Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination • Hacker News Board

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#101

Post by sandino » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:16 PM UTC

itp wrote: post #82

sandino wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The recruiter told me I had 3 really positive reviews and 2 somewhat positive and 1 negative review. And apparently at Google - the negatives carry the day.

That's true at a lot of organizations. The cost of a false positive hire typically vastly outweighs the cost of a false negative, particularly when you have the luxury of being perceived as a premiere employer in the space (from which follows a steady stream of qualified applicants).

I know the rationale. Then again if it's just one 1 person out of 6 (including 3 other persons who gave "very positive" reviews) then maybe that one person is just being ... negative. As the modern interviewing culture (not so subtly) incentivizes them to be.

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#102

Post by redwards510 » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:21 PM UTC

solotronics wrote: post #92

Will anything happen if you lie about your age on an application? I don't see how your age, race, or sex should be taken into consideration unless you are doing a job that requires strenous physical labor.

Even if you avoid providing your DOB, you almost always have to put the year you graduated college, and that makes it pretty easy to ballpark age.

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#103

Post by Itaxpica » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:21 PM UTC

intrasight wrote: post #79

I've interacted with several Googlers over the hears who said point-blank that Google won't hire people over 40.

Fully half of my current team at Google will be very surprised to hear that

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#104

Post by koverda » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:23 PM UTC

justaj wrote: post #84

gregfjohnson wrote: post #21

Tangentially related: I just turned 65, and am continuing to immensely enjoy programming. Current job involves embedded digital signal processing in medical devices. My family came up with a new name for my category of programmers: the gerihacktric demographic.. :-) I have interviewed with Alphabet twice, no offers. One time apparently it was a close call.. It would be fun to be the all-time record holder for oldest…

I'm 35. I've yet to learn a programming language. I've always been intimidated by starting and choosing a language. I've started to loosen up regarding that and finally finding a path I could take. However, instead now I'm intimidated by the job market and age discrimination.

You can always find an excuse.

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#105

Post by WalterBright » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:28 PM UTC

moksly wrote: post #44

Recently the Danish company KMD was caught utilising a no hiring of anyone above the age of 36 policy. A practice they’ve apparently used for a decade. That’s illegal and they’ll likely be punished, but the interesting part is that they are doing terrible. They have the largest amount of scandals, the largest amount of settlements for not meeting what they promised and the largest financial drop of any major Danish I…

> but hiring young certainly doesn’t seem to have helped them much.

A proper team has a mix of old and young, because they bring different skills to the table. Young people tend to be more energetic and enthusiastic, while older people have already learned that you don't store customer passwords unencrypted and check that backups are being done.

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#106

Post by Quekid5 » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:33 PM UTC

pradn wrote: post #97

segmondy wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost every rejected hire is apparently a "close call" ;-)

That could be true, statistically, if the initial screening interviews are high-signal.

Is there any published research-level evidence that FAANG interviews are high-signal?

I'm no expert, but the only published research I've read on this is "Thinking, Fast and Slow", and the original researcher has recently cast doubt on his own results on that study. Regardless, the evidence there was that all that mattered was "any objectively measurable metric" -- which would mean that FAANGs are wasting a lot of time and money on useless interviews. (Of course they have money to throw away, but still...)

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#107

Post by carmenbr » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:39 PM UTC

Last month we launched our website/job board to fight ageism in tech

we had a huge response launching here on HN and I believe it’s a hidden problem we need to tackle.

https://noageismintech.com

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#108

Post by sandino » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:47 PM UTC

taurath wrote: post #77

rikroots wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not my experience. I've learned how to tweak my resume to a job spec while at the same time not giving an impression of my age (getting a degree with the Open University in my 40s really helps with that). It's at the face to face interview stage that the wheels tend to fall off my cart - nothing I could prove as 'ageist' behaviour, more like they're disappointed in me (or discounting me) before we sit down to chat? "…

To some extent it could also be that you’re presenting as young? FWIW - My only concern with older folks is that they’re either jaded, stuck in their ways technologically, or obstinate towards being managed by people younger than them. Strong opinions held strongly is a net negative. This isn’t everyone or even a majority, but it’s quite a few.

This isn’t everyone or even a majority, but it’s quite a few.

In other words: not only is there no hard data behind this view; there isn't any (from a gut perspective) that much of a correlation -- but it's a strong opinion, strongly held nonetheless.

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#109

Post by filoleg » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

jackhack wrote: post #99

xiphias2 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's great, that you got to interview stage. What I mostly found that most discrimination happens before someone gets to the interview phase, which makes sense, as it makes interviewing cheaper. Most old people don't learn as many new things as younger ones, which makes it harder for older people who do to get the chance to prove themselves.

>>Most old people don't learn as many new things as younger ones Most old people don't need to learn as many new things. It's called "experience."

You can call it “experience”, but that won’t help you find many TurboPascal jobs in 2019. At some point, experience is something that allows you to learn new things quicker and more efficiently, not something to be used as an excuse for not learning new things.

Re: Google pays $11M to job-seekers who alleged age discrimination

#110

Post by grimjack00 » Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 8:56 PM UTC

taurath wrote: post #77

rikroots wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not my experience. I've learned how to tweak my resume to a job spec while at the same time not giving an impression of my age (getting a degree with the Open University in my 40s really helps with that). It's at the face to face interview stage that the wheels tend to fall off my cart - nothing I could prove as 'ageist' behaviour, more like they're disappointed in me (or discounting me) before we sit down to chat? "…

To some extent it could also be that you’re presenting as young? FWIW - My only concern with older folks is that they’re either jaded, stuck in their ways technologically, or obstinate towards being managed by people younger than them. Strong opinions held strongly is a net negative. This isn’t everyone or even a majority, but it’s quite a few.

> Strong opinions held strongly is a net negative.

Strong opinions like your opinion on older folks?