
Ask HN: How do you answer “how old are you” on an interview? - evex
I&#x27;m 20 and I got an interview for a senior javascript engineer,<p>My first job was when I was 15 years old, it was a PHP and JS job(webdev),<p>fast-forward, now I&#x27;m 20, I&#x27;ve been coding for 5 years professionally, I&#x27;ve made too many projects&#x2F;products on my own, worked with several startups remotely and locally, and worked with people from Microsoft and Amazon.<p>I was doing an interview today and it was a video call, I got asked: &quot;you look young, how old are you?&quot;<p>So I lied and said 21 while I&#x27;m 20 – cause I felt undervalued or something of that kind,<p>How can I avoid or answer this question professionally and not have it affect my offer?<p>Thanks
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keiferski
This falls into the category of “reply with a joke that diffuses the question
and changes the topic.” For example, say, “Oh, I’ve got a few grandchildren
now” or whatever off-the-cuff joke you can think of.

If they insist on you answering and there isn’t a legitimate reason for them
to know, you’re probably being discriminated against.

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atmosx
Don't lie. You can explain how come that you're applying for a senior position
at a young age as you did right here, it makes sense, but lying is the fastest
way to getting red-flagged I can think of.

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evex
I think this is the right way of approaching it, I just needed someone to
confirm this

Yet I'm still looking if someone have some better way to approach this

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PaulHoule
I think this is an illegal interview question. You are in your rights to
answer this with "this is an illegal interview question" but that is not a
winning answer.

Usually people are worried about age discrimination against older people, but
I've certainly seen workplaces where people above a certain age fit in and
younger people did not.

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bendmorris
Asking your age isn't illegal by itself. ADEA makes it illegal to
_discriminate_ against workers age _40 and up_ based on age. Doesn't apply
here.

In fact, employers can have legitimate reason to ask your age, such as
background checks.

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jotux
They may also want to make sure you're over 18.

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icedchai
Add 5 years to your current age. If they call you out on it later, say they
are must not be remembering your answer, then remind them those questions are
illegal. wink wink ;)

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evex
Hahah that would be hilarious

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peapicker
I believe that in the US if they think you might look under 18, they generally
ask because certain federal and state laws kick in relating to child labor.

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evex
I don't look under 18, the interviewer was German, maybe she just had
curiosity... I don't know

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HiroshiSan
You don't look under 18 to you :P. You reach a certain age where 18 and 25
aren't that different.

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fanzhang
Actually sad to say, at least in the USA, it is not generally illegal to
discriminate against someone because they are too young (any age under 40):
[https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm)
.

I know from other comments that you were being interviewed in Germany, so
YMMV.

Your best bet in a situation is two possibilities.

1) You recognize such a question means the firm is not a good fit for you.
Then it doesn't really matter what you say.

2) You're displeased but still are willing to put up with a company that dings
you for that. In that case, I would open by talking about how much experience
you have and how mature you are. Focus on that instead of the age.

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kevinsimper
I have experienced the same thing and when people ask for your age it is
generally because they are impressed and not because they think you can't be
taken seriously.

And regarding pay, if you know what you want then you can't control what they
will offer you, you can say what you want and require and then either decline
or accept the offer :)

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Endy
I ask them politely why or how that affects the responsibilities of the
position. In the US, interviewers & such can ask your DOB to confirm your
background, but asking your age is opening themselves up to an age
discrimination lawsuit if they don't hire you.

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jryan49
Just be honest and maybe ask them why they care and communicate or have a
discussion about it.

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TomMarius
I am in a very similar position. I always answer truthfully and I'm open to
the question, people are often just curious - I don't want to work with people
who judge based on age anyways.

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evex
I would like to be truthful, but I think age is often something recruiters
think of like: "He is young, he doesn't have much responsibility, let's give
him 0.5x instead of x".

I'm not really sure about this, it's just how I feel.

I would like to hear from a recruiter about this

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TomMarius
As I said, I don't want to work with people that judge based on age. You
should know the market, and if you see they're doing this, then just leave.

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Rainymood
So the opinion of a 9 year old on the current American political climate is
just as important as that of a 34 year old?

We all judge, constantly. You're judging people based on the fact that they
judge on age, that's also judging on some arbitrary measure.

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TomMarius
OP said he's 20, not 9, and we're talking about IT, not politics, a whole
different issue. Taking it to the extreme is not helpful to the discussion at
all. I never said that judging is bad in general; I said that judging
[adults'] capabilities based on age is bad. Context matters.

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vijaybritto
On a darker note, you can tell them: "Old enough to murder your entire family"

