Well friends—and in a rather laughable way—I recently went through an interesting situation... And I’m quite disappointed that it’s not something I can improve through study or tangible, practical actions...

A bit about my profile: I’m 29 years old with 11 years of experience in IT (considering I started working in the field at 18). I have a solid current tech stack, advanced knowledge of infrastructure and architecture, and major companies on my resume. I previously served as a Team Lead in the loans and credit card division of a major bank, and I currently hold a Staff Engineer position at another prominent multinational firm. I’ve even founded a startup, and my LinkedIn profile features 28 organic recommendations from other professionals. In short, I’ve got quite a track record.

As for my appearance, I’ve always looked young; if you were to look at me without knowing my background, you’d say I must be around 22—at most. When I attended the last in-person company event for my current employer, people initially mistook me for an intern.

I was invited via LinkedIn to interview for a position at a digital bank (one of the largest in the sector). Based on the salary range and scope of the role, it sits somewhere between a top-tier Staff Engineer position and an entry-level Principal Engineer role. The hiring process followed the standard pattern: an initial chat with a recruiter, followed by a technical interview involving system design, then an interview with the hiring manager, and so on.

The chat with the recruiter? Check—I passed that without any difficulty.

The technical interview and system design session? Went very well. I received immediate feedback during the conversation itself that I would be advancing to the next stage; the interviewer praised my proposed solution extensively—and, modestly speaking, I believe that praise was well-deserved.

The "soft skills" interview with multiple coordinators? Passed that, too. I answered every question and even backed up my responses with examples from my past experience; I received confirmation that I was moving on to the next stage on that very same day.

Then came the interview with the Senior Manager. Well... here’s how that went.

I started the conversation, and the very first thing she said was: "You look quite young. I’ve never interviewed a candidate this young for a position of this caliber." She asked questions about my day-to-day work, past projects, decision-making processes, and operational methods—but she kept circling back to that one specific point. She asked questions like: "Do you believe a professional *should* look experienced?" and "Do you feel that you genuinely project an air of confidence?" The conversation seemed to go well; I answered every question not just with theory, but with examples.

At the end of the following day, I received some feedback... "We feel that you did not demonstrate the experience necessary for our current needs. We are looking for a professional who demonstrates greater experience." The recruiter didn't even really know how to properly convey this to me.

Maybe I should dye my hair and beard gray... Just a tip—it seems to be a new hiring requirement for senior-level positions.