Age Inclusion
A Manager's Guide to Hiring
A Manager's Guide to Hiring
See Potential where Others Might Miss It
Don’t Dismiss “Overqualified” Candidates
Experts Agree... Candidates who appear “overqualified” are often older candidates. However, they may bring bonus expertise and a sense of personal purpose to their work that enhances team performance and culture. [01]
Interview candidates who may seem overqualified. You can ask up front why they want the role, and what they hope to learn in the role. Candidates who appear “overqualified” are often older candidates. They can bring a “bonus” set of expertise (both functional and relational) that creates immense value for your whole team. They likely have personal reasons that make the role exciting—a chance to apply their expertise in a new industry, to work in a high growth organization, to swap a long commute for a shorter one, or to work in a better culture. Ask!
Assess How Well Applicants Match the Core Requirements
Experts Agree... It is critical to test the output of automated screening, matching and ranking tools, which can inadvertently encode age bias and screen out highly qualified older candidates. [02]
Be a curious, active consumer of the results you receive from automated ranking, matching and screening tools. It’s unlikely that all of the top applicants are really in the same age range, right?
Check that your filters include key words related to your Core Five Skills, and then add additional relevant key words that may have been common in the past 15 years. This will help ensure that automated resume screening tools don’t filter out older candidates who have the core skills that would enable success in the role.
Ask to see a report that shows the age distribution of all applicants compared to the age distribution of the candidates your screening tool recommends or ranks highly. If these are not similar, ask to see the top 10 applicants from each decade of age range in order to broaden the pool you are considering.
Consume ranking data with a critical eye. Just as with other “best” rankings, remember that this is a shortcut to find high potential candidates. While there are likely significant differences between the top 20 and the bottom 220, the differences between #2 and #17 may not be very meaningful.
Use Technology to Delay Bias Triggers
Experts Agree... Research shows that unconscious age bias starts as soon as the employer becomes aware of the candidate’s age. [03]
Use technology to anonymize candidates for as long as possible. To delay age bias try to:
Use online applications rather than in-person applications so that the hiring team does not get visual cues of potential age and other personal information that can trigger bias. (Make an exception if the role itself does not require any use of online technology. In that case, using an online application may deter candidates who are less confident navigating online tools.)
Use an online assessment to blindly check each candidate’s ability to meet the Core Five Skills. The assessment should not include or be attached to the candidate’s demographics, and provide a numerical score used to qualify each interviewee.
Check to see if your recruiting software has settings that can help “blind” the resumes before you review them, so you won’t have indicators of age or other demographic information while you select candidates to invite for interviews.
If your organization uses aptitude or personality testing in screening applicants, remember that these tools can inadvertently screen out highly qualified older candidates if they focus on skills that are perceived to be more common among younger workers, or assess skills that are not needed to succeed in the role. Remember, too, that personality assessments can create legal risk for employers.
Hold Off on Personal Research
Experts Agree... Looking for information beyond a candidate’s submitted application can trigger unintended age bias (along with other types of bias.) Ultimately, it can make you miss out on the candidate who would have added the most value to your team. [04]
Try to use these best practices. If you feel you must do personal research, scan only for your top candidate and wait until just before you offer them the job.
Resist the urge to look up candidates or on social media, including both personal and professional social media. You may discover information that creates legal risk for you to know before making a hiring decision.
Do not reach out to people in your own online networks who are also linked to a candidate. You may be swayed by a false sense of familiarity, and candidates without links to your own network may be at a disadvantage.
Do ask candidates to complete official screening as appropriate. Use trusted third parties to conduct the background checks you feel are important to protect your organization, your clients and legal compliance requirements.
Private: Insist on a Diverse Slate of Candidates to Interview
Experts Agree... While boilerplate diversity statements that mention age don’t reduce bias, explicit diversity statements that emphasize the need for older talent effectively removed the bias of recruiters against older candidates.
Set your hiring team up to make great decisions by broadening whom you invite to interview. The varied outlooks and experiences of a multi-generational team often create more value than a team comprised of similar-aged teammates.
Question the interview list if it appears that all but one candidate are from the same age range. When you interview candidates who are quite different from one another, you are likely to see more synergy and opportunity about how each one would elevate the overall team’s work. [05]
Wait to begin interviewing until you have selected the full set of interview candidates. Doing so can help you think more creatively about which candidates may have your Core 5 Skills, even if it was not obvious at first glance of their application. This “batch” approach can reduce unconscious bias around age and other factors. [06]
If a hiring manager pushes back on a recruiter’s inclusion of an older candidate in the interviewee list, try to talk with them to understand their concerns about older workers. Are they unsure about managing someone older than themselves, or do they have generational biases around technology use or speed of work? Approach it as a learning opportunity.
- [01] Strong Connell, M. A., & Devlin, N. A. (2024). Is Overqualification a Proxy for Age Discrimination or a Legitimate, Nondiscrimatory Reason for an Adverse Employment Decision. Journal of College and University Law, 49(1).
- [02] How age-proofing AI in the workplace can foster inclusivity. World Economic Forum. (2025, March 31).
- [03] Barnes, P. (2024, June 3). Age discrimination starts when an employer becomes aware of an older worker’s age. Forbes.
- [04] Rockwood, K. (2023a, December 21). Hiring in the age of ageism. Welcome to SHRM.
- [05] Williams, J. C., & Mihaylo, S. (2019, November 1). How the best bosses interrupt bias on their teams. Harvard Business Review.
- [06] Callaham, S. (2024, June 24). What employers must do about hiring bias against older workers. Forbes.