How often do recruiters look at the year of graduation and de-select the candidate based on the year they graduated? Some application sites require this information, which makes me think the company is looking for a particular age bracket.

33 Comments

1. Gisele CloutierApril 22,2025 at 12:39PM UTC

   It's borderline illegal to require date of graduation but whoever programmed the ATS might or might not be aware of that. When I run into that I enter 1492 or some other nonsense year and send a polite note/heads-up to the head of HR there.

2. AnonymousApril 22,2025 at 12:55PM UTC

   So, I can only share something anecdotally (based in the UK, technically age discrimination is not allowed here). I sit in a shared co-working space, and one of the guys sells AI software to HR teams to programme their ATS. He actually said in one of his sales talks "So if you want to exclude anyone over the age of 30 you can". Well. I am sure that a lot of the ATS systems and the way they are programmed are the reason people don't get interviews. I submitted applications on a Saturday and within minutes I had a 'sorry, we have reviewed your application, but you do not have any suitable experience" when I not only had included a CV stating all the experience they had required in their JD, but also (because of ATS) had written about my experience again, just slightly reworded, by answering the questions. Listing achievements, etc, not just responsibilites. There were two questions they required an answer for, one was the years when I did my degree, and the other was the salary expectations (which they hadn't listed, but I had looked them up on Glassdoor, and mine was in the median of what they were looking to pay for someone currently doing that role at their company. So pretty sure they were deselecting anyone above a certain age, and they probably wanted to get away with paying less, too.

   My advice would be to find out who the recruiter is for this role internally, and message them directly on LI with a nice personalised message. You stand a greater chance of actually having your CV reviewed by a human.

   The other day I had to interview with AI. That was fun... NOT.

3. AnonymousApril 22,2025 at 12:58PM UTC

   According to a 2024 ResumeBuilder.com survey, 42% of hiring managers admit to taking applicants’ ages into account when reviewing resumes. They often estimate age by looking at years of experience, graduation year, and even photos. So, yeah, the year of graduation is a proxy for age, which can result in candidates being de-selected based on when they graduated. This practice, while not always legal or ethical, remains prevalent in the hiring process.

4. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 12:46PM UTC

   Thank you for saying the quiet part out loud.

5. AnonymousApril 22,2025 at 1:01PM UTC

   If you can avoid entering that information, do it. Age discrimination is very real and a graduation year is a great way to figure someone's age out. If not the application, then at the very least, take graduation years off your resume and do not have any jobs going back more than 15-20 yerars.

6. GirlBossanova934974April 22,2025 at 1:08PM UTC

   First off, always remove all graduation dates from any resume or social media profile. Any company that requires that info, I always give a fake date. Rarely does anyone check UNLESS they require an academic transcript. I would say MOST companies wish to avoid expensive litigation and thus keep age/graduation dates off their application documents. Their lawyers have managed to talk some sense into them. However come interview time, the gloves come off and that is when the age discrimination takes place. These days, I don't even refer to it as age discrimination. It is more like "Scared !$,*less for my job and I don't want to hire anyone who might know more than I do" Yes indeed, we have become the land of the lowest common denominator.

7. Krystin MorganApril 22,2025 at 2:53PM UTC

   I've never done this nor been instructed to, except when a role was specifically for people still in college/graduating soon (like internships & early career roles).

8. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 12:20PM UTC

   You can graduate in 1983 and still be early in a career. People change careers throughout their lifetime. I’m in my fifth.

9. AnonymousApril 22,2025 at 4:54PM UTC

   If a Recruiter on my team did that and used that to bias their consideration they would be out of a job. That being said I have worked at one company where a hiring manager told me to not have anyone sent to them that was over 30. I went to legal right away and told them what that manager said. Needless to say they never biased a choice again. It does happen, sometimes it is about being able to pre-check the degree before hiring if it is a requirement for the role. Best is to look at the demographics (linkedin can help with this) for the current staff and you will get a good idea of how diverse or not their teams are. There are a few exceptions, entry level, internships and level specific roles where they have to look at fitting you in organizationally in terms of compensation IE: 3-5 years of experience. Then you are correctly fitting into their existing team without them breaking the levels. Good luck in your search.

