Are You Too Old to Land a New IT Job?

The article argues that age should not block someone from getting or keeping an IT job. In IT, employers care more about accomplishments, adaptability, willingness to learn, and the ability to show concrete business value.

Reading notes

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• Rick Gillis says IT firms want to know whether a candidate can make money or save money for the company.
• Staying current on technologies, advancements, and methodologies helps keep skills relevant.
• Job seekers should show how their added knowledge and skills affected previous employers.
• One example describes a former client who had written nearly 10,000 lines of code but could not initially show the result.
• After quantifying the work, the code was shown to have helped a bank fix ATM security flaws and save more than half a million dollars a year.
• Mike Capone says age itself does not matter, but adaptability does.
• Capone says employers should use the knowledge and skills already present in their workforce to support business goals.
• ADP uses rotational assignments for younger workers and pairs employees across generations.
• Mentoring works both ways, with younger employees helping older workers stay current and experienced workers bringing maturity.
• Capone says leadership must manage talent and use the competencies already inside the company.