It's only illegal if they can prove that you discriminated based on their age. This is why companies never tell a prospective hire why they've declined to hire them, instead they just tell them that it's a poor culture fit. Poor culture fits aren't illegal, so you can feel safe not hiring based on culture.
Especially if the part of their culture that doesn't fit is a protected class.
> It's only illegal if they can prove that you discriminated based on their age.
If at any time during the interview the employer asks the candidate's age (or any other protected information), the candidate will have a much easier time making a case for that.
On the other hand candidates in the UK (at least) are in the habit of putting dates on their CV for the major events in their life, like school leaving and Uni graduation...so age is kinda obvious.
It is of course OK to seek candidates that are 'early in their careers', as long as you wouldn't turn away an inexperienced older person (and I have employed career changers who were evidently much older than other candidates). Again it is no issue for good employers
> On the other hand candidates in the UK (at least) are in the habit of putting dates on their CV for the major events in their life, like school leaving and Uni graduation...so age is kinda obvious.
True, at least in the most common case. A name on a CV can also suggest nationality and gender, and multiple studies have shown that the name on a CV alone can significantly change the response to an otherwise identical CV.
I'm hiring right now, into a critical role for me. I have lots of questions for new candidates about what they were doing before at previous employers. However I will not feel the need to ask what they are paid. I have been asked it on several occasions and every time it was an attempt to pay me less than the company had advertised for the role. I can think of so many reasons why someone's pay may have been out of step with their role in the past, and none of it is relevant to how I wish to inventivise them now. So no I don't think it is dismissive
Especially if the part of their culture that doesn't fit is a protected class.