10. AnonymousApril 22,2025 at 6:33PM UTC

    There's the possibility that this is a software error. The software defaulted that field to be required and no one realized it. Or they know, but it's hard for them to update the software options.

11. Tina MorenoApril 22,2025 at 7:52PM UTC

    Great question—and one a lot of candidates wonder about, especially when application forms ask for graduation dates. Most modern applicant tracking systems (ATS) can make that field optional, and in my process, I don’t require it—but I do confirm education during background checks once an offer is made. That said, not all companies handle it the same way—smaller or less tech-savvy organizations might not have the flexibility to remove that field. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure if it's being used to screen based on age, so your best move is to do your research: look at the company's current team, leadership, and employee reviews to get a feel for their values. Remember, you're interviewing them just as much as they’re interviewing you.

12. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistApril 23,2025 at 3:02AM UTC

    The vast vast majority of recruiters fight all kinds of bias - including ageism - every single day.

    Most of us only care about the answer to one question "are you qualified for this position?" End of.

    I don't see "applications" - I see the Word doc or PDF version of your resume that you uploaded when you applied. So unless you list your graduation dates on your resume, I would never even see that info.

    No one should ever be able to tell your age from your resume - don't have graduation dates on there and any experience over 10 or 15 years gets lopped off.

    When I was in my own last job search and they required that info, I would put 1900.

13. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 12:19PM UTC

    Well, I tend to agree with most of the recruiters who say that they would never do such a thing because it is against the law, I think that anyone that gets through and gets to speak to the hiring manager will find that age is often a problem for that person.

    Plus, it’s important to note that not all companies use recruiters or HR to do their hiring – the hiring manager themselves do it. So in that case, yes. It’ll be used to screen you.

14. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 12:27PM UTC

    Do not put your year of graduation on your resume. I stopped doing that 10 years ago.

15. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 12:37PM UTC

    Recruiter for a decade+ at a F500. I have literally NEVER done this. I have never been told to look for an age bracket. Maybe some places do this, but I think if a company has any integrity, they would not do this. The closest I've ever gotten to age discrimination is "need someone young and hungry" comment, where I corrected them. Anecdotal, but I'd like to think the majority of recruiters operate this way. We just want to find the best fit for the job, regardless of everything else.

16. rgstaffing@bellsouth.netApril 23,2025 at 1:01PM UTC

    i don't look at that--i look at location of candidate relating to where i have posted that the job is, experience and stability.

17. Kirsten FisherApril 23,2025 at 1:45PM UTC

    I never look at that. I look at experience and length of tenure at their past positions.

    I'm thrilled if I can find someone with years of experience!

18. Shannon SavageApril 23,2025 at 2:22PM UTC

    Could you clarify a bit? In my experience, listing your complete job history back to high school graduation generally seems less professional, and it also feels like a waste of my time and the recruiters’ to put information on a résumé that isn’t particularly relevant to the position being applied for. If the 10 to 15 years of experience that you just mentioned is sufficient to meet the job’s listed expectations and requirements, then I can’t help but feel like there is some level of age discrimination at play if you are looking at the graduation date and seeing the person as ‘less than’ even though they have provided documentation of sufficient experience and demonstrated competency commensurate with the position posting.

19. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 3:14PM UTC

    Absolutely. Age discrimination is real and rampant! Asking for college graduation dates is another way recruiters/hiring staff contribute to ageism.

20. Cynthia HammellApril 23,2025 at 3:33PM UTC

    I always heard that you shouldn't go back longer in your career unless the work includes experience needed for the job you are applying for.

21. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 4:07PM UTC

    I have never put my years of graduation on a resume and I never will. If a company requires that information, it's not the right employer for me.

22. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 4:12PM UTC

    In my experience I've found the age bias comes more from the hiring manager and not the recruiter. Recruiters know the laws and in general are more concerned with getting the right person into the role.

    This may be different in different industries, but I've worked in the tech startup world for the last 20 years and even within the organizations I worked for, there is sometimes the vibe from hiring managers of we need someone "young and hungry" and assume those who are older can't hack the long hours, etc. Most good recruiters will shut that down fast. As I hiring manager myself for many years, I never look at age, just experience and ability to do the job. I've hired many people both younger and older than myself.

23. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 7:08PM UTC

    Are you saying you DE-SELECT candidates based on graduation year? Or are you simply explaining that the ATS you're using requires the date(s), so dates are necessary?

    Including work experience more than 15+ years past is potentially irrelevant. That said, the work experience included should be chronological and consecutive.

24. Cassandra SchmigotzkiApril 23,2025 at 7:13PM UTC

    But aren't you only supposed to put relevant jobs on your resume?

25. AyianApril 23,2025 at 7:25PM UTC

    Hi.

    I've worked with hundreds of recruiters. The preference was invariably only to include the last 10 years of experience. Pruning the resume down to 10-15 years isn't generally about 'appearing younger', but rather to not have a resume that goes on and on and on, which as you know is not desirable either. Additionally, any good resume for a seasoned professional will sum up years of experience near the top for perspective outside of specifically listed roles.

    It sounds a lot like you're doing illegal age discrimination based on your description of your process.

26. OLIVIA JOHNSONApril 23,2025 at 7:55PM UTC

    Hi there,

    Great question! In my years of experience I have never disqualified or deselected a candidate based on their year of graduation.

    There is quite a bit of information that is required in the application and each piece is not necessarily examined.

    Where I do find that the graduate year can come into play is during the background check process. Having this information from your application helps when reaching out to schools to make verifications, whether the recruiter or a third-party background check service.

    Hope this was helpful.

    Coach Olivia

27. AnonymousApril 23,2025 at 8:54PM UTC

    I have had to put high school graduation on job applications before - it is the work around business uses to be able to discriminate based on age - hmm, you graduated high school in the early 80s great grandma? No job for you! It also hurts when I am asked to put my graduate degree date, because I recently graduated with a master's, so I am rejected for the large span of time between high school and graduate school - algorithms don't like that huge gap!

28. AnonymousApril 24,2025 at 5:13AM UTC

    What algorithm is that?

29. AnonymousApril 24,2025 at 1:24PM UTC

    Unfortunately, there are people who look at the year but it didn't hurt me as I returned to college and have a later grad year than what that year would indicate as an age. I graduated at 32 whereas I would have graduated at 21. In recruiting, I did see "older" candidates but hired them as they had the experience. I focused on experience, not the age. I once interviewed and though quite qualified, when I got feedback I was told they wanted to hire someone moldable. That was their way of saying younger. I'm glad I l was able to get that feedback. I went on to work elsewhere and my age didn't matter, my experience did.

30. AnonymousApril 24,2025 at 1:32PM UTC

    All the time. You see, "aged" workers are protected by the anti-disability laws. From an HR point of view, ANY member of a protected group is a lawsuit waiting to happen. You've read about members of protected groups playing the discrimination card whenever they feel slighted or whenever they're accused of wrongdoing. Some disabled people claim that a business has violated handicapped access laws without ever having visited the place. Lawyers file these suits on a contingency basis and fighting them is VERY expensive - how do you prove a negative?

    HR claims that MANY applicants claim college degrees they don't have; they say they need the year of graduation so they can verify the degree before doing any interviewing.

31. AnonymousApril 24,2025 at 3:07PM UTC

    Another thought on why this could be a question: there are many companies that have Early Talent Programs that specifically MUST have inexperienced people they are bringing onboard and providing training, rotational opportunities, etc. The foundation of these programs is based NOT on age, but being new to the profession or a recent graduate within a specific field. My company hires many people who are changing careers as part of this program across various age brackets. The main qualifier is that you have to actually be inexperienced to be hired into these particular roles.

32. Lilye Stallworth ChaffinApril 24,2025 at 4:35PM UTC

    Many recruiters are more concerned with you finishing not how long it took. Life happens.

33. Tina MorenoMay 6,2025 at 3:09PM UTC

    I agree- Workday is a modern platform, but I was referring to the organization, and not necessarily the platform when I commented on the "less tech-savvy" comment. We have the ability to mark any field in our application process as optional. My current org was collecting applications via email and walk in when I began, so finding a flexible ATS was a high priority for me.