Duguid said she was \u201cinundated\u201d with responses from people in similar situations after she posted about how she has been unemployed for 16 months and has struggled to get interviews, despite working for some of the biggest fashion brands in the world.<\/p>\n
We received numerous responses from people who have faced issues with even progressing to interviews despite having years of experience and impressive CVs. Many feel their age is working against them \u2013 particularly those in the tech sector.<\/p>\n
As one reader put it: \u201cAgeism is rampant in tech. It\u2019s an inside job.\u201d<\/p>\n
A significant number of respondents reported difficulty as they went searching for jobs for the first time in years after being made redundant in their 50s.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what they told us.\n<\/p>\n
\u2018My friends suggested I remove my DOB from applications\u2019<\/p>\n
Several people said they feel that having their date of birth, or a full list of previous employment on their CVs, is impeding them.<\/p>\n
Chiara<\/strong>, 54, said she has been actively looking for a job since September, with no success. She has been called for two interviews after sending out numerous applications.<\/p>\n \u201cIn both cases, I thought I performed very well and the interviewer was very happy with me. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t make it through.\u201d<\/p>\n Based in Wicklow, she said this is the first time she\u2019s struggled to get a job in Ireland, and finds it disheartening when her application is rejected but the job listing remains live.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than one friend suggested that I remove my DOB [date of birth] from my applications. At this point I feel lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Liam<\/strong>*, a 47-year-old engineer from Dublin, has been actively seeking to move jobs for the last two years.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve managed to get only 3 interviews in that time. I\u2019ve recently started to edit out older jobs on my CV to maybe shave a few years off my age. Let\u2019s see how that pans out.\u201d<\/p>\n Catherine<\/strong>, who works in the antiques business in Cork, is 58.<\/p>\n Last year, she was offered a job she was the \u201cperfect candidate\u201d for. \u201cThe offer was retracted once I asked about the pension contributions. The employer had made it clear to me that he did not want me to retire any time soon.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I asked that question, he assumed that was all that was on my mind and retracted the offer.\u201d<\/p>\n Fifty-five-year-old Noel<\/strong>, originally from Belfast, lives and works in England. He wants to move back to Ireland, but despite applying for over 50 roles, he has been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very disheartening as I would love to move home, but this would not be viable without work.<\/p>\n \u201cI assumed my qualifications and experience would count for something. However, I think being 55 appears to supersede this, which I find very sad.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew<\/strong>*, who is 57 and from Kildare, but who lives and works abroad, has been searching for a job back home for the past two years.<\/p>\n He said he has applied for between 200 and 300 roles of varying levels of experience; \u201cI\u2019d say less than 5% result in a screening call or interview\u201d. He said the ones he has had interviews for are typically organisations with internal HR, believing that this means it\u2019s possible they look at and read CVs.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the interview type has also changed vastly in my opinion, as now I rarely get one question about the actual role, and all questions are competencies which I don\u2019t do well in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOne other note is many jobs that I am now applying for have the same salary as I had nearly 20 years ago, whilst costs have risen terribly much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018One layoff has ruined my career\u2019<\/p>\n PeopleImages \/ Shutterstock \/ Shutterstock\n<\/p>\n A significant number of readers who responded reported that they had struggled to gain employment after being made redundant from the tech sector after years of service.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gavin<\/strong>*, a 45-year-old former tech worker from Cork, said he has never had an issue getting a job before. He was laid off in 2024 and has been job hunting ever since.<\/p>\n He said he\u2019s made over 150 serious applications to relevant roles via LinkedIn and company websites, and from those applications only received five or six interviews, and one second-round interview.<\/p>\n \u201cNo offers. The gap on my employment timeline is a major issue now, and I fear that this combined with my age means I will never be hired into a suitable job within my career field again.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a family to support and my life has gone from normal to complete nightmare over the past 18 months.\u201d<\/p>\n He believes many companies are using applicant tracking system software \u2013 which triages and ranks job applications \u2013 and suspects it is frequently screening out his applications due to his age and gap in employment. He is now looking at starting over in the trades, which has its own challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cWork is unpredictable and the skills needed are very experience-based through time served in an apprenticeship, which you basically cannot get as an older entrant.\u201d<\/p>\n Peter<\/strong>, from Co Meath, was made redundant in 2023 after decades working in the information technology sector.<\/p>\n In his late 50s, he said he \u201cgenuinely believed\u201d that with his background, he would be well-placed to find another role.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, I found myself facing the most difficult job market of my career.<\/p>\n \u201cSince beginning my job search, I have applied for more than 100 positions. From those applications, I have secured just four initial screening interviews and only two second stage face-to-face interviews. It has often felt almost impossible to get beyond the application stage.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the most frustrating part is not being unsuccessful at interviews, but not getting the opportunity to reach that stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThere appears to be an assumption that younger candidates are somehow a better long-term investment, despite the fact that experienced professionals bring decades of knowledge, resilience, sound judgement and proven leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin<\/strong>, also from Dublin, is 52 and has worked in the building trade for 30 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had two brain operations 20 years ago and since then have struggled to get employment,\u201d he said, attributing this to a scar on his head from the surgeries. His doctors didn\u2019t want him working on sites any more, so he tried to get a maintenance job.<\/p>\n \u201cI had 28 interviews, mostly in hotels, and have felt due to my scar I have never got a second interview.\u201d<\/p>\n Another reader, \u00c1ine<\/strong>*, said she put her CV on a \u201cwell-known website\u201d to find a new job. Someone from a global pharmaceutical company reached out and invited her to apply for a role, which she did.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of weeks later, with some back and forth messages about scheduling an interview, one was arranged for 4pm last Monday. It was a half-hour video call. As it\u2019s been a long time since I participated in an interview, I spent a lot of time preparing and researching the company.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00c1ine was receiving email reminders in the lead-up to the interview, but no one joined her on the video call.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a reasonable amount of time, I messaged the company asking where was the interviewer and explained that I was waiting. After a few minutes I received a very curt message saying an offer had been made to another candidate!\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I was 59 when I applied for the position\u2019<\/p>\n Carmel,<\/strong> who works in education in Co Westmeath, applied for a role with an educational organisation she has worked with for seven years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe position was exactly the same as the one I am in now but with better conditions such as working from home and more leave.\u201d<\/p>\n She has 25 years\u2019 experience in the area, with the last seven specifically in that position. She was 59 when she applied.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe person who got the job \u2013 who is around 40 \u2013 had one year of experience in the area and had just qualified. Their previous work experience was not in education<\/p>\n \u201cI am very good at my job and regularly get this feedback from my coworkers. I can\u2019t say for sure it was my age. In my experience of 40 years in the workplace the people who make decisions on who gets what jobs are based on whatever suits them and rarely on the applicant being the best candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n Another woman who works in education told us that primary teaching \u201cis an extremely ageist profession\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTeachers know that after 40, unless you are moving up to become principal, your permanent job opportunities are nonexistent.\u201d<\/p>\n *Names have been changed<\/p>\n ![\"recruitinglegsandbusinesspeopleinwaitingroomforhiring\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785304275_770_.JPEG\")
\n PeopleImages \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n