I recently spoke with a prospect who is an older software engineer. He said one of the things he is most worried about is his age. He is 40 years old and he is worried that someone his age can no longer find a job in Germany. Here is the advice I gave him.

Strength: Position your age and many years of experience as strengths.

Here are actual advantages older software engineers have over younger ones.

1. You can serve as a mentor to younger professionals.
2. You can teach structure. Nowadays, this is lacking in tech because the show is almost always run by “kids”. 
3. Show you are open to learning new technologies as well as from the younger people. Publish an article on LinkedIn about a modern technology you learned recently.

Mindset: Show you are aware of this difference between you and other candidates, and that this is something you are proud of.

1. The 3 points above are all true, and the first person you need to convince is you. If someone is insecure about their age, the people they talk to will notice and feel it. The converse is also true: If someone is proud of their experience and the value this brings, the people they talk to will notice and feel that.
2. In interviews, get the age thing (the elephant in the room) out of the way. You can do this by making a joke, such as, “I might be a bit older, but don’t worry, I’ve been debugging since before the internet was a thing. So if the Wi-Fi goes down, I can still find a way to be productive.” (thanks to ChatGPT for this joke)

Thanks to my friend Ayra Dimaapi for this advice.