A Tale of Two Resumes: One Man's Experiment Exposes Age Discrimination in Hiring
In a thought-provoking episode of The Jim Stroud Podcast, Jim tells a fictionalized story based on real-world events—a narrative that shines a stark light on age discrimination in today's hiring process.
The Experiment
After months of rejections, a 58-year-old man decides to test the system. He submits two nearly identical job applications to the same company:
- Resume A: Included his real work history, graduation year (1988), and all employment dates
- Resume B: Used a similar name, removed graduation year, and described his experience as "about 15 years" without specific dates
The results were striking: the version with dates received a polite rejection, while the scrubbed version got a callback.
The Algorithm Revealed
The story takes an even more revealing turn when the protagonist gains access to the company's applicant tracking system. Inside a folder labeled with the screening software's name, he discovers:
- A column labeled "age risk"
- Notes next to names like "graduated before 2000" or "long gap in work history"
- His own application with a "high risk score"
As one younger colleague explained, the computer automatically scored applicants based on certain background factors—long gaps or finishing school years ago raised the score, making candidates less likely to get an interview.
The Interview Paradox
When the protagonist actually interviewed for the position (using the younger-sounding resume), he faced pointed questions about whether he planned to stay with the company long-term. He was ultimately offered a contract position—not the full-time role he applied for, with no benefits.
What This Means for Job Seekers
This story reflects a growing reality in modern hiring: algorithmic screening often filters out qualified candidates based on factors that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job. While companies have added "age-neutral" settings after lawsuits, the underlying systems still carry biases that disadvantage older workers.
The takeaway? Sometimes, the system isn't broken—it's just working exactly as designed. And that design may be holding back talented workers simply because of when they started their careers.
Listen to the full episode on The Jim Stroud Podcast, a proud member of the Purple Acorn Network.
