Are We Really Still Judging Experience by the Date on Someone's Birth Certificate?
I was chatting with a mate of mine over the weekend who’s over 50, has decided it's time for a career change…Sounds straightforward enough, except he's finding it incredibly difficult to land his next gig because two themes keep cropping up.
The first is the old chestnut: "You're overqualified." - The second? His age.
He sent me this pic after our chin wag (both of us being lifelong headbangers), and it genuinely made me laugh. It sort of sums up the absurdity of the situation.
But on a more serious note, it really struck a chord as I can relate too...
About a year ago, I was approached by an executive search consultant who specialises in interim executive appointments. He wanted to have a conversation to see whether he could place me into executive interim roles.
After we'd spent some time discussing my background and experience, he paused and said, "Well, you've done so much, I'm not actually sure what to do with you."
What transpired quickly was a clear and immediate lack of interest, to the point that he asked me if I could present him with a list of companies that I'd like to work for and get back to him…I remember sitting back afterwards, thinking, "Hang on... should I have achieved less in my career? Should I have fewer experiences? Less to offer? Would that somehow make me more employable?" Hence why my mate’s story he regaled me with clicked with me – or I missing something here?
It seems this isn't an isolated incident anymore…
I'm hearing similar stories from business colleagues, friends, and folks in general. Highly experienced professionals are finding themselves overlooked, not because they can't do the job, but because someone has decided that experience somehow has an expiry date.
Which seems slightly bizarre when you consider what's actually happening in the workplace.
We're living longer - We're working longer - And the workforce itself is getting older.
According to the OECD, around two-thirds of people aged 55–64 are now in employment across developed economies, a figure that has risen dramatically over the past couple of decades. In the UK, employment among 55 to 64-year-olds is now around 65%, while governments and employers alike are increasingly focused on extending working lives as populations age and labour shortages continue.
In fact, the OECD has warned that ageing populations will significantly reduce the size of the available workforce over the coming decades, making experienced workers more important than ever—not less.
So why do we still hear phrases like "overqualified"?
Sometimes "overqualified" feels like recruitment shorthand for, "We're not quite sure what to do with all that experience."
Or perhaps, "We're worried you'll be expensive."
Or even worse, "You'll probably leave when something better comes along."
Maybe.
But here's another way of looking at it.
Someone who's spent 30 or 40 years building a career has probably seen recessions, restructures, mergers, acquisitions, technological revolutions, and more management fads than they'd care to remember.
They've made mistakes - Learned from them.
Mentored others - Managed crises.
Delivered through uncertainty - And, perhaps most importantly, developed judgement.
Because experience isn't simply about knowing more. It's about recognising patterns.
Knowing what matters. Knowing what doesn't. Remaining calm when everyone else is busy looking for someone to blame.
That's not something you can teach on a two-day leadership course.
Of course, this isn't about one generation being better than another.
Far from it.
The best organisations I've worked with have always been those that bring together different generations, different perspectives and different experiences. Younger team members bring fresh thinking, digital confidence and challenge established ways of working. More experienced colleagues bring context, perspective and judgement.
Neither replaces the other. Together, they're stronger.
As businesses continue to grapple with skills shortages and increasingly complex challenges, perhaps it's time we stopped asking, "How old is this candidate?" or quietly dismissing someone as "overqualified".
Instead, maybe we should be asking a far simpler question.
"What value can this person bring?"
Because if someone can still deliver, solve problems, mentor others, build relationships and make organisations better, then surely that's what we're employing them for.
Not the date on their birth certificate…
Thoughts welcomed, as always…
MC
