After 15 years of building products, leading teams, and helping companies generate hundreds of millions in revenue, one product leader is facing an unexpected obstacle in today’s tech job market: his own experience.
The 43-year-old, who previously held a VP-level role and has led teams of 20+ while shipping products worth over $100 million, has been unemployed for seven months following a layoff. Now, he is applying for Senior and Principal PM roles and running into a wall.
He wrote on TeamBlind, “The response rate is way lower than it was five years ago,” he says. “Roles asking for ‘5-8 years experience’ are rejecting me for being ‘overqualified.’ Startups go radio silent the second they see my background.”
Despite a track record most hiring managers would envy, the seasoned PM has found that interviews often come with an undercurrent of skepticism or outright discomfort. “I’ve had interviewers literally younger than my PM career ask if I can ‘move fast,’” he says. “There are subtle digs about ‘energy’ and needing a ‘fresh perspective.’ One hiring manager even asked if I could ‘adapt to startup culture.’”
Is ageism affecting recruitment?
Another recurring concern, whether he would be “happy” stepping back into an individual contributor (IC) role after holding leadership positions. “But the truth is, I am more productive now than I was at 28,” he says. “I have perspective younger PMs lack. I can scale teams, mentor junior talent, and drive clarity at a level that comes from experience.”
He is currently in the loop for a PM role at Amazon (L6 or L7), and has applied to Meta, though he suspects his level of experience may have worked against him there. “Startups keep ghosting me after the first call,” he adds. “I’ve been in this industry long enough to know what that usually means.”
Now, he is grappling with the next question, how to reposition himself in a market that seems increasingly allergic to seniority. Should he target different kinds of companies? Play down his years of experience to get in the door? Or lean into his expertise and hope the right opportunity finds him? “Right now,” he says, “my total comp is $0. But I know my value. I just need a company willing to see it too.”
‘Cut half the experience if applying for those roles’
Netizens poured their opinion on this post. A user said, “If you’re so experienced apply to PM director level or above only. They’re probably confused why are you recruiting for senior PM. I mean I would be confused too if I was the HM. Also you seem quite condescending of HMs. Most HMs are low 30s to mid 40s and you speak of them as if they were children. Lastly, you said you can mentor teams and scale organizations. that’s not what’s needed to be a good IC PM… why are you applying to IC roles if you think your strengths are managerial.”
Another added, “cut half the experience if applying for those roles. People look for last 10 years tops. remove dates from education.remove actual titles from the role.”
“The reason your age is impacting you is because majority of customers you would be designing products for at companies like meta are a decade or more younger than you. If meta were to hire you to work on new ideas for their rayban glasses, would you genuinely have any idea what to do? Would you have an intuition or ability to project what the next iteration should be like? That product is designed for people who could be your children. You would have zero in common with the potential customers of majority of their products. There is a reason average age of meta employees is 29,” noted a netizen.
“At 43 with your background, you’re actually in a sweet spot for certain roles that value depth over youth, especially at companies dealing with complex, regulated products or those needing serious organizational scaling. From my experience, senior PMs who can navigate both technical complexity and organizational dynamics are gold, but you’re right that many hiring managers don’t recognize this value yet,” opined another.
(This story is based on a post shared by a TeamBlind User. The details, opinions, and statements quoted herein belong solely to the original poster and do not reflect the views of Financialexpress.com. We have not independently verified the claims and cannot vouch for their accuracy.)