A sea of ageism and hypocrisy

It's not surprising that companies are cherry-picking in a marketplace where there are hundreds, if not thousands, of highly skilled unemployed IT people.

What is bizarre is that some of these organisations re-advertise the same role within weeks of it being filled. I should know. I have applied (and then re-applied) for such job opportunities, only to be told that my skills did not match the job description.

I should have read the small print: "The candidate must demonstrate a successful track record of walking on water - or at least not getting his knees wet." Hey, that's not so difficult. I've been around.

"The candidate must also be an effective manager and be able to code in C++, Java and XML as necessary," the job description added. That's where it gets tough!

You see, there's an IT skills shortage in the UK. Yet vnunet.com's sister publication Computing recently reported that more than 20,000 UK fast track work permits had been issued to overseas IT professionals since January 2000.

So why don't human resources managers and 'human capital' executives rethink their recruitment strategies and invest in home-grown talent? Because not enough companies are willing to retrain the existing workforce.

How do I know? Well, it's become apparent over the past six months that I have crossed the threshold of 'acceptability'.

I have a first class honours degree, more than 12 years' consulting experience and more than eight years' programme management knowledge.

There's just one problem. The typical agency dialogue goes like this: "Well, Glenn, your CV looks excellent. I'll forward it to the client today. But I just need a little more information before I do this. What's your date of birth?"

"It's 30 March 1955," I state.

"Thanks, Glenn. Bye," replies the agency, never to be heard from again.

Once in a while I don't leave it at that. The responses vary from: "The client has flu and hasn't seen the CVs yet, to the client has just gone skiing for two weeks and hasn't seen the CVs yet."

Believe me, I'm getting angry. The awful reality really hit home last week when I was speaking with a recruitment firm. The representative said: "If you check the company's website you will see the management team are all young and dynamic. At your age you will not be acceptable. I know it shouldn't happen, but it does."

Ageism prevalent in the UK IT industry? Of course not.

But you know where I am if you need a senior manager who delivers major global deals ... and occasionally walks on water.