Today, I happened to read a post by a younger colleague who works as a human resource director. She wrote about having to turn down a very experienced candidate born in the late 70s, now 52, who applied for a specialist position. Her reason was that this candidate might struggle to adapt to an environment full of Gen Z employees.

I think she was right to consider that risk. Older employees sometimes do not fit well in a young, fast-paced work culture and business might have to waste more time replacing them. But because of this mindset, many people born in the 70s with over a decade left before their retirement age end up either starting their own business if they have the money, doing consulting work if they have had some achievements to boast, or worse, becoming unemployed when they lose their job.

At that age, their health is no longer what it used to be. And it is rare for someone who used to earn VND25-40 million (US$950-1,500) a month as an office worker to suddenly become a delivery or ride-hailing driver, in part due to pride and social pressure.

Imagine someone in their 50s, still relatively healthy, passionate, skilled in their field and even willing to take a pay cut just to keep a stable job, yet they still cannot find one just because people assume their age is synonymous with being stubborn, hard to manage or slow.

Some of them still have kids who are in school, which can cost them VND10-15 million per month in tuition.

I know a friend born in 1973 who is both young at heart and physically as strong as many Gen Zs since he plays sports regularly. At the foreign company he once worked for, he saw entry-level sales employees from Europe who were old enough to be the parents of their colleagues in the same position.

If all of us, including HR managers, business leaders and owners, could look past our age bias when hiring, companies would actually find a great pool of talent, often at a very reasonable cost.

I have always believed that when hiring, companies should keep five things in mind.

First, check whether the candidate’s experience, expertise and skills match the job.

Second, for older candidates, try to assess their thinking speed, ability to handle real workplace situations and how they would respond to different communication scenarios.

Third, evaluate their willingness to learn. Are they keeping up with new technologies such as artificial intelligence?

Fourth, consider whether their mindset fits the company culture and whether they are easy to work with or manage.

Finally, be open and discuss whether they feel comfortable working under a younger manager and alongside colleagues who may be 15 to 20 years younger than them. If they are open to that, then they deserve a fair chance.

In reality, many people from older generations have no desire to retire early and are fully capable of continuing to work.

If you were a recruiter, manager or business owner, would you be willing to hire someone like that?

*This opinion was submitted by a reader. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match Read’ viewpoints.