I'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'm 20, I've been coding for 5 years professionally, I've made too many projects/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: "you look young, how old are you?"<p>So I lied and said 21 while I'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
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.<p>If they insist on you answering and there isn’t a legitimate reason for them to know, you’re probably being discriminated against.
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.
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.<p>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.
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 ;)
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.
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): <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm" rel="nofollow">https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm</a> .<p>I know from other comments that you were being interviewed in Germany, so YMMV.<p>Your best bet in a situation is two possibilities.<p>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.<p>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.
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.<p>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 :)
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.
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.