‘Curse of 35’ hits Vietnamese IT employees approaching middle age

"I thought my job was secure because I had been through so much with the company," said the 37-year-old.

Hoang was once offered a manager position at the firm, but he was required to improve his English and secure some management certificates.

He turned down the offer, thinking that he would be fine as an employee. But the layoff hit him out of nowhere. "I was shocked, but I thought that I would find a new job soon, given my experience and expertise."

Hoang soon learned that he was being too optimistic. Five companies either rejected or ignored his offer to work for them for the same salary at the old firm.

He tried his luck at smaller companies but did not succeed. One of the recruiters said that he exceeded the 35 years of age limit that the company has set for new employees. Hoang had no choice but to become a freelancer and take on some remote jobs.

A person works on a laptop in Khanh Hoa Province, June 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Toan

Hoang is among many IT employees who are facing uncertainties as the "curse of 35" threatens to take away jobs from the older generation in an industry that requires constant renovation.

Although there is no official statistics on this group of employees in Vietnam, analysts have seen many cases where older workers are laid off from big tech firms due to their age.

Hung Tam, a recruiter in Da Nang, said that while older employees have more experience, they are not as quick as young people in technology adoption. Technologies change all the time, especially during the age of artificial intelligence, he said.

Older employees mostly expect higher salary even though the company is not willing pump up their expenses, he added. Minh Thuan in HCMC quit his job in June due to a conflict with his boss.

With nearly 15 years of experience in system security, he was confident that he would find a new job with double the pay. However, he has failed to find a suitable firm after nearly half a year.

Now he works as a ride-hailing motorbike driver during the day and take on freelance projects at night. "I make enough to cover living expenses of my family, but there is no certainty in my career."

Tam said that many companies now require new staff to be under 35. "There are only a few management positions for people over 35. Most IT staff, however, lack management skills and therefore cannot apply for these positions."

The curse of 35 originated in China where many IT staff are concerned of job security as they approach this age.

A survey by a recruitment company in China in 2022 found that 87% of programmers were concerned about being fired or not being able to find a new job after turning 35.

The so-called curse has become problematic for many white-collar workers, with older staff widely perceived as being less willing to work long hours because of responsibilities at home, according to the Financial Times.

"Ageism in the tech sector is a big problem. There is a perception that older workers do not keep up with the latest technological developments, that they do not have energy to keep up the hard work and that they are too expensive," said Beijing-based labor lawyer Yang Baoquan.

Over the years, a number of Chinese firms have expressed their desire to recruit young people. In 2019, Martin Lau, president of tech giant Tencent, revealed a plan to replace 10% of the company's managers with "younger and more passionate" individuals.

Similarly, in an internal letter made public that same year, Baidu's CEO, Robin Li, shared the company's strategy "become more youthful" by promoting more employees born after 1980 and 1990.

"Between 20 and 30, most people are full of energy. You are more willing to march forward and sacrifice yourself for the company," said a former sales manager at Meituan, referring to the Chinese tech sector’s infamous work routine of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

But how can people keep up with the same schedule once they become older and have a family to take care of, he asked.