gets flustered when I question their thinking.
I will however provide a lot of value for a team I am comfortable with.
Nothing else in the resume changed, though. Just the picture. The age was still listed truthfully, demands didn't change, and the experience was the same.
If bad leadership wanted cheap employees, that is easily filtered by hiring folks with less experience (for example) because those folks tend to be younger.
I'm kinda with you there. There are more jobs for junior developers, and higher salaries for senior ones. That kinda correlates with age too. If I see someone 60 in tech, I assume they're either:
- A wizard, who spent 40 years knee-deep in technology.
- Someone with management experience.
- A flake-out who never did either.
I'm also less likely to cold-call someone more intimidating for random job screening, but more likely to reach out for something aligned to their skill set.
It is possible that there are other explanations. Older developers may want better salaries, better working conditions, be harder to manipulate, etc.
Good leadership is going to hire people that fits in the culture of the company and have the needed skills. Whenever the candidate is younger or older does not matter.
Bad leadership wants cheap employees that obey orders and don't challenge authority. Younger, more inexperienced developers will fit this category, even if they are technically skilled.
This is as good a theory that any other one to explain the fact that recruiters want younger developers.