Navigating the Age Conundrum in the Job Market

Written by Andy Strong, Oakstone Divisional Director.

In today's competitive job market, age has become a significant factor influencing hiring decisions. There's a prevalent misconception that younger talent is preferred solely due to their high energy levels, but the underlying driver often boils down to cost-effectiveness. This bias has created a complex scenario where both younger and older professionals face challenges in securing employment opportunities that align with their expectations.

For 2-3 years now, this push for younger talent has resulted in the salaries being offered to attract the “best young people” being disproportionate to their true “market value”.  Now the salary bubble has burst in SaaS due to the global conditions and prevailing trend sees younger professionals, often in their mid to late twenties, demanding substantial salaries based on the precedent set by previous offers in the market.

However, this expectation doesn't always align with their level of experience or track record of success. This misguided sense of entitlement can lead to unrealistic salary demands and hinder their career advancement prospects.  Conversely, older professionals frequently find themselves side-lined in the hiring process due to perceptions of being overqualified or too expensive to onboard. This age-based discrimination deprives companies of valuable expertise and diverse perspectives, ultimately undermining organisational growth and innovation.

So, what's the solution to this complex issue?

1. Redefining Value: Companies must reassess their hiring criteria and focus on the actual value a candidate brings to the table rather than solely fixating on age or cost considerations. Prioritising skills, experience, and potential for growth can lead to more balanced recruitment decisions.

2. Flexibility in Compensation: Older professionals may need to be more flexible with their salary expectations to remain competitive in the job market. Emphasising the value of their experience, expertise, and reliability can help offset concerns about perceived higher costs.

3. Awareness and Realism: Younger professionals should cultivate a realistic understanding of their market value and avoid basing salary expectations solely on past offers. Building a strong track record of achievements and continuously upskilling can enhance their competitiveness in the job market.

4. Long-Term Perspective: Organisations and individuals alike must adopt a long-term perspective when navigating the job market dynamics. Short-sighted strategies of overpaying younger talent or side-lining experienced professionals are unsustainable and can lead to talent shortages and loss of institutional knowledge.

Ultimately, addressing the age conundrum in the job market requires a collective effort from both employers and employees to foster a more inclusive and merit-based approach to hiring and career progression. By re-evaluating traditional hiring norms and embracing diversity in age and experience, organisations can tap into a broader talent pool and foster a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Oakstone works with many Seed, Series A/B stage companies and assists them in building teams with a range of experience.  My personal experience is that companies who disregard age and simply focus their hiring strategy on finding people who give the right blend of skills/experience, are solid achievers and doers who thrive in a start-up environment, create the highest performing teams – it seems simple, but it’s surprising how many companies take irrelevant criteria, such as age, into account. 

Youth learn from experience, experience feed off of youth.

Youth bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Their enthusiasm and energy drive momentum and often push boundaries, leading to new discoveries and breakthroughs.

On the other hand, experience provides invaluable wisdom, depth of knowledge, and a nuanced understanding of industries and best practices. Seasoned professionals have weathered various challenges and learned from their successes and failures, offering invaluable mentorship and guidance to younger counterparts. When these two elements collaborate effectively, the results can be transformative. Youthful exuberance combined with seasoned wisdom can lead to creative solutions, enhanced problem-solving capabilities, as well as accelerated and sustained, progress.

In essence, the interplay between youth and experience creates a dynamic ecosystem where each complements and strengthens the other. By fostering environments that encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing across generations, organisations can harness the full potential of their talent pool and drive sustained innovation and growth.For balance and clarity, I’m a believer that anything is worth what people are willing to pay – which is now the issue both younger and older people need to factor in – the market has changed, and people need to factor that in.

Interested in hearing the thoughts of others from their own experience on this, younger and older 😊 

PS – IMO Any decent salesperson worth their salt, should be qualify the earning/growth potential more than how big the base salary can get to.

Written by Andy Strong, Oakstone Divisional Director.

Andy Strong joined Oakstone in 2007, having established and built Oakstone’s second UK office, based on the south coast of England. He’s built a team of highly skilled consultants that have demonstrated steadfast delivery capability in working with market-leading cloud-based, B2B enterprise application vendors across all of EMEA.