Tony Nicholson

Stevenage, Herts

IT Buyer/Purchasing Manager

In the early days of the birth (1983) of what we know as IT, I was a founder member of BICC Data Networks, I was in such demand that recruiters contacting me to either be put forward by a consultant, or former collegues have recomending me for positions in their new companies. but once you pass 45 forget it. I worked for a dotcom and was the oldest in the company and all the time they were building new call centers I was in great demand, but when the bubble burst in 2001 it was on your bike. I was offered an interview by the BBC a couple of years ago and the day before it was cancelled. When I challenged this I was told the their retirement policy called for employees to retire at 60 and they felt it wasn't worth me joining and being "Trained". I was going in as an IT purchasing specialist for God sake, and certainly didn't neet training. Now I have recruitment consultants ring asking if they can put me forward for this or that job and never hear from them again. So I think the comment by "anonymous reader" recruitment firms - staffed by young, inexperienced, non-IT qualified hacks. is not quite true. as they companies doing the recruiting have an age block with comments like "My DAD/GRANDDAD is your age. That really puts you in your place