A recent post left by a 45-year-old computer scientist on the State Council’s website sparked a heated debate about the difficulties older people face in finding new jobs.

The programmer, using the name “Mary”, said he had professional qualifications in the Java programming language and big data and was once part of the “technological backbone” of a company.

However, they were turned down by several companies even before being interviewed when they tried to find a new job after spending six months at home with their son.

“Marie” is not alone. In January, a joint report from the Development Research Center of the State Council, China Development Research Center and Zhaopin, an online recruitment portal, said people over 35-year-olds could face a higher risk of long-term unemployment.

He said their old age, the depreciation of their professional skills and the resulting drop in confidence were the main reasons they had difficulty finding new jobs.

The report says a survey conducted last year showed the number of job seekers over the age of 50 increased by 32.3% between February and September, with more men than women seeking a job.

About 80 percent of those surveyed who were over 35 said their age was the main barrier preventing them from finding a new job. Zhaopin said the number of resumes submitted by job seekers over 35 to his platform increased 4.3% year-on-year between February and September last year, while the number submitted by job seekers under 35 fell by around 11%.

“I felt lucky to finally find a new job in July,” said Zhang Chen, a 36-year-old accountant in Beijing. “I didn’t even think age could become an issue for me, but I felt offended when I heard interviewers laughing at my age and previous work experience.”

He said getting older is an inevitable part of life and it is extremely rude to reject job seekers because of their age.

“Work experience and ability matter, right? I’m sorry that people my age or older are discriminated against,” he said.

Liu Yan, customer manager at a construction company in Beijing, said hiring people under the age of 35 is an implicit standard in his business.

“I was amazed to hear this, because I am also almost 40 years old,” she said. “But I can understand why my company has such a requirement because we are a construction company that needs its employees to run on different construction sites which may be in remote places like Tibet Autonomous Region. difficult for older people or who have dependent children. “

The report says that for job seekers over 35, the main pressure is not to find a new job, but to find a “good” job. For older job seekers, adjusting their demands, acquiring more digital professional skills, and unlocking their potential to start their own business were much more important than getting caught up in self-doubt or self-criticism.

Chu Yin, an economist, said in a video posted to Douyin that those in high-tech jobs should think about moving from a technician’s job to a product manager or a marketing job after 30 years.

“Positions requiring more creativity will need candidates who are even entering their sixties or sixties or even 80 years old,” he said. “But the point is, most of today’s tech staff are not fundamentally different from ordinary workers whose experience or skills aren’t that important, other than having a strong body and being able to stay up late. . “

Shen Jianfeng, a professor at the Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics, said workers may face career hurdles as they age because their efficiency may be lower and they are more likely to to hurt yourself. Joint efforts are needed to eliminate discrimination against older workers, he said. Workers need to embrace lifelong learning, while companies need to embrace their social responsibilities to train their workers and help them overcome career barriers.