Age Discrimination
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Ran into a mate of mine the other day, who was turned down for a management job with a well known international company because he was too old. I about fell out of my chair, he said that they told him they dont hire anyone over 50, because they demonstrate poor performance after that age. Now does he have any recourse, as he is boiling mad? He thought about writing to all the major international news outlets, I said he was just wasting time as its Bongbodia and nobody cares what happens to any expat here.
of course he's wasting his time, unfortunately.
The company I work for has had bad experiences with older expat candidates however the real problem was with our HR process which should have been able to identify the good and the bad more clearly.
On balance we have had more trouble from younger expats with no thought of obligation or the amount of time and money has been invested in them.
Many companies in Cambodia will choose someone for the cost not for their experience.
A 20+ someone who will work for 1K / month with no benefits makes an easy target.
Someone 40+ with a spouse / kids etc cannot get by on 1K...and in many cases is rejected not due to experience but as a higher cost.
lets take on this backpacker.... listen son get a new shirt, haircut and here is your office... go to it
true anthony ...
back home, job ads state how much they pay ... here, employers often ask applicants how much they expect to get paid ... ask for too much and you might get turned down for being too expensive to hire ... ask too little and you might get hired for less than the amount the company had in mind ... ... ...
Well all valid points and this gent is very well know in Phnom Penh and was just looking for a local hire salary no expat benefits packages and he has a skill set they admitted was unmatched here in Cambodia. The MNC was excited but their Thai partner was the one who said it was against their policy. I told him to go after the MNC as they forbid any form of discrimination on their website and offer a contact number.
Warhorse - if it is joint venture between MNC and their Thai partner then most likely age has nothing to do with it. The Thai partner will want their own person in the position and an independent, qualified Expat would be the last thing they want, too much transparency and accountability.
Doesn't mean that every company in Cambodia is like that but it is fairly common.
That said, I know plenty of "qualified/experienced" Expat country managers who have been so incompetent and delegated all financial responsibility to their Khmer staff that they have brought their businesses to the brink of bankruptcy (and I am talking major MNC's).
In terms of salaries that Anthony raised he has a point about the backpacker in a suit mentality but we have to remember that the Cambodian market is very, very small and even larger companies cannot afford to pay 10K plus Expat packages apart from a few leading companies or start ups with lots of fresh capital behind them.
Age discrimination by thais?
Many thai politicians and businessmen are in their seventies,surely.
With age comes wisdom,who would hire a young person with no life experience?