Experience does not guarantee employment for workers above 35 years old

A recent survey by online recruitment platform Zhaopin shows that 85% of workers over 35 years old find it hard to maintain current jobs or find new careers.

To optimize costs, businesses are also recruiting fewer fresh graduates while replacing 30- to 40-year-old staff with cheaper workers in their 20s.

These are comments by other readers about the news:

Reader Tieu De:

“It is paradoxical that employers demand experience from young people and offer minimal wages if they do not have it. Workers aged 30-40, having both strength and experience, are in their prime working years and yet it is hard for them to find a job. If companies only hire new employees with such requirements, can they really develop if they rely solely on youth without experience?”

Reader Tai:

“This is not a paradox because experience does not translate to skill level. There are many positions where the work is repetitive with no advancement. To perform well in these jobs, you do not need 15 years of experience, just two to five years are sufficient. Therefore, companies cut staff to save on salaries.

In developing countries with large and young populations, there is usually an excess of labor, so job competition is more intense compared to countries with aging populations like Japan or those in Europe.

For example, in Japan, it is common to see many elderly employees in offices. Those who have gone to Japan as migrant workers in factories will find that their older colleagues are mostly Japanese, while the younger ones are typically foreign laborers.”

Reader Nam Kim:

“Why do people over 35 often lose their jobs? These are typically cheap labor doing simple tasks that require no skills. In these jobs, youth is the decisive factor. Hence, this is less common for technical jobs.”

Reader linh.pham:

“The issue lies in ‘higher salaries’. This is a long story, but from my experience, if you’re over 30 and do not plan on starting your own business, you should settle down if your current job is stable.

To increase income, you should improve your skills and find additional work. If the highest salary you can get in the market is VND20 million ($813) per month, but you are asking for VND25 million because you have experience, no employers would accept that when the company’s revenue is not increasing.”

Reader Khoa Le:

“I have had a bitter experience when I quit my job at the age of 35. For those older than 35 but still have the courage to seek new challenges and opportunities, I just want to remind you that in this era, experience does not mean as much anymore. The younger generation is highly capable and diligent in learning through the internet, training courses and forums, and that is enough to replace us.

Experience does not mean you have learned some secret skills. If anything, the process of working allows us to build a valuable network of contacts, which might give us an edge over the younger generation.”

So what is your viewpoint on this matter?

*These comments were translated into English by AI. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